Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard had surgery to repair his fractured jaw and will be out six to eight weeks.
Bedard left in the first period of a 4-2 loss at the New Jersey Devils Jan. 5 after a hit by defenseman Brendan Smith.
Following his selection this week, Bedard was set to be the youngest player ever in the NHL All-Star Game at 18 years, 201 days, topping a record set by Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner (18 years, 259 days) in 2011. The All-Star Game is Feb. 3. But the new timeline on Bedard’s recovery likely puts him out of the game.
“I think they just are precautionary on a young guy having a trauma injury like that,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. “I mean if it’s earlier, great, but I think that’s probably a normal timeline for what they were thinking of what the procedure they did.”
During Bedard’s fourth shift of the Devils game, he skated over the Devils’ blue line during a Blackhawks power play. As he stick handled into the zone, he was met with a shoulder check from Smith. Bedard fell to the ice and immediately clutched his jaw. He left the game at 9:11 of the first period as Nick Foligno, Brett Seney and several teammates ignited a skirmish with Smith behind the Devils’ net.
Asked if he felt the hit was dirty, Chicago coach Luke Richardson said Friday night: “I think Connor was reaching for a puck and didn’t see him, because he was behind one of their players. I don’t think he stepped up on Connor. I think he kind of stopped and Connor ran headfirst into him. I don’t think there was intent [to injure]. I think he was just playing hard on the blue line and trying to keep the puck out on the penalty kill.”
Bedard, 18, leads NHL rookies in goals (15) and assists (18) in 39 games. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL draft also leads rookie forwards in average ice time (19:04).
Seth Jones, the team’s top defenseman, also is on IR with a shoulder injury. He hasn’t played since Dec. 10.
The 29-year-old Jones wasn’t ready to travel with the team for Thursday night’s game at Winnipeg, but he is skating again and nearing a return.
“Today was his first day with a practice other than a morning skate,” Richardson said. “He did a little bit of bumping today, but we didn’t have much bumping in practice so he’s going to stay back and do some more tomorrow, and then hopefully join us for a full practice on Friday and go from there.”
The Blackhawks’ long list of injured forwards also includes Foligno (fractured left finger), Anthony Beauvillier (left wrist), Tyler Johnson (right foot) and Andreas Athanasiou (groin). But Joey Anderson and Taylor Raddysh returned to the lineup for Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss to Edmonton.
Information from ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski and The Associated Press was used in this report.
