Connor Bedard is big business for the Western Hockey League
Connor Bedard is big business for the Western Hockey League
Connor Bedard has been taking the hockey world by storm, selling out multiple games on the Regina Pats Alberta road trip, but has the Western Hockey League (WHL) reckoned with his impact?
“If you were to look at the overall contribution that he's making, to me, it would be in the millions of dollars,” said Edwards School of Business' Dean Keith Willoughby.
That added revenue comes through enhanced ticket sales, which in turn creates more money in parking, merchandise, concessions sales and other revenue streams, says Willoughby.
Bedard sold out the Saddledome last Wednesday, bringing in over 16,000 fans.
On Friday, he sold out a game in Lethbridge forcing the club to start selling standing room-only tickets, and on Saturday packed Medicine Hat’s Arena with over 6,100 fans.
“There's a tremendous impact that Connor Bedard provides, obviously to the Western Hockey League, and more specifically to the Regina Pats,” Willoughby said.
His fame has built off his success at the nationally televised World Junior Championship, where he helped Team Canada capture a gold medal. He is a projected number one pick for the 2023 NHL Draft, creating a buzz fans want to see, according to CKM Sports Management agent Cliff Mander.
“He's getting obviously an awful amount of notoriety and I think something he's experiencing that he's going to remember for the rest of his life.”
Mander represents young NHL prospects and he says there could have been more done to maximize the monetization of the young superstar.
“I think there's definitely money still left on the table,” said Mander. “There's definitely opportunities for a player like him, no matter his age, whether it's cars, insurance, food, you name it. He's quite a large brand already.”
According to Mander, NHL players can make in the millions of dollars in endorsement deals, which Bedard could be in line for with the notoriety he is creating for himself in the WHL. Bedard is allowed endorsement deals right now.
Mander wants to see the governing body for the WHL, the Canadian Hockey League, do more to help players earn endorsements.
“I think this is a new conversation where there's a next level of marketing,” said Mander. “There's a next level of endorsements and financial rewards obviously for the player and their families that the leagues I think just have to acknowledge and get ahead of it.”
Bedard signed a Western Hockey League standard player agreement contract, which provides him with league exposure, and a fully guaranteed scholarship along with many other perks.
Mander argues Bedard’s value to the league is much more.
“I would say $1.5M,” he said.
After seeing the 17-year-old Bedard help many franchises increase revenue where he played, Mander says the next Bedard might have some leverage to gain a piece of the pie.
“The onus is on the league and the team to acknowledge that, and in special circumstances like this, and that they're open to it” said Mander. “Have those conversations with the players' representation and get ahead of it.”
Bedard and the Pats come to Saskatoon to take on the Blades March 19th.
After weeks of resistance, and ahead of a vote that could have compelled it to happen, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office has announced that his chief of staff Katie Telford will testify about foreign interference, before a committee that has been studying the issue for months.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has released foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston's mandate, which instructs the former governor general to determine by May 23 whether a public inquiry is necessary.
A 15-year-old is facing a number of charges, including attempted murder, after two staff members were stabbed at a high school in Bedford, N.S., Monday morning.
Donald Trump will try to turn any indictment to his advantage by stoking anger among core supporters over what they see as the weaponization of the justice system, though it may also push more Republicans tired of the drama around him to look for another presidential candidate.
A Virginia teacher who was shot and wounded by her 6-year-old student said it has changed her life and she has vivid memories and nightmares about that day.
Researchers have been pushing the limits of 3D printing for decades, using the manufacturing technique to churn out consumer goods such as furniture and shoes, human organs and even a rocket. But can the industrial technology be applied to make a fully baked dessert that can be fabricated in your home kitchen?
Mixed reviews continue to roll in days after Experience Regina delivered new campaign slogans that lean into the double entendre of the capital city's name.
Saskatchewan RCMP and Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) reported to have arrested and charged 138 motorists around the province under the criminal code for impaired driving in January and February.
Razak Iyal was given a warm embrace as he officially became a Canadian citizen, more than six years after nearly freezing to death walking across the Canada-United States border in Manitoba.
A 15-year-old is facing a number of charges, including attempted murder, after two staff members were stabbed at a high school in Bedford, N.S., Monday morning.
Students and community members will gather in protest outside the Calgary Board of Education Centre Tuesday morning, calling for the removal of the Sir John A. Macdonald name from a northwest junior high school.
A Wheatland County sanctuary that cares for abandoned and surrendered farm animals faces an uncertain future after having a permit application to keep operating denied.
The Edmonton police officers killed in the line of duty last week will be moved to a funeral home on Tuesday. A procession will take constables Brett Ryan and Travis Jordan from the medical examiner's office to Serenity Funeral Home at noon.
One person was arrested in Surrey Monday after police say a speeding driver hit a pedestrian who was walking on the sidewalk, sending the victim to hospital.
A 15-year-old is facing a number of charges, including attempted murder, after two staff members were stabbed at a high school in Bedford, N.S., Monday morning.
A 31-year-old neuroscientist is believed to be among the six people missing after a massive fire in Old Montreal last week. An Wu was staying at the heritage building on Place d'Youville to attend a conference, according to friends and family.
Rescuers have yet to recover any additional bodies from the wreck of a fire in Old Montreal last week. As of Tuesday morning, there were still six people missing. The body of one victim, a woman, was extracted on Sunday.
Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard is scheduled to table the first budget of the Coalition Avenir Québec's second mandate this afternoon. Girard broke with tradition on Monday — instead of buying new shoes ahead of the budget, he announced a $5,000 donation to a Quebec City community centre.
Mounties say child pornography investigations are on the rise in the western communities of Greater Victoria. The West Shore RCMP conducted 39 child pornography investigations in 2022, more than double the 19 cases investigated in 2021.
Doctors, patients and advocates are uniting for a reminder to older British Columbians to request a free colon cancer screening test – as we mark National Colon Cancer Awareness month.
A 15-year-old is facing a number of charges, including attempted murder, after two staff members were stabbed at a high school in Bedford, N.S., Monday morning.
The president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) is weighing in after two staff members and a student, who is also the suspect, were injured in a stabbing at Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford, N.S., Monday morning.
The New Brunswick government has tabled a $12.2-billion budget that forecasts a small surplus and promises a funding boost to help stabilize the ailing health-care sector.
Sudbury police are looking for a transport truck and its driver involved in Monday's crash on MR80, originally believed to be a single-vehicle collision.
Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in court in Utah on Tuesday morning in a lawsuit filed by a retired optometrist who said that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer violently crashed into him in 2016 while skiing at one of the most upscale ski resorts in the United States.
At least 10 people are displaced after a century building in the heart of Aylmer was destroyed by fire Monday evening. The blaze broke out shortly after 8:30 pm on Talbot Street.
An 81-year old property owner tells CTV News he’ll do the work himself without machinery, if that’s the method directed by city council. Three years after John McLeod demolished the historic barn on Halls Mill Road without a permit, a plan to remove the pile of wooden debris is taking shape.
