CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks rookie center Connor Bedard was expected to return to the ice on Thursday night after missing nearly six weeks with a broken jaw, coach Luke Richardson said before the team’s game against Pittsburgh.
Bedard, considered the favorite for the NHL’s rookie of the year award before his injury, has missed 14 games since breaking his jaw in a collision with New Jersey defenseman Brendan Smith on Jan. 5.
He has practiced with the team in recent days but hadn’t been in any contact drills until Thursday morning, when he skated with the team’s spare players, a day after doctors cleared him.
“We had to put him though the next step this morning, a little bit of battle,” Richardson said. “As always, he was ready to come back, but we wanted to talk to him about protecting himself a little bit out there. We put him through some paces and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m comfortable.’ He looked like himself.”
Bedard’s return wasn’t expected until next week at the earliest. The Blackhawks said Monday that Bedard would need one more examination by doctors next week, but that schedule was accelerated going into Thursday’s game against the Penguins.
Bedard, the first pick in last summer’s NHL draft, had surgery on Jan. 8, was skating alone on Jan. 15, and rejoined his teammates for non-contact practice on Feb. 6, four days after a surprise cameo appearance as a passer in the NHL’s All-Star Skills competition.
Even after nearly six weeks on the sidelines, Bedard still leads the Blackhawks in scoring with 33 points and is tied with Minnesota’s Brock Faber for the NHL’s rookie points lead entering Thursday’s game.
The original timetable for his return was from six to eight weeks.
“We’re excited,” Richardson said. “But we can’t think we can stop skating and he’ll score all the goals.”
The Blackhawks, worst in the NHL with 31 points in 53 games (14-36-3), are 3-10-1 and have been shut out four times in the 14 games Bedard missed.
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