The Great One says he'd have no chance of pulling off what Connor Bedard accomplished Saturday night.
Even in his glory days, Wayne Gretzky insists he wouldn't have been able to score a lacrosse-style goal like Bedard's beauty against the St. Louis Blues.
"I couldn't do what he did tonight," Gretzky said on the Blues' broadcast during their game against Bedard's Chicago Blackhawks. "That just wasn't in my repertoire. I didn't have the right kind of curve. Hully (Brett Hull) could do it. I could never do what he did tonight. It was fun to watch. My daughter Emma's with me and she goes 'dad did you ever do that?' and I said 'no, I could never do that.'"
With the Blackhawks down 1-0 in the first period at St. Louis, Bedard got a pass from Philipp Kurashev behind the Blues net. The rookie phenom then cradled the puck with his stick before slamming it into the corner, over the left shoulder of goaltender Jordan Binnington for a 'Michigan' goal.
“There was just no one there, and just thought it was a good play, and yeah, kind of went for it," Bedard said during a TV interview between periods.
It was Bedard's 13th goal in his 33rd game. He leads all NHL rookies in goals and assists with 17.
"He's been fun to watch," Gretzky said. " He's been better than we probably anticipated. He's been not only an ambassador on the ice, he's been tremendous off the ice for an 18-year-old young man. I'm happy for him. He's got the right coach in Luke Richardson, the right organization."
Even with Bedard's dazzling move, the last-place Blackhawks blew a 5-2 lead in the third period of a 7-5 loss to the Blues.
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