‘Bedard Bump’ continues, causing sellouts, boosting junior hockey team revenues

Seats at the Enmax Centre will be full Friday night when the puck drops for the Lethbridge Hurricanes’ matchup against the Regina Pats and their captain Connor Bedard.

Since the 17 year old returned from the World Junior Championships, Bedard and the Pats have found themselves playing in front of packed crowds across Western Canada.

“It’s exciting for all of us to have that,” Bedard said on Wednesday. “I think that’s something you don’t really get tired of.”

It appears that the city of Lethbridge feels the same way.

The game on Friday sold out, including about 300 overflow tickets. Team staff haven’t seen sales like that in years.

“When we were reaching the playoffs, getting to the second and third rounds, we’ve seen the same kind of scenario,” said Terry Huisman, Hurricanes general manager of business operations.

On the Pats’ current road trip alone, the Red Deer Rebels set a regular season attendance record and more than 17,000 fans came out to see Regina play the Calgary Hitmen, creating crowds some players have never played in front of before.

“I think it’s going to be a bit of an eye-opener for some of the younger guys and the new guys that haven’t seen the place packed,” said ‘Canes defenceman Joe Arntsen.

“It’s going to be electric.”

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‘Canes head coach Brent Kisio coached Bedard as an assistant at the World Juniors and says the attention is good for the Western Hockey League.

“It’s what Connor’s done to our league right now. He has that status around him and he’s bringing packed houses everywhere he plays. It’s exciting,” Kisio said.

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“Anytime we have a chance to showcase our talent — not only in our league but also with our team — and show the excitement to the fan base of what we bring here on a nightly basis is a great opportunity,” Huisman said.

Friday’s game is expected to provide a boost to the Hurricanes’ revenue, which comes from ticket and merchandise sales.

“It’s going to be significant,” Huisman said.

“It’ll probably be a 100 per cent increase on what we make on a nightly basis.”

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And it won’t be the only bump for the ‘Canes this season.

Seats for the Pats’ March 10 visit are already sold out and team staff expect remaining overflow tickets will be snapped up in the coming days.