Connor Bedard returned to the ice last week after suffering a fractured jaw back on Jan. 5, but the young superstar is still a ways away from returning to game action.
The 18-year-old will miss at least another six weeks of NHL hockey, Chicago Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson confirmed on Monday.
“Even though he's wearing a bubble in practice, he can't exert yet,” Richardson explained, according to NHL.com's Kevin Woodley. “He's not supposed to clinch too hard and let the bones heal with the surgery they did, and even wearing the shield, that's going to bang into your chin, so that's only going to help when his bones are healed and that’s the timeline.”
Bedard back on the ice
Connor Bedard resumed skating less than a week ago, but was unable to suit up against his hometown team on Monday night. The Vancouver Canucks shut out the Hawks 2-0; Bedard's squad continues to struggle producing offense without him.
“He's devastated not to be here and playing, let alone just being here but he's on course on the recovery,” Richardson continued. “It's going to be probably at least six weeks. It's bone settling.”
Bedard suffered the broken jaw on a questionable check by New Jersey Devils D-man Brendan Smith in the opening stanza of a 4-2 Chicago loss. He left the ice covering his mouth and hasn't played since.
On Jan. 16, Bedard was back on the ice doing shooting drills while wearing a full face shield. The former No. 1 overall pick leads all NHL rookies in 2023-24, picking up a very impressive 15 goals and 33 points in his first 39 games as a professional hockey player.
Bedard was also named to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game in Toronto, but he'll almost certainly miss the festivities despite being the youngest All-Star in league history.
Still, Richardson is confident that Bedard will do everything he can to get back in the lineup as soon as possible.
“He's going to do whatever he can to get back earlier but that's a doctor's decision and when they do scans and X-rays to make sure that the bone is healed then that'll be the time to ramp up the on-ice stuff to get him ready,” the bench boss asserted. “He's an eager guy. He's going to do everything he can, so when he's ready to come back, he'll be ready to come back.”
Without the services of Connor Bedard, the Hawks are 3-4 and have fallen to 14-30-2 and last place in the Central Division. As the only things making this roster even remotely exciting, Chicago fans are itching for the young phenom to get back to business.
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