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His name is Connor. After a season in which multiple NHL teams tried to maximize their draft lottery odds to select him, Connor was selected first overall. He was cast as a potential franchise savior, with unparalleled offensive skills. He’s sold thousands of tickets before playing a minute of pro hockey.

That was Connor McDavid with the Edmonton Oilers in 2015, after which he was a point-per-game player as a rookie.

This is Connor Bedard with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2023, hoping to make a difference for a franchise in need of a dramatic reversal of fortunes.

The two Connors had some shared experiences to discuss when attending the 13th annual BioSteel NHL Camp in Halifax this week, hosted by BioSteel Nutrition.

“Connor has given me lots of good advice,” Bedard said of McDavid. “There are some things he’s said about what to expect. It’s obviously not easy. It’s the best league in the world. It’s about just preparing yourself the best you can, and I feel like I’ve done that this summer. I’ve worked really hard.”

The 18-year-old Bedard picks up the franchise baton from Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, who both left the Blackhawks this year after their dynastic run in Chicago. Weeks before his first NHL training camp, Bedard said he’s a mix of nerves and excitement.

“Your dream and lifelong goal is to play in the NHL and be an impact player. That’s what I want to do,” he said. “For me right now it’s about training, going to camp and earning my spot on team. But of course there are some nerves.”

When McDavid was drafted by the Oilers, he also talked about getting “stronger and faster” in the summer before his first NHL season. When it comes to the pressure of being a phenom, McDavid said on his draft day, “my expectations on myself exceed any of those put on me.”

There were echoes of that declaration in Bedard’s approach to the NHL.

“I think if you’re worried about what other people are saying, or what you guys write about me … I’m trying to pursue a dream,” he said. “There’s obviously pressure from the outside. I’m hard on myself. But pressure goes away, in my mind when, you’re just doing what you love. I’ve dreamed of playing in this league for 18 years now. So I wouldn’t really think of outside noise too much.”

McDavid was limited to 45 games as a rookie because of injury, tallying 48 points. He finished third in the Calder Trophy voting behind the Blackhawks’ Artemi Panarin and Shayne Gostisbehere of the Philadelphia Flyers.

He’s made up for that initial lack of hardware since then: three Hart trophies as league MVP; four NHLPA most outstanding player awards; and five scoring titles in seven seasons. He has 850 points in 569 career games.

“I think he’s kind of the pinnacle right now. And you’re like, ‘This guy is the best, or one of the best, [so] how can I get closer to him?'” Bedard said.

But before the hockey world runs wild with the “Connor vs. Connor” hype, Bedard indicated that it’s not matching McDavid’s legacy he’s concerned about. It’s creating one of his own.

“You never want to be like, ‘Oh, I can’t do this.’ I don’t really think that mindset is that great,” Bedard said. “But I’m not him. I’m my own person and my own player.

“I think that’s such a great thing in sport. You’re always competing against guys. For me to get to spend some time with him on the ice and just try to compete with him … he’s obviously unbelievable. You can barely talk about his stats because they’re so ridiculous. But for me, it’s just trying to be my own player. Be the best I can be.”

May the best Connor win.

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Keselowski: NASCAR rulebook like IRS tax code

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Keselowski: NASCAR rulebook like IRS tax code

LEBANON, Tenn. — Brad Keselowski said RFK Racing has made some small changes and talked about the “complexities” and team burdens under the NASCAR rulebook after an appeal reduced a penalty given to driver Chris Buescher and his team at Kansas Speedway.

Keselowski compared the NASCAR rulebook a bit to the IRS tax code during practice and qualifying Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway for Sunday night’s Cracker Barrel 400.

“You read this paper and then you got to reference this paper to reference this paper to reference this paper, and when your head’s down and digging and you’re running 38 weeks a year, oversights are going to happen,” Keselowski said.

The co-owner of RFK Racing said that’s not an excuse. Keselowski said the team changed some roles and responsibilities this week to help the team be “better prepared and more mindful of what it takes to to be in compliance.”

NASCAR penalized Buescher and his team May 15 for illegal modifications to the bumper of his No. 17 Ford at Kansas. The team was docked 60 driver points, 60 owner points, five driver playoff points and five owner playoff points for the level one violation. It also fined the team $75,000 and suspended crew chief Scott Graves from the next two races: the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600.

Those penalties came three days after Buescher finished eighth at Kansas and dropped him from 12th to 24th in the Cup Series point standings.

RFK Racing appealed and had a partial win Wednesday with the appeals panel ruling the team violated the rule on the front bumper cover but not the exhaust cover panel.

Buescher got back 30 points, moving him to 16th in the Cup Series points standing. That’s a slot below the playoff cutline and six points behind RFK Racing teammate Ryan Preece.

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Thousands attend race event honoring Gaudreaus

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Thousands attend race event honoring Gaudreaus

SEWELL, N.J. — A few days after brothers John and Matthew Gaudreau died when they were struck by a driver while riding bicycles on the eve of their sister Katie’s wedding, family friends were visiting parents Guy and Jane at their home during a rainstorm. Looking outside after the skies cleared, they saw a double rainbow that brought them some momentary peace.

