One of sports' strangest viral rumors was shot down by Chicago Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson on Wednesday. NHL star Connor Bedard's mother, Melanie, had nothing to do with 38-year-old Corey Perry's dismissal from the team: "This does not involve any player or their families, and anyone that suggests otherwise is wildly inaccurate and it's frankly disgusting."
Perry was placed on waivers by the Blackhawks with immediate effect due to "disturbing, unacceptable behaviour". Further reports now indicate a "alcohol-fuelled incident" was actually to blame. But who is Melanie Bedard and why was the mother of the 2023 NHL's number one pick in the headlines to begin with?
The Corey Perry scandal has led to Connor Bedard's mother deactivating her Instagram account, likely to escape people leaving comments on her feed.
A screenshot of a supposed text conversation made the rounds online claiming a TSN reporter shared that Corey Perry had relations with Melanie Bedard on a "mother's trip", which led to the player being cut by Chicago.
Charlie Roumeliotis, beat reporter for the Blackhawks addressed the baseless rumor: "The circulating rumor about Corey Perry is completely untrue. Carry on, everyone".
Who is Connor Bedard's mother, Melanie?
On July 17, 2005, Tom Bedard and Melanie Bedard gave birth to Connor in North Vancouver, Canada. Ever since, Melanie has been the ultimate 'hockey mom'.
The Blackhawks' centre has a very tight-knit relationship with his mother, who made the sacrifice of relocating just to benefit his hockey career. When Connor was drafted first overall by the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League back in 2020, she moved to Regina, Canada, while her husband and daughter remained over 1,000 miles away at the family's home in North Vancouver.
In a rare interview with NHL.com, she shared parts of that journey: "We had agents calling us when he was 10 years old, and we thought there must be something they see but we just always knew he was crazy about hockey."
"I'm so proud of Connor, especially when he's wearing that Canada jersey because we've watched that tournament since he was a baby and when he was growing up," she shared.
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