Chicago Blackhawks rookie middle Connor Bedard will miss a minimum of one other six weeks of motion as a result of a fractured jaw sustained earlier this month.
Bedard, who was chosen with the primary general choose within the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, is broadly thought-about to be one of many biggest prospects of his technology.
The 18-year-old suffered the jaw harm when he was checked by New Jersey Devils defenseman Brendan Smith within the first interval of Chicago’s 4-2 defeat on the highway on January 5.
He left the ice together with his arms on his mouth and returned to gentle on January 16 final week, the place he was pictured skating and doing a little gentle taking pictures whereas sporting a full face defend.
An in depth-up of Connor Bedard and his face defend, working with Samuel Savoie after Blackhawks apply. pic.twitter.com/nrPARHhIzD
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) January 21, 2024
Coach Luke Richardson didn’t appear overly optimistic concerning Bedard’s probabilities of a close to return, telling reporters the choice on his availability down the road is within the arms of workforce medical doctors.
“It was 6-8 weeks in the beginning was what was stated so like I don’t know; you’re by no means going to know, however speak to me in a month,” he stated. “He’s not going to be the again by then. There’s no change; it’s the identical so I don’t know, six weeks from the beginning or from now, it’s nonetheless in between the timeline.
“He [isn’t] coming again subsequent week, which might be nice, nevertheless it’s not about him eager to or not. It’s simply in regards to the medical aspect of issues and the medical doctors will tell us when he’s prepared to return again.”
In line with NHL sportsbooks, Bedard is the odds-on favourite at a worth of -170 to win the Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Yr).
The teenager leads the Blackhawks in factors (33), targets (15) and assists (18) this yr – making a formidable impression like he was projected to do within the NHL.
