Connor Bedard angry and confused by 'Abuse of Official' call
The Blackhawks' young star gets called out for his apparent lack of respect for the refs.
In case you missed it last night, the Chicago Blackhawks dropped a 4-2 decision to the San Jose Sharks in a game that had a lot of hype surrounding the face off between 2023 1st overall pick Connor Bedard and 2024 1st overall pick Macklin Celebrini.
The two Vancouver born and bred superstars in the making were both eager to play each other and this time it was Celebrini getting the upper hand. Celebrini scored an assist in the game while Bedard went pointless. Bedard, however, did draw the ire of the officials though, earning himself a rare 'Abuse of Official' penalty.
It's unclear exactly what Bedard did or said to the officials to earn the stiff penalty but it must have been significant enough for the referee to forgo the usual 'Unsportsmanlike' penalty and elevate the call to 'Abuse of Official'.
In fact, Bedard himself was unclear what exactly he had done. The budding superstar admitted to the media afterward that he's not really sure what he did and that he was confused and frustrated with the call.
From Bedard post-game yesterday evening:
And here's the play in question... no one can really figure out what happened:
Call me crazy, but this wouldn't be the first time in NHL history that a veteran official, this time Chris Rooney, made an example of a cocky young superstar. I'm not saying that's what happened in this case, but I wouldn't be surprised to be honest.
