Bedard placed on injured reserve by Blackhawks with fractured jaw

Connor Bedard was placed on injured reserve by the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday with a fractured jaw.

Coach Luke Richardson said there’s no timeline yet for the 18-year-old center’s return.

“It’s just so fresh today this morning to get our people to look at him and make decisions going forward,” Richardson said. “So we just have to do what we’ve been doing, scrambling our lineup together and mixing up the chemistry. As soon as we seem to find a little something, someone goes down.”

Bedard sustained the injury at 10:42 of the first period of a 4-2 loss at the New Jersey Devils on Friday after taking a hit from defenseman Brendan Smith. Bedard crossed into the offensive zone and was checked by Smith in the slot. He left the ice with his hand at his mouth.

“It's horrible,” Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato said. “He's a kid that loves being around the rink, being around the game. Take that away from him, I'm sure is a big blow to him and to us.

“It's definitely hard to wrap our heads around. It's so fresh still for us to realize what's going on, but we hope the best for him and hopefully we can keep the guys positive.”

Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, leads Chicago and all rookies in scoring with 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) in 39 games. He was named to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game on Thursday.

“I think, once (the injury) settles a little bit he’ll be able to skate shortly. He just won’t be able to be in practice, but he’ll be able to be on the ice,” Richardson said of Bedard. “That’ll be good for him because it’ll get a lot of that restless energy that he’s going to have (out) ... He likes to be with the team, likes to be on the ice. It’s a blow and he’s young. He’s going to need his teammates and his family more than ever to support him and comfort him.”

Chicago's loss to New Jersey was the finale of a five-game road trip (0-4-1), during which it also lost forwards Taylor Raddysh (groin), Tyler Johnson (foot) and Anthony Beauvillier (wrist) to injury.

“I think last year was difficult, we thought. Seems like nothing compared to this now,” Richardson said of the injury situation. “I mean, you can’t really pin it. It’s not one thing or little chronic things or things from over-fatigue or things that have kind of been overworked or anything. They’re big.

“'Rads' is probably the one hockey injury that’s normal, the groin injury. Everything else is substantial and time. It’s not a week. It’s weeks and more. So that makes it more challenging and difficult.”

Forward Nick Foligno was also placed on injured reserve on Saturday with a fractured left finger. He did not play in the third period on Friday after he fought Smith at 5:04 of the second.

“I mean, Connor was just really upset last night,” forward Jason Dickinson said. “That's pretty much all I talked to him about was just staying positive and being OK with where he's at.

“Nick, also just extremely frustrated and rattled that it happened because he's -- I don't know how many fights he's been in this year, but of course, it's this one that he goes and gets hurt. He's tough, so I don't think it'll hold him out very long. As soon as he's strong enough to hold a stick, I'm sure he'll be out there with us.”

Chicago acquired forward Rem Pitlick in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on Saturday. The 26-year-old has 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in 32 games this season for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. He also has 54 points (21 goals, 33 assists) in 123 NHL games with the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild and Montreal Canadiens.

The Blackhawks also claimed forward Zach Sanford off waivers from the Arizona Coyotes. He had an assist in 13:42 of ice time in his debut Sunday, helping the Blackhawks (12-26-2) to a 4-3 win against the Calgary Flames.

NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers and independent correspondent Bruce Miles contributed to this report