The worst is confirmed for Connor Bedard!

This isn’t good news for the Chicago Blackhawks and star rookie Connor Bedard.

After a brutal hit at the hands of New Jersey Devils’ Brendan Smith in the first period, Bedard will miss the remainder of the game. The Blackhawks have just announced at the start of the second frame that Bedard will not return to tonight’s game, but did not disclose the injury.

In the first period, Smith delivered a high hit as Bedard entered the offensive zone on the power-play. As soon as he fell to the ice, the first overall pick clutched his face, got up and skated, on his own, to his team’s bench and then headed straight to the dressing room with a medical trainer.

The hit sparked an immediate scrum with Blackhawks’ teammates Nick Foligno and Philipp Kurashev going after Smith, sparking a huge brawl.

On the play, a double minor for roughing was handed out to Foligno and Smith had a single minor in return.

The injury has not been disclosed by the team, though fans are worried about a concussion. Losing Bedard long-term would be a huge blow to the Hawks as he has been Chicago's most important player this season even as a rookie as he leads the team both in goals and points. He has recorded 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) in 39 games. He was named to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game on Thursday and his new health status could put that in jeopardy. 

In that second period, as soon as it was confirmed that Bedard would not return, Foligno dropped the gloves with Smith to teach him a lesson.

This is why you love a guy like Foligno on your team:

Let's hope we get more information over the weekend on Bedard's status and how long he could be out of action. 

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