The Regina Pats have had a successful run through four games on their West Coast road trip through British Columbia, owning a 3-1 record on the ice.
Off the ice, however, the rumour mill has been turning out some interesting stories.
Since landing in B.C., Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock has been bombarded with questions on the availability of star player Connor Bedard for a trade.
Bedard sits at the top of many scouts’ lists as the most intriguing player heading into the 2023 NHL draft.
Could the teen phenom be on the move out of Regina in a trade package? Paddock certainly isn’t happy with the question.
Ahead of the Pats’ game against the Kamloops Blazers, reporters were told to avoid asking about the trade. When inevitably the question was asked, Paddock was quick to fire back.
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“I just heard today on this Christmas thing there’s like 300 languages that some songs are sang in…. Do you speak some different language?” he asked a reporter.
“Do you speak some different language?”
“No, I speak English,” the reporter responded.
“It’s been said what’s done,” Paddock continued. “We’re not doing it and Connor has the final say. He wants to be a Regina Pat and finish his career in Regina, clear?”
The frustration began last week in Vancouver when Paddock was asked about the Western Hockey League (WHL) trade deadline looming just over a month away. Paddock responded with, “It’s a stupid question. The only place those stories have come from is in British Columbia.”
That hasn’t stopped the discussion, however, on Bedard’s availability.
“Never before in the history of the league has there been (this attention) asked about a player,” Paddock continued to say to the reporter asking questions about the trade. “This started in June in this town, so you must not be speaking English because I’ve said what’s going to happen.
“He has a no-trade clause, he does not want to be traded, he’s not going anywhere, we don’t want to trade him and he doesn’t want to be traded, it’s simple.”
The Pats have one final game in Bedard’s home province on Friday night in Prince George against the Cougars.