Since then, Jane Gaudreau had not gotten any signs she attributed to her sons, so she sat in their room Friday and asked them for some divine intervention to clear out bad weather in time for an event to honor their legacies. After a brief scare of a tornado watch the night before, a rainbow appeared Saturday morning about an hour before the sun came out for the inaugural Gaudreau Family 5K Walk/Run and Family Day.

“I was so relieved,” Jane said. “I was like, ‘Well, there’s my sign.'”

Thousands attended the event at Washington Lake Park in southern New Jersey, a place John and Matthew went hundreds of times as kids and around the corner from Hollydell Ice Arena, where they started playing hockey. Roughly 1,100 people took part in a walk or run in person, along with more than 1,300 virtually in the U.S., Canada and around the world.

“I think it speaks to them as a family, how close they were and how everybody loved being around them,” said Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, one of a handful of NHL players who were close to the Gaudreaus and made a point to be there. “You just see the support from this community and from other players as well that are here and traveled in. It just says a lot about Johnny, Matty, their legacy and this family as a whole, how much support they have because they’re such amazing people.”

Along with honoring the NHL star known as “Johnny Hockey” and his younger brother who family and friends called Matty, the goal of the event was to raise money for an accessible playground at Archbishop Damiano School where Jane and her daughter Kristen work. It was a cause John and Matthew had begun to champion in honor of their grandmother Marie, who spent 44 years at the school and died in 2023.

It became their mother’s project after their deaths.

“Jane works every day with children with disabilities, and she knew how important it was for the playground to be built,” said family friend Deb Vasutoro, who came up with the idea for a 5K. “The playground has been a project for, I think, four or five years, and there just never was enough funding. When the boys passed and Jane needed a purpose, she thought, ‘Let’s build the playground.’ It was the perfect marriage of doing something good to honor the boys and seeing children laugh and smile.”

The Rev. Allain Caparas from Gloucester Catholic High School, which the brothers attended and played hockey for while growing up in Carneys Point, said raising funds for the playground is an extension of the impact they had on the community.

“They’re continuing to make a difference in the lives of so many others,” Caparas said. “Johnny and Matthew lived their lives with purpose, and now we’re celebrating that.”

Social media filled with mentions from folks in Columbus and Calgary, the NHL cities in which John Gaudreau played, and as far away as Ireland and Sweden. Paul O’Connor, who has been tight with the Gaudreau family from son Dalton being childhood best friends with Matthew, couldn’t empty out his inbox because he kept getting notifications about signups and donations.

“It just keeps growing,” O’Connor said. “And people that couldn’t be here, they’re doing a virtual [5K]. If they can’t do either, they’re just throwing money at the cause.”

Tears welled up in the eyes of Guy and Jane as they talked about the event. His speech to the crowd was brief and poignant at the same time.

“I’d like to thank everybody for coming,” Guy said after running the 5K. “It really means a lot to Jane and the girls and the family. We miss the boys, and it really means a lot for us to have you here to honor my boys. Thank you.”

The sea of people first in the rain and then the sunshine included folks in gear from all across hockey. Tkachuk wore a “Johnny Hockey” hoodie with Gaudreau’s name and No. 13 on the back.

He handed sticks, collected from various vigils in late August and early September, to race winners along with fellow players Erik Gudbranson, Zach Aston-Reese, Tony DeAngelo and Buddy Robinson.

“Our family wouldn’t have missed this,” Gudbranson said after flying in Friday night following a trip to Walt Disney World. “Hockey’s a very tight community. It’s still a tragedy. We miss the boys.”

The aim is to hold the event annually moving forward, potentially in Calgary and Columbus.

“We thought this was such a good thing to honor the boys we want to keep it up,” Jane said. “I just think each year it’ll just get better and better.”

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Panthers’ Lundell, Luostarinen clear for Final G1

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Panthers' Lundell, Luostarinen clear for Final G1

Florida Panthers forwards Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell will be ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night in Edmonton, coach Paul Maurice said Saturday.

Both players were injured in Wednesday’s series-clinching Game 5 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Panthers forward A.J. Greer‘s status for the series opener against the Oilers remains uncertain. He missed Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals and was on the ice for only 4:22 in Game 5 due to a lower-body injury.

All three players did not participate in Saturday’s practice, the first team skate since the defending champions booked their spot in the Final rematch.

“I think the only question mark is Greer,” Maurice said. “We will list him as day to day. The other guys are fine. They will be back on the ice tomorrow when we do a little bit of an optional.”

Luostarinen, 26, recorded 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists) in 80 games during the regular season and 13 points (4 goals, 9 assists) in 17 games this postseason.

Lundell, 23, tallied 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 79 games in the regular season and 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 17 playoff games.

Greer, 28, posted 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists) in 81 games in the regular season and three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in 12 playoff contests.

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