Connor Bedard completes natural hat trick at World Juniors
(Screenshot/ TSN)

Connor Bedard is going to be special.

Bedard recorded a natural hat trick in Team Canada’s World Junior game against Austria on Tuesday night. The Canadians dominated the Austrians, leading 6-1 at the end of the second period.

Bedard scored twice in the first period in a span of 1:11. He also had nasty dangle and shot that was stopped by Austrian goaltender Leon Sommer. Bedard completed the hat trick early in the second period with a with a sweet dangle and snipe.

Here’s a look at all three goals scored by Bedard against Austria:

Videos:

Bedard whiffs on a shot in the slot, but follows up on the rebound to score his first of the game:

Bedard drives to the net and finishes off a give-and-go with Flyers’ prospect Elliot Desnoyers to score his second of the game:

Bedard completes the hat trick early in the second period as he dangles past an Austrian defender and snipes a perfectly placed shot under the bar:

Here’s Bedard’s sweet deke in the first period that ended with a nice windmill save from the Austrian goaltender:

Connor Bedard dangle

It’s pretty incredible that Bedard is just 16 years of age scoring a natural hat trick in a tournament filled with 17 and 18-year-olds. The youngster has been getting limited ice time, too, playing only 4:35 in the first period against Austria.

Bedard is the first 16-year-old to score a hat trick for Team Canada since Wayne Gretzky scored three goals against Czechoslovakia on Christmas Day in 1977. Not bad company if we must say.

Bedard is currently playing for the Regina Pats of the WHL and isn’t NHL draft eligible until 2023. Considering this impressive performance as a 16-year-old, it’s insane to think about what Bedard might do at the 2022 World Juniors.