Official Bedard injury update, good news for Foligno

The Chicago Blackhawks placed Connor Bedard on injured reserve this morning, retroactive to Dec. 12. Head coach Jeff Blashill said the star forward will be reevaluated after the New Year, and they’ll take it from there. He would not get into specifics about the upper-body injury, as they are still very early in the healing process. The bottom line is they will see how rehab goes over the next two weeks and then see where he’s at. It’s not a concrete update, but it is far from a worst-case scenario.

“Honestly, his attitude’s good,” Blashill said of Bedard. “I think he wants to be back next week. That’s kind of the approach that he takes. He wants to be back. He would’ve preferred I’d said day to day, but out of fairness to all of you, the reality is we won’t let him do that before or after the New Year.”

Blashill added that he trusts Bedard as far as knowing his body and when it is a good time to start working his way back onto the ice.

No Ill Will After Injury.

Bedard injured his right shoulder on the final faceoff against the St. Louis Blues on Friday. While many fans were upset immediately after the play, it wasn’t a dirty hit. It’s the type of play that happens all the time, especially in that situation.

After the game, Blashill called the play a “freak accident.” CHSN analyst Darren Pang revealed that Blues captain Brayden Schenn reached out to Beard after the game. That doesn’t mean there won’t be a receipt cashed in when St. Louis is in town on Jan. 7, but it shows there was no intent to injure on the play.

“When you look at the faceoff, you can tell that it happened prior to the push,” Blashill said today. “It was unfortunate, but it had nothing to do with Brayden pushing. That’s just a natural reaction to a faceoff. Brayden’s a super quality guy. There was no ill intent at all.”

Del Mastro & Brossoit Recalled, Foligno Progressing

In corresponding moves this morning, the Blackhawks recalled defenseman Ethan Del Mastro and goaltender Laurent Brossoit. Bringing up a seventh defenseman makes sense for the three-game road trip. Del Mastro played on opening night against the Florida Panthers before heading back to the Rockford IceHogs. Blashill was unsure if he would play tomorrow against the Toronto Maple Leafs

“I know he’s a good defenseman,’ he said. “I know he’s capable of helping us, if needed. So, we’ll see how it goes.”

Brossoit will be placed on waivers this afternoon. If/when he clears, he’ll return to the IceHogs so he can keep playing. I thought he might get a start or two with the Blackhawks to showcase him to the league. It’s not like Arvid Soderblom has been lighting things up lately. But that doesn’t appear to be in the cards right now.

Captain Nick Foligno skated again on his own today, and he will join the team on the three-game Canadian road trip. Blashill ruled him out for the first game in Toronto, but said he could return to the lineup at some point during the trip. The Blackhawks play the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday and the Ottawa Senators on Saturday before returning home.