The Winnipeg ICE have one wish for Christmas, and his name is Connor Bedard. The Winnipeg Ice would absolutely be the best team in the CHL with Connor Bedard. Especially since they have been around the top of the CHL rankings all season long. Connor Bedard is creating a buzz where ever he goes because of his skill, and people are saying he is the second coming of Sidney Crosby.
Now, the point of this whole article and the topic that I’m sure follows Connor Bedard everywhere, are they going to trade him? It may be premature to talk about trading him so early in the season, but if the Pats are not seriously threatening for a championship, should they keep him?
Hypothetically speaking, the Pats should trade Connor Bedard. Unless they are going to try to go on a run for a championship, they should trade him and use the haul that they get back to build a team that will thrive in the near future. A team that certainly doesn’t need him, but would love him, is the Winnipeg Ice. They are really good. Like really, really good, but imagine picking up the projected number one overall pick in the upcoming NHL draft.
Imagine sliding Connor Bedard right onto the first line of the Winnipeg ICE. Here is what the most recent lineup looks like:
Zach Benson – Conor Geekie – Ty Nash
Owen Pederson – Matthew Savoie – Connor McClennon
Vladislav Shilo – Evan Friesen – Skyler Bruce
Connor Dale – Alden Oiring – Josh Medernach
Carson Lambos – Karter Prosofsky
Graham Sward – Owen Harmacy
Ben Zloty – Jonas Woo
Mason Beaupit
Daniel Hauser
Now imagine you put Connor Bedard in that lineup:
Zach Benson – Conor Geekie – Connor Bedard
Owen Pederson – Matthew Savoie – Connor McClennon
Ty Nash – Evan Friesen – Skyler Bruce
Connor Dale – Alden Oiring – Vladislav Shilo
Carson Lambos – Karter Prosofsky
Graham Sward – Owen Harmacy
Ben Zloty – Jonas Woo
Mason Beaupit
Daniel Hauser
That lineup would be the best in the WHL by far. It would be cup or bust for them. Are there other places that the ICE could improve, yes of course. Do they need to improve their top six, not really? That is the whole point of this article; it is to show what Winnipeg would be like with Bedard.
So, we should probably talk about how realistic it is for the Winnipeg Ice to get the WHL superstar. It honestly has so many ways it could go wrong. For starters, the Pats could climb up the standings and, instead of unloading Bedard, would load up and add players for a nice run at a championship, in most likely the last year they have Bedard. That would destroy every team’s chance of landing Bedard, not just the Ice.
The second situation that would take him away from Winnipeg, he just doesn’t want to go to Winnipeg. Winnipeg isn’t what you would call, hmm… how do I put this, it will never appear on any person on the planet’s list of potential vacations. It’s cold, dark, snowy, and, if you leave the perimeter highway, no overhead lighting, which is scary. This is a legit reason he might not go to Winnipeg because it affects the Winnipeg Jets, and I can only assume it’s similar for WHL players.
The third thing that could happen is that another team beats them to the punch. With all the moves the Seattle Thunderbirds have been making this past week, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if this happened. Winnipeg recently acquired goalie Mason Beaupit from the Spokane Chiefs, so they aren’t afraid to pull off a move. This move would require a lot of assets, though, which might be the whole reason it may not happen at all. Whoever acquires Bedard, if he is traded, will have to really not be afraid to move pieces. It would be a franchise-changing move, for good or bad reasons.
Finally, the last reason that Bedard to the ICE might not happen is just he doesn’t get traded. As in the, the Pats stay middle of the pack, they keep Bedard, and don’t do anything. Honestly, I think that is the most likely of all the reasons to happen, but by far the least fun. If Regina wants to recoup any assets with Bedard, they need to trade him, and also for the pure entertainment of the hockey world.
At the end of the day, a Bedard trade would be amazing, so I hope the hockey gods bless us with this deal. Bedard to Winnipeg would be amazing, and I think he would just push Winnipeg over the top and potentially to the point where you think they were Memorial Cup favourites. It is a long season, but with the trade deadline about two months away, it could start heating up soon. For now, we will just have to wait and see.