“Truly An Out Of Body Experience” | David Bedkowski After Being Drafted | Buffalo Sabres

“Truly An Out Of Body Experience” | David Bedkowski After Being Drafted | Buffalo Sabres

hi David congratulations um just can you explain like what you’re feeling right now and can you just explain the the type of player you are yeah I mean with the first part of your question is just surreal i mean like I’m sitting in front of a mirror here and just looking at myself like with these colors the blue and gold like um it’s it’s truly like an outer body experience for me um I’m super excited to be going Buffalo i had a great time there the past week uh making connections there um the couple staff I’ve met here have been have been awesome and um I mean I’m just super excited to come to Buffalo and obviously making the playoffs is the first priority for me and then onward from there and um you know I am what my play style is i’m a heart and soul guy you know loyal to the soil um you know just compete is is the name of the game for me sacrificing blocking shots whatever it is whatever it takes and um yeah moving into my play style that’s what I am as a big physical hard defenseman um you know shutting down the opposition opposing teams top forwards um you know trying to get back on pucks transport pucks efficiently and any offense for me is is really just a bonus
sorry did you say you were in Buffalo this past week uh a few weeks ago for the
Oh for the combine okay
okay thank you congratulations
thank you thanks Bill hey David rachel Lindsay from the Buffalo News again you describe yourself and you’ve been tabbed as a physical defenseman but
why is that aspect of your game important and how did you develop that for me it’s about finding identity um within the Ontario Hockey League i came in you know young kid i was 15 and you know I was really soft like that wasn’t really part of my game at all the you know physicality and um we had a pro coach Derek Laxall who was there for two years and now he’s back uh coaching with the Krakens farm team
but he was just insistent and then just instilled it for me and you know I fought it for a long time but just over my time in the league developing that and finding an identity and a role that could earn me minutes and you know that physical play has has got me to where I am and you know it earns respect for not only me on the ice but for my teammates as well so for me it was about building an identity thank you thanks Rachel hi David uh Joe with Bleacher Report uh congratulations uh this is very cool for you um
thank you
wanted to wanted to know uh what’s your familiarity familiarity with the Sabres and what what do you think of the the decor that they’ve got there now and they’ve added to it today but what what were your thoughts watching them you know before getting drafted by them yeah I’ve I’ve never been to a game um I live close i live in Toronto so obviously traffic depending it’s you know you never know how long it’s going to take to get there but it’s not far geographically speaking um I know past 14 years have been a lot of struggle you know a lot of hard times and I know the fans you know a lot of the fans have stuck with it throughout that that whole time period and um you know a team that’s really looking forward to the future and just trying to um you know take steps for forward and um you know it’s a blueco collar city you know it’s there’s a lot of rich history within the city you know I believe it was steel or we you know those were the industries there and so like I said a blue collar city and I’m sure the fans will appreciate my game um probably very similar to what it is in Owenstown you know a smaller market um you know going to draw from from smaller cities out of town and I’m just I’m just super excited and um couldn’t have scripted it any better really you know with um you know Greg and and hearing his story and for him to announce the pick it it was awesome
you’ve done your homework uh I’m curious what you think of the the challenge that presents given the the 14 years and whatnot i know it’ll be a couple of years before you’re here but when when you get picked by them and you see that what what are your thoughts about that
i absolutely love it um you know I love that challenge and you know nothing lasts forever so you know we’re it’s bound to happen eventually and sorry I forgot to you know touch on the decor that you asked about but obviously it’s a young decore um you know a lot of high-end picks two first overall picks on the back end i’m not even sure if any other team has that right so um and then obviously the first round of this year as well Murka you know good young player um so it’s a it’s a team that’s going to be building and only going to be getting better and you know maybe getting rid of some of the guys who um you know maybe don’t want to be there and just keeping those guys like Ta Thompson um you know those young players those young skilled players and just building towards the future and I’m just so grateful to you know be a part of that
thanks so much David appreciate it
