Blackhawks' Connor Bedard has surgery on fractured jaw. How does that affect rookie race?
The Chicago Blackhawks announced Wednesday that star rookie Connor Bedard had jaw surgery and will be out six to eight weeks.
Bedard was injured on Friday against the New Jersey Devils. He was skating between two New Jersey players midway through the first period when 6-foot-2 Devils defenseman Brendan Smith checked the 5-10 center. Bedard left the ice while rubbing his jaw and the team announced the following day that he had a fractured jaw.
He was placed on the injured list, along with forward Nick Foligno, who suffered a fractured finger during a later fight with Smith.
How the Bedard injury timeline affects him and the NHL rookie race:
Connor Bedard will miss the NHL All-Star Game
Bedard, 18, the top pick in the 2023 NHL draft, was named as the Blackhawks' All-Star representative the day before his injury. He would have been the youngest All-Star in NHL history. The All-Star weekend in Toronto is Feb. 1-3 and the injury timeline would have him out until late February or early March.
How does the Connor Bedard injury affect the rookie race?
Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid, like Bedard a generational prospect and No. 1 overall pick, was limited to 45 games as a rookie in 2015-16 because of a broken clavicle and finished third in the Calder Trophy voting behind Artemi Panarin and Shayne Gostisbehere.
Bedard still leads rookies in the scoring race with 15 goals, 18 assists and 33 points. He already has missed two games. Six weeks would cost him another 15 games and eight weeks would bring that total to 22 games. Assuming he misses the full 24 games and is healthy the rest of the season, he'd end up playing 58 games.
Here are some players who could pass Bedard in the rookie race:
Luke Hughes, New Jersey Devils: The defenseman is averaging more than 20 minutes a game as the Devils deal with an injury to Dougie Hamilton. He's 10 points behind Bedard and plays on the league's No. 3 ranked power play. Like Bedard, he has had some highlight-reel plays.
Adam Fantilli, Columbus Blue Jackets: The 2023 No. 3 overall draft pick has filled in as Columbus' top center in the absence of captain Boone Jenner and had 13 points in 14 games in December. Jenner should return later this month, but Fantilli has shown himself to be an elite rookie.
Marco Rossi, Minnesota Wild: The forward is three goals and nine points behind Bedard. He has 12 points in his last 18 games.
Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes: The goaltender has assumed the No. 1 role with Frederik Andersen out and has gone 11-4-3 since his November recall.
