[7] Bedard was born on July 17, 2005, and grew up in North Vancouver, British Columbia, with his parents, Tom and Melanie, and sister Madi.

[5] While playing with this school's U15 and U18 teams, Bedard led the league in goals and points and was named most valuable player both years.

When asked about the food in his fridge he stated that eats foods like beef, chicken, fish, potatoes and vegetables[14] In March 2020, Bedard was granted exceptional player status by Hockey Canada, allowing him to enter the major junior-level Canadian Hockey League component leagues a year early.

[18][19] In September 2020, Bedard was loaned to the HV71 junior hockey system in Sweden, where he could play while the WHL season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[32] While Bedard's status as an audience draw was already apparent earlier in the season, this effect ramped up noticeably following his return from the 2023 World Junior Championships, which had significantly elevated his national profile.

The Pats played a nationally televised game against the Hitmen in the Saddledome, the home of the NHL's Calgary Flames.

[33][34] The Saddledome's upper seating was made available for the occasion, resulting in a near-record WHL attendance of 17,223 when the Hitmen's seasonal average was only 3500.

[35][36][33] Bedard finished the regular season with 71 goals and 72 assists in 57 games, winning the Bob Clarke Trophy as the WHL's leading scoring.

[41] Bedard attracted considerable interest as a future high selection in the National Hockey League draft from an early age, speculation that was accelerated by his being granted exceptional status to play in the WHL.

Following their dueling appearances on their respective countries' national teams at the 2021 IIHF World U18 Championships and the abortive initial edition of the 2022 World Junior Championships, many in the media suggested a career rivalry between them comparable to that between Russian 2004 first overall pick Alexander Ovechkin and Canadian 2005 first overall pick Sidney Crosby.

[42][43][44] However, following Michkov's signing of a multi-year contract extension with his KHL club SKA Saint Petersburg, as well as geopolitical uncertainties resultant from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was widely presumed that Bedard would be picked first in the draft.

[24][45][46] Entering his draft year as the consensus choice to be taken first overall, much of the debate around Bedard's future concerned whether he warranted being considered a "generational" talent, comparable to Crosby, Ovechkin and Connor McDavid.

[46][47][48] A number of NHL teams, notably the Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes, were said to be openly tanking the 2022–23 season in the hopes of obtaining favourable odds in the draft lottery.

[53] ESPN remarked that fans of "potential lottery teams have adopted some variation of 'Fail/Tank/Lose Hard for Bedard' as a 2022–23 battle cry.

He would have been the youngest All-Star in NHL history;[65] however, the following day, he sustained a broken jaw after a check from New Jersey Devils defenceman Brendan Smith, and was placed on injured reserve for six-to-eight weeks after undergoing surgery.

[66][67] Due to the injury, he was excluded from the All-Star Game rosters,[68] but managed to appear in the "One-Timers" skills competition, serving pucks to Mathew Barzal, Nathan MacKinnon and David Pastrňák.

[70] On March 12, Bedard put up a career-high of five points, with a goal and four assists to lead the Blackhawks to a 7–2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

[80] Later in the summer, at the revived World Junior Championships, Bedard again played for Canada, attracting considerable attention for his shot.

[89] Bedard was named the championships' best forward and most valuable player by the IIHF directorate, as well as to the media all-star team.

[7] Following the end of the 2023–24 NHL season, with the Blackhawks not qualifying for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, Bedard accepted an invitation to make his debut with the senior national team at the 2024 IIHF World Championship.