thanks hi David congratulations Matt Fairburn from the Athletic here um curious you fought a few times this year and what that part of your game means just as a teammate um you know to to stick up for guys and maybe pick your spots with fighting um you know obviously it’s not as big a part of the game in junior as it used to be but but what is that part of your game like yeah there’s a lot of um there’s a lot of restrictions around it certainly in junior hockey um and also dealing with two uh injuries this year broken hand and broken wrist so only played half the season and still within that you know I fought five times this past year and it’s something I’m continuing to get better at and and get comfortable with and working on that um and it’s goes back to you know developing that physical side of the game if you’re a big physical defense you’re going to have to be able to fight and I really don’t think there’s anything more courageous admirable you can do um in the eyes of a teammate or coach than to you know to fight and um you know risk losing a tooth or whatever it may be risk getting hurt you know for your team um it’s a part of the game that’s never going to go away and um something that I’m going to have to do and I’m going to you know be proud of and continue to get better at and who did you have with you this week um out there in Los Angeles and and what was the week like
yeah I’ve got a really small uh immediate family so it was it was really just me my mom my dad um and my dog couldn’t make it uh unfortunately uh but that’s really that’s really our household and um I’ve never been to LA before so getting here was you know the whole experience has just been surreal i’m sure that’s a word that comes up a lot this week and it’s true um you know it was it was funny for me i don’t know how many of you would know this but there’s a game called like Grand Theft Auto 5 and it’s the map’s like based on LA i see I see a head nod there from Joe um but um it’s Yeah it’s based on LA so it’s like have I been here before like I’m going seeing all these landmarks and it’s like just the same as the video game and so that was an amazing experience for sure and then obviously the end of this draft to share the moment with my parents who have just those are the two people that have been there the whole way um throughout my entire journey and supported me no matter what and um you know see you know my dad you know tearing up but count on one hand amount of time seeing me cry so um just to see how much it means to them was was awesome
awesome enjoy it
thank you hi David Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News here
tell me first about you got a lesson in the business of hockey what was the trade like and just knowing how big a deal it was given it was a firstrounder absolutely and like your words a lesson in the business and that’s what it was and you know really shifting my perspective and um you know it’s a hard thing to say but it really is a business and you are an asset you were a commodity and um you know it’s kind of made me um you know harder and more businessoriented in in my approach and um obviously you can’t fully do that you know for me I’m a loyalty guy so that’s kind of um that’s kind of where wires cross there when it you’re going with it from being a a guy that’s loyal and would do anything for your team and then all of a sudden you’re getting traded and um it was a it was a strange experience for sure and I’ve talked about it a lot drafting interviews this year and uh going into the season had no idea I was going to be traded um from Ashua and then you know started hearing those rumors online and um re being reached out to by know friends around the league and then um you know finally happened the weekend before that trade I you know I broke my wrist so it’s like what am I doing like why are they putting me in the lineup when they know this trade is imminent and um I’m doing everything for this team but you know on the on the other side on the flip side you’re going to an organization that you know has expressed interest in you and really wants you and going to Owens sound is so different from Ashawa uh going from a big market to a small market and I just loved absolutely everything about it and uh community was was so welcoming and I’m excited to go back and I think I I see a lot of simil similarities there uh between South and Buffalo when you’re talking about being a 6’5 guy and a physical guy tell me what’s it like to make a hit and make an impact on a game goal scorer always talk about goals what’s it like when you get the big hit
yeah i mean and goals feel great and I don’t know if it hits there but if it’s the same but it’s it’s right there and a big hit a big open ice hit it can you know change the change the course of the game change the shift the momentum and even those those small hits too that might not make the highlight reels but that’s going to wear down on players and um you know when I’m on the ice opposing forwards know you know it’s going to change their routes they’re not going to come through the middle of the ice with their head down and they’re going to know that I’m looking for a hit and you know I also have to learn to rein that in and that’s something I’m going to be working on through video and um practice and games and you know learning you know when to make those hits when not to but um it’s a great feeling for sure it’s a it’s an adrenaline rush and it gets you into the game
thank you
thanks Mike

Buffalo Sabres third round pick, David Bedkowski spoke to the media for the first time after being selected 71st overall in the 2025 NHL Draft. Bedkowski talked about his feelings after being drafted and what it means to he and his family. He also discussed what type of play style he will bring to the organization and what he plans to do to make an impact.

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