NHL prospect’s golf simulator mishap goes viral

As Owen Sound Attack players were enjoying a night at a golf simulator during their recent road trip, one them had a club mishap that has since gone viral.

Not all elite hockey players are elite golfers.

As Owen Sound Attack players were enjoying a night at a golf simulator during their recent road trip to North Bay, one them had a club mishap that has since gone viral.

Video released by The Clubhouse - Gateway Golf shows what was later revealed to be David Bedkowski, Owen Sound’s captain and a Buffalo Sabres prospect, losing his club during his swing, and accidentally launching it into the establishment’s kitchen.

Bedkowski and his teammates are then seen ducking for cover before bursting out in laughter. Another angle shows a staff member retrieving the club from the kitchen.

“The Owen Sound Attack came by to ‘iron out’ their swings with some team building… and one player went top shelf — into the kitchen,” said The Clubhouse - Gateway Golf in its social media post. “Nothing but laughs and good times with the boys.”

No injuries were reported in the incident.

Jill Dupuis, the establishment’s owner, recounted the incident from her staff’s point of view in a message to CTV News.

“It was honestly just a freak accident. Probably a mix of greasy fingers and bad timing. The club hit the wall, bounced, and ended up in the kitchen,” said Dupuis. “What really made it funny was the reaction from the players. They were in stitches. One guy had his shirt over his face laughing, another was crouched in the corner.”

The incident happened the day before the Attack game on Thanksgiving Monday against the North Bay Battalion. While Bedkowski failed on the simulated greens, he and his teammates succeeded on the ice, beating the Battalion 6-4.

But Bedkowski’s laughable moment has lived on, getting shared across multiple social media accounts – including BarDown, a CTV News Bell Media partner through TSN – and gaining more than a million views.

“I showed the coach the clip afterward, and the team couldn’t stop laughing,” continued Dupuis. “They asked if we’d be posting to clip and if they could have a copy. Of course we sent it to (Brandon Shaw, assistant coach) as well as the player involved.”

The Attack followed up Monday’s win with its fourth straight victory on Wednesday, defeating the Barrie Colts 6-0, before splitting back-to-back games against the Guelph Storm this weekend.

CTV News reached out to the Attack for additional comment. The team is off until its next game in Windsor on Friday against the Spitfires.

“We definitely didn’t expect it to take off like this. We sometimes share funny security clips when things happen around here, but this one clearly struck a chord,” concluded Dupuis. “It’s just one of those genuine, lighthearted moments and I think people are enjoying seeing that side of the sport.”