"Hopefully know more tomorrow": Bedard suffers injury after taking high hit

Rookie sensation Connor Bedard will be forced to miss some time.

The Chicago Blackhawks forward was injured early in last night’s contest versus the New Jersey Devils, as he took an unexpected hit from defenceman Brendan Smith that forced him to head down the tunnel.

Connor Bedard went to the locker room following this hit from Brendan Smith. pic.twitter.com/OUZyKCBCRx

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 6, 2024

Bedard was dancing up ice before being met unexpectedly by Smith. The 18-year-old fell to his knees while grabbing at his jaw area. Despite being able to get up under his own power, he headed immediately to the Blackhawks bench.

“Just didn’t return to the game. We’re going to get everybody home and obviously checked out at home, see if there’s anything further.” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said postgame. “Hopefully, we’ll know more tomorrow. We’ll have to have a practice probably tomorrow because of [the] afternoon game the following day.

“I didn’t really see [the hit] too many times yet. I just saw it quick on the bench. I don’t know if it was dirty. 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 [Smith] stepped up on him, I think he just kind of stopped, and Connor kind of ran headfirst into him. I don’t think it was intent to hit or anything, I think he was just playing hard on the blue line and trying to keep the puck out on the penalty kill.”

It has since been confirmed that Bedard has been placed on injured reserve with a fractured jaw. Richardson wasn’t sure on an exact timeline, but it appears that the young sensation will miss a good chunk of time. This is obviously an extremely disappointing development, as Bedard has come as advertised through his first 39 career NHL games, scoring 15 goals and 33 points.

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