Shark Tales: Louis Bedard December, 1996

by Jean Sawyers

That was that in the sky? A bird, a plane, Superman? Mais non, it was a fiery comet from Montreal, streaking through the sky to help light the flame of victory for the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks! This is the tale of that French Canadian dynamo, rookie Louis Bedard.

Louis plays with all the fire and passion of his heritage and has gained a reputation in the league as a tough, hard-hitting player who will not take abuse from anyone. He wants it very clearly understood that he is not a "goon" and would never deliberately try to injure another player. He will defend his teammates and will drop the gloves when attacked, but feels that his real role is to create scoring opportunities with his grinding style of play. He hopes to fine-tune his goal scoring abilities this season also. Its amazing that this on-ice tough guy is so kind and patient with all of the little kid fans who -hound him constantly for autographs.

He attended Edouard Montpetit High School and played with the Sherbrooke Falcons, the Beauport Harfangs and severeral others of the Quebec League. He attended the Ottawa Senators camp in 1994, and also the Utah Grizzlies camp this Fall. His dream, of course, is to play one day for the Montreal Canadiens, although his favorite NHL players are Wendell Clark and Ty Domi of the Toronto Maple Leafs. To him, the Habs are tops, but he also likes the Boston Bruins.

He has been accepted into McGill University and says that if his career does not take off and allow him to progress upward in the next two years, he will return to college to get a degree in Psychology. Very serious about education, Louis seems to have a well thought-out plan for his life.

When we spoke at the Fin-Atics' Christmas party at the Mill, he was looking forward to having his parents come down here for Christmas (even if he can't seem to find the Christmas spirit in this climate.) His folks will have the opportunity to attend a Tiger Sharks game during the visit. I hope they will understand that when the fans chant "Loo-ee", he is not being booed, but given an affectionate salute. He said he gets a big charge out of it.

He has a twinkle in his eyes and a big grin when he talks about his favorite things such as Italian food, alternative rock, and playing an occasional game of tennis with Garry Gruber. He loves movies, preferring comedies and police thrillers.

He was excited about going to the beach in Pensacola recently and having the opportunity to go boating as well. I told him that Wakulla Springs was a good place to get up close and personal with alligators so he thought he might like to take his parents there. Louis is a welcome addition to Tallahassee and we wish him the best!