Opinion: Why is Bedard hates by the referees

Connor Bedard has taken the NHL by storm in the two years he has been in the league. He made the NHL All-Rookie team and won the Calder Memorial Trophy in his first season as an 18 year old.

He has already surpassed 100 career points and scored his 40th career goal in a 6-2 loss against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday. With his success, it has put a target on his back. Not only by players, but also by the referees.

On March 13th in a game against the San Jose Sharks, Bedard was hit with a ten-minute misconduct penalty from referee Chris Rooney for “abuse of officials” after he argued a blatant trip that went uncalled.

With only 11 minutes left in the game at the time of the misconduct, Bedard would be in the penalty box for the remainder of the game.

In a one-goal game, the Sharks went on to win 4-2 after an empty net goal late in the third period, but fans and the hockey world were still confused about the misconduct call against Bedard.

Bedard addressed the misconduct penalty in his post-game press conference where he said, “He just didn't like what I said. ... I gotta be smarter with my words.”

He admitted what he did was wrong but you could tell he was still upset while talking to the media, scoffing at certain questions about the penalty.

Even Blackhawks interim head coach Anders Sorenson said that “He’s heard worse” regarding Bedard’s words for referee Chris Rooney.

Just a couple days later on March 15th, Bedard was hit with another ten-minute misconduct penalty in a 6-2 loss against the Vancouver Canucks. Granted, this one was a little more obvious.

A late game scuffle broke out between both teams and Bedard was in the center of it. With 2:39 left in the third period of a four-goal game, four players were hit with game misconducts.

Bedard now has two ten-minute game misconduct penalties in his last three games after not having one before then.

Exchanges between players and the referees is not uncommon in the NHL, but superstars early in their careers tend to not get a lot of calls in their favor. Some notable examples are Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid who are some of the best players in the nation right now.

At the end of the day, Bedard still has a lot of time left in his career. He is the center of a rebuild and still has time to create a good bond with referees in the league. I do not think the referees hate Bedard, but some of the calls or no calls against him portray that narrative.

Ryan Eslinger is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email rve5156@psu.edu