Connor Bedard Skating at Full Tilt, Blackhawks Anthony Beauvillier, Andreas Athanasiou also Back on the Ice

Bedard has plenty of zip, although the rookie has not yet been cleared for contact. Beauvillier and Athanasiou are coming along more slowly.

Blackhawks forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Andreas Athanasiou are back on the ice and apparently progressing from long-term injuries.

Just not as fast as Connor Bedard.

Both Beauvillier and Athanasiou joined Bedard in no-contact green jerseys on Monday before practice. But Beauvillier and Athanasiou left the rink once their teammates took the ice.

Bedard, however, was able to participate in skating, shooting and line-rush drills where he didn't bang into other players. The NHL's leading rookie scorer could be cleared for contact, then games, as early as next week after suffering a broken jaw on Jan. 5. See story in the link below.

Bedard was motoring and firing away in an up-tempo game-day skate on Tuesday before the Blackhawks hosted the NHL-leading Vancouver. 

The Canucks entered the contest with a league-best 76 points on a 35-12-6 record. They haven't been at the top of the standings this late in a season since 2012, when they won the second of back-to-back President's Trophies.

The depleted Blackhawks entered on a six-game losing streak (0-5-1) and last in the NHL at 14-35-3 and 31 points.

Beauvillier was hurt in Nashville on Jan. 2 on a hit by Filip Forsberg. Coach Luke Richardson said Beauvillier, acquired in a trade on Nov. 28 from Vancouver, was just progressing into stickhandling and light shooting. See video.

Beauvillier's return might still be a few weeks away.

The Blackhawks dealt for Beauvillier, the New York Islanders' first-round draft pick (28th overall) in 2015, on the same day they released veteran forward Corey Perry for violating team policies.

"So not taking hard passes and hard shots yet," Richardson said. "I think everything seems to be on course with him. It's just slow."

Richardson said he hopes Athanasiou will skate again this season, but has no timetable. One of only two 20-goal scorers from Chicago's 2022-23 team, the speedy forward has been sidelined since Nov. 9 at Tampa Bay.

Athanasiou signed a fresh two-year contract with the Blackhawks in June. See story in link below.

On Tuesday, the Blackhawks placed rugged defenseman Jarred Tinordi on injured reserve with a right groin strain. He joined fellow D-man Connor Murphy on IR, also with a groin injury.