EX-WHL wunderkind can relate to Bedard
Goodall broke in with Seattle at just 14, younger than ‘exceptional status’ star
WHL icon Glen Goodall doesn’t know Connor Bedard personally, but he does have an idea of what awaits the young phenom in his rookie season with the Regina Pats.
Goodall was just 14 when he debuted with the Seattle Breakers (now Thunderbirds) in 1984-85 — before rules were adopted to restrict the use of underage players.
Goodall reflected upon that time this spring after hearing about a hotshot prospect who was a “no-brainer” to be selected first overall by Regina in the 2020 bantam draft.
Bedard is the first WHL player to be granted exceptional status by Hockey Canada, making him eligible for full-time duty as a 15-yearold. He had to go through a lengthy vetting process to determine if he was physically and mentally prepared for the major-junior level.
“First of all, he must be something special if he’s the first one,” Goodall, 50, said from Red Deer. “For them to take that much care to make the decision … I think that’s fantastic. At the end of the day they care about the player and that he’s safe and he can handle it and it’s not going to be detrimental to him.”
Looking back, Goodall has no regrets about his own decision to play at age 14. He also doesn’t recall being concerned about the dangers of competing against bigger, stronger, faster guys up to six years older.
“For lack of a better word, I was too stupid to realize what I was doing,” Goodall said with a laugh.
“We didn’t have a very good team in Seattle standings-wise, but we were one of the toughest teams for sure. I had some wingers that were looking after me. You don’t realize it at the time. You’re just going out and playing. When I was 14, that was kind of easy because there’s not a whole lot expected of you.”
Goodall played 59 games as a rookie, finishing with five goals and 26 points. His “biggest challenge” came the next season, when he notched 13 goals and 41 points in 65 games.
“In my second year, I got a little complacent, probably,” he said. “All of a sudden I’m coming back and I’m a veteran at 15 and I’m thinking everything is going to be great and I’m going to walk in here and light it up. But it didn’t go great. (Eventually) I was like, ‘OK, I have to work for this.’ Then I came back as a 16-year-old and that was my breakout year.”
Goodall had 63 goals and 112 points in 68 games at age 16. It was the first of four straight years with over 50 goals and 100 points, culminating in his final season at age 19 when he finished with career highs of 76 goals and 163 points in 67 games.
The Detroit Red Wings selected him in the 10th round of the 1988 NHL draft and he went on to play 19 seasons as a pro, mostly in Europe.
“I played until I was 40,” Goodall said. “I look back at many games where I was going, ‘Oh, geez, I don’t want to play against this guy tonight.’ It wasn’t like that (as a youngster in the WHL). I just went out and played. I wasn’t big. I was probably 5-8 and 140 pounds at that time. It was a different league back then, too. It was a tough league back then. It was a dirtier game.”
It’s also a different game today from a business standpoint.
“(Bedard) has an agent at 15,” Goodall said. “I didn’t even know what an agent was until I was 17 and the draft was coming up. He has so many people that are looking out for him, which is great.
“For me looking back, there’s not a whole lot I’d do differently. One thing I did well is I didn’t put a whole lot of pressure on myself my first year. (It’s important to) enjoy the moment. I hope (Bedard) doesn’t put too much pressure on himself and just goes out and plays and has fun. His career is not going to be determined his first year in the WHL. But I’m sure he has a great career ahead of him.”
For lack of a better word, I was too stupid to realize what I was doing (as a 14-year-old rookie).