Connor Bedard gives NHL teams one more reason to tank.

Although no team in the National Hockey League will ever come right out and admit that they are trying their hardest not to win games during the regular season, we all know that tanking is simply a reality of the NHL's weighted draft lottery.

In some seasons in particular the temptation to tank becomes too much to resist when a potentially generational type of talent is on the line, and many believe that this is one such season with Canadian phenom Connor Bedard projected to go first overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

Bedard has drawn the eyeballs of NHL teams for some time now, but his most recent season may have catipulted the 17 year old to star status long before he ever steps out onto NHL ice. Over the course of 57 games in the Western Hockey League, Bedard recorded 71 goals and 72 assists for a jaw dropping 143 total points, and now he is continuing his dominance in the WHL playoffs.

On Sunday night, with Bedard and his Regina Pats playing a series against a favored Saskatoon Blades squad, the talented youngster out of North Vancouver, British Columbia once again took center stage. Bedard would record a playoff hat trick, while also recording 2 primary assists for a total of 5 points in a single playoff game.

NHL teams may be desperately trying to get this kid, but quite frankly who can blame them?