BEDARD FILLING HOCKEY ARENAS IN WHL

CALGARY Connor Bedard keeps packing arenas in Western Canada after his electrifying performance at the world junior men’s hockey championship. The 17-year-old Regina Pats forward, projected to be the first overall pick in June’s NHL draft, was expected to fill Calgary’s Saddledome on Wednesday after junior hockey buildings were at capacity in his previous five games. The Calgary Hitmen expanded ticket sales beyond the usual lower bowl to the Saddledome’s upper sections with more than 16,000 expected to attend. Bedard says that would be largest crowd he’s ever played in front of and that he’s excited for the energy a lot of people at a game brings. He smashed several world junior tournament records and was named MVP last month in Halifax, where Bedard competed with and against players two years older.