Blackhawks Connor Bedard Keeps Increasing Skating and Practice Time

There's just no keeping the 18-year-old Bedard off the ice as he mends from a broken jaw. The NHL rookie scoring leader's six-to-eight week recovery timeline hasn't changed, however.

Connor Bedard still hasn't been cleared to take a slap shot, let alone take a hit.

The NHL's leading rookie scorer isn't even allowed to go full-blast on an exercise bike, says Chicago Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson. The 18-year-old simply shouldn't clench or abruptly move his fractured jaw.

But Bedard has been picking up the pace with more skating, stick handling and wrist shots over the past week at the Blackhawks training facility on the Chicago's West Side.

Bedard was tooling around on the ice at the Fifth Third Arena before the team's full practice on Sunday morning. He returned to participate in some non-contact passing and shooting drills.

Then Bedard skated and shot around with Sam Savoie, a prospect who's recovering from a wicked right thighbone break in suffered in training camp. Finally Bedard, the NHL's top draft pick of 2023, was chased off the rink by the Zamboni, which needed to resurface the ice before so two scrappy squirt-aged teams could play.

No. Bedard didn't join them.

"It's great to see that's he's feeling great," said forward Nick Foligno, who returned to the Blackhawks full practice on Sunday as he recovers from a broken finger on his left hand. "He was laughing today when he went out, got kicked off, go back out for goalies and got kicked off and he's going back out now again.

"He's 18 years old," Foligno added. "What else are you going to do in your day? He can't do anything else. There's no responsibilities other than playing hockey. So I don't blame him and it's only going to benefit us."

Foligno jokes about the challenges in keeping Bedard off the ice in the following video.

Bedard won't travel with the Blackhawks on their four-game trip that leads into the NHL's All-Star break. There's no adjustment to his projected six-to-eight week recovery schedule from the fractured jaw he suffered on an open-ice hit from Devils defenseman Brendan Smith on Jan. 5 in New Jersey.

"You can't be maxing out on weights and stressing the facial muscles and stuff like that," Richardson said. "The trainer said he's been a pain in the butt. That's good right? You want people that are striving to get back.

"I was surprised he came back out for the end of practice today, but you know that's more skill stuff and that's what he can do right now. The more time on the ice for him, it will help him when he does get to the point where he graduates to join the team. He'll be ahead to the curve, so that's good."

Foligno, who broke his finger fighting Smith following the hit on Bedard, was traveling with the Blackhawks as they left for Vancouver on Sunday. He probably will be in the lineup when Chicago takes on the Canucks on Monday and play for the first time since signing a two-year contract extension on Jan. 12.

Also back for Chicago is forward Ryan Donato, who is recovering from the flu.

Richardson said defenseman Connor Murphy (lower body) and forward Tyler Johnson (right foot) probably will join the team during its trip to Vancouver, Seattle, Edmonton and Calgary.