Connor Bedard Shares Wild Story of Kevin Bieksa's Brother at the 2011 Western Conference Finals

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Cooper Godin
November 18, 2024 (10:56)

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Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard recently shared a wild story of when he attended Game 5 of the 2011 Western Conference Final, seeing Kevin Bieksa's OT winner in-person at Rogers Arena.

Following Saturday's loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Hockey Night in Canada, Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard was a guest on 'After Hours' with Scott Oake, where he dove into his love for the British Columbia club growing up.

Bedard, a native of North Vancouver, mentioned on After Hours on Saturday night that his favourite Vancouver Canuck growing up with defenseman Chris Tanev and he also shared a pretty funny story regarding Game 5 of the 2011 Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks.

Kevin Bieksa's brother accidently spilled beer on Connor Bedard

The 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs were a time that Vancouver Canucks fans won't forget for the rest of their lives. While the team may have fell short in the end, their run to the Stanley Cup Final provided some incredible moments, one of which was Game 5 of the Western Conference Final.

Coming into Game 5, the Vancouver Canucks had a 3-1 series lead over the San Jose Sharks. With their backs against the wall, Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi played lights out and it looked like San Jose was about to take Game 5, until Ryan Kesler stepped up.

With under 15 seconds to play in the third period, Henrik Sedin threw the puck on net where it was tipped in by Ryan Kesler, tying the game up at 2-2 and forcing overtime.

Connor Bedard said that after Ryan Kesler tied the game, the fans went crazy, himself included, but his mom noticed afterwards that he had beer spilled on him, which was apparently from Kevin Bieksa's brother.

"It was [Ryan] Keslers' goal to tie it," Bedard said. "The fan behind me jumped up, it went all over me. I remember going home and I gave my mom my jersey and she was like 'Why the hell does this reek of beer?'"

He added, "Small world that it ended up being someone related to [Bieksa]."

Bedard will make one more trip north to Rogers Arena this season, playing in his hometown on Saturday, March 15th. Anytime a player gets the chance to play in their hometown, it's always a special moment and that's no different for Connor Bedard, who gets to be in the building he went to many times growing up.