Connor Bedard becomes youngest captain in Pats' history

Captain Connor WATCH: The Regina Pats named Connor Bedard the youngest captain in franchise history on Thursday.

The Regina Pats have named Connor Bedard the 81st captain in team history.

Bedard also becomes the youngest captain in franchise history at 17 years and two months of age, surpassing Barret Jackman who was named captain at 17 years and 11 months old.

“Ever since I got drafted [by the Pats], it’s been a dream for me to be a captain,” Bedard said.

The Pats announced their full leadership group for the 2022-23 season on Thursday, defenceman Luke Bateman and forwards Cole Dubinsky and Braxton Whitehead will serve as alternate captains.

"We had a leadership change, losing two key guys last year with Logan Nijhoff and Ryker Evans gone,” Pats general manager and head coach John Paddock said. “In Connor, we could see very early that he sets a good example on and off the ice, as well as in his preparation, wanting to win and that he was going to be a captain."

“Just between the guys we have in the room, there’s no divide between ages. For me to have the opportunity to be a captain at this age, it’s not really about age. It’s just mutual respect between us [the captains] and teammates,” Bedard said.

The Pats finished 2021-22 with a record of 27-36-3-2 and missed the playoffs by two points.

Expectations are much higher this year, both internally and with fans.

“I think we’re all excited. We’ve gone through a long camp and like we said, this year is going to be different. We’ve had a lot of years of struggling and the fans have stuck by us, but this year’s going to be different,” Dubinsky said.

“It’s truly an honour. Getting drafted by the Pats was a dream come true. So this is a huge milestone, I’m really honoured to be wearing an ‘A’ this year and I can’t wait to show it on the ice as well,” Whitehead said.

Bedard, served as an alternate captain last season, in a year that saw the projected top pick in the 2023 NHL draft score 51 goals and 100 points in 62 regular season games.

“Just to get back and play games, that’s what we’ve been training all summer for. We’re just pumped,” Bedard said.

The Pats open the 2022-23 regular season Friday night at the Brandt Centre at 7 p.m. against the Moose Jaw Warriors.