Blackhawks News & Rumors: Bedard, Del Mastro & World Juniors Updates

The Chicago Blackhawks are hitting a good stride, having won their last three games. In even better news, Connor Bedard spoke for the first time since his shoulder injury on Dec. 12.

Here is the latest News & Rumors from a big news day at practice (Jan. 6).

Bedard Gives Update

Head coach Jeff Blashill spoke pregame on Jan. 4 and said he anticipated Bedard returning before the Olympic break. Blashill said at practice, “I know today he’s not playing tomorrow… He won’t play tomorrow, and then we’ll kind of take it day by day from there.”

But now, it was Bedard’s turn to talk. He skated at practice and is on the up-and-up, saying, “I feel good. I feel really good. Obviously, getting to get out with the guys a little bit today, and kind of just keep ramping up. So, it feels really good, though.”

Bedard also gave his thoughts on not making the Canadian Olympic team, “Yeah, I think, you know, there’s disappointment, for sure. You know, everyone in Canada would want to be on that team, or any