(Chicago) The Chicago Blackhawks have confirmed that rookie forward Connor Bedard suffered a broken jaw and his name has been placed on injured reserve.
Team officials announced the news in a brief press release posted on their website Saturday afternoon.
Incidentally, the Blackhawks also announced that they had placed forward Nick Foligno’s name on the injured list due to a broken finger on his left hand.
The Blackhawks did not specify the potential durations of the absences of their two attackers.
Bedard was injured midway through the first period of Friday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, which the Blackhawks lost 4-2.
As he had just entered opposing territory in possession of the puck, Bedard was hit hard by defender Brendan Smith.
After the contact, which sent him to the ice and for which Smith was not penalized, Bedard got up and walked towards his team’s bench, holding his face while Foligno, Brett Seney and other teammates started a skirmish behind the Devils net.
PHOTO ADAM HUNGER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Connor Bedard (98) was hit by Brendan Smith (2).
Foligno, one of Bedard’s mentors on the Blackhawks, left the game after getting into a fight with Smith in the second period.
Aged 18, Bedard wants to be the Blackhawks’ best player since the start of the season, and lives up to the expectations raised by his selection at the very top of last June’s draft in Nashville.
Prior to Saturday’s games, Bedard ranked first among all NHL rookies with 15 goals and 18 assists in 39 games.
Bedard was selected for the NHL All-Star Game on February 3 in Toronto, and the Blackhawks will play in his hometown of Vancouver on January 22.
Hit hard by injuries, the Blackhawks have lost five games in a row and seven of their last eight.
In their last 27 games, the Blackhawks are 6-19-2 under the direction of Luke Richardson, who is in his second campaign at the helm of the team.
The names of Bedard and Foligno are added to a long list of absentees for the Blackhawks, penultimate in the general NHL standings.
That list includes forwards Anthony Beauvillier (left wrist), Tyler Johnson (right foot), Taylor Raddysh (left groin strain), Joey Anderson (left shoulder) and Andreas Athanasiou (groin).
Veteran Taylor Hall will miss the remainder of the season due to right knee surgery in November.
Finally, Seth Jones, the team’s best defender, is also on the injured list with a shoulder injury. He hasn’t played since December 10.
In a desperate position to find reinforcement, the Blackhawks acquired Rem Pitlick from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday in exchange for a conditional seventh round pick in the 2026 draft. They also claimed forward Zach Sanford, placed on waivers by the Arizona Coyotes.
Aged 26, Pitlick has 21 goals and 33 assists in 123 NHL games with the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild and Montreal Canadiens. A third-round pick of the Predators in 2016, Pitlick spent the first part of the season in the American League. He has eight goals and 16 assists in 32 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Sanford, who has moved between the AHL and NHL this season, has 2 assists in 11 games with the Coyotes.