5 Players That Need To Step Up for the Chicago Blackhawks With Connor Bedard Out

The Chicago Blackhawks will be without their All-Star rookie Connor Bedard for an undetermined amount of time due to a fractured jaw.

Injuries have also sent unofficial captain Nick Foligno to injured reserve. The team also had to put Taylor Raddysh, Tyler Johnson, and Anthony Beauvillier on IR during the most recent five-game road trip. The Blackhawks have also been without forwards Joey Anderson and Andreas Athanasiou since mid-December.

All these injuries have made winning nearly impossible. That means another season of monitoring Tankathon.com/NHL daily to see what the Blackhawks' draft lottery odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick are.

There is still a lot of season to go so while rooting for another tank should be the fans' focus, the team on the ice still needs to do everything they can to win even without their top scorer.

They will need these five players to step up while Bedard is out...

Jason Dickinson

He is the only other player on the Hawks with double-digit goals. Dickinson is having a career season in the scoring debut with 13 goals. The Blackhawks are going to need more from him if they hope to win some games while Bedard is out.

Philipp Kurashev

He is the only forward other than Bedard on the Hawks with double-digit assists. The Hawks are going to need his consistent playmaking ability to generate offense. They could also use him to score more goals.

Lukas Reichel

He was the Blackhawks' top prospect before Bedard arrived. Reichel has played like he has been a forgotten cornerstone piece. He has a chance to show he is still a future foundation piece.

Colin Blackwell

He has been on a scoring tear since returning from an injury that kept him out of the lineup since last February. He is normally a scrappy forward, but he can provide some offense when called upon. He needs to keep his hot streak going.

Cole Guttman

He has a lot of natural ability to score. This team could use that ability to generate offense while Bedard and some of these forwards are out.