Other big-name Blackhawks, including Taylor Hall and Seth Jones, also won't make trip to St. Louis on Saturday.
One goal. Four assists. A team-leading five points and 16 shots in four games. About 20 minutes of ice time per contest.
This Connor Bedard move didn't work...To top it off, a theatrical miss on a shootout attempt against Minnesota on Thursday night . No, those junior hockey moves — even from the runaway CHL Player of the Year — might not work against the likes of Wild goalie Marc-André Fleury. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zlXfMXHd3I
Let's call it a first preseason for Connor Bedard.
The Blackhawks rookie center won't play in Chicago's sixth and final exhibition game on Saturday against the Blues in St. Louis.
There's little question Bedard is going to, on balance, do just fine for the Blackhawks this season. But the NHL's top draft pick of 2023 faces a learning curve, says coach Luke Richardson, even if he'll probably be a quick study. See the video below:
Also sitting out on Saturday are veterans Taylor Hall, Seth Jones, Corey Perry, Tyler Johnson and Connor Murphy.
Other Blackhawks on the Bubble
Saturday's game will offer a chance for some young Chicago players to make their case for a roster spot, while others tune up. Richardson said he'll tell players on Saturday night or Sunday if they'll start the season with the Blackhawks or be sent down to AHL Rockford or their junior teams.
Richardson wants to give 6-foot-4, 200-pound forward Colton Dach a closer look after Dach sat out Thursday with an undisclosed injury (maintenance). The 20-year-old can shoot, play physically and may be the closest thing the Blackhawks have to a potential power forward.
Dach is slated to skate on Saturday's "top-line" with center Lukas Reichel and Andreas Athanasiou, who returns after an illness.
Ranked in the Blackhawks top 10 prospects by our THN scouting panel, Chicago drafted Dach, the younger brother of Montréal's Kirby, in the second round (62nd overall) in 2021.
Other storylines for Saturday:
- Mobile young defensemen Kevin Korchinksi and Wyatt Kaiser might nail down roster spots, if they haven't already. In terms of pure hockey skills and skating, the 19-year-old Korchinski, Chicago's top D-Man prospect, is ready for the NHL.
- Rearguards Alex Vlasic and Isaak Phillips also are vying to make the team. Richardson wouldn't commit to a number of defensemen and forwards he wants to take to the regular-season opener in Pittsburgh on Oct. 10 or carry regularly.
- A battle for the bottom forward slots. In the mix: Cole Guttman, MacKenzie Entwistle, Reese Johnson, Boris Katchouk and Joey Anderson.
- Reichel, Chicago's no No. 2 forward prospect behind Bedard, has been all-but anointed the team's second-line center. But the 20-year-old German doesn't have a point in the first four preseason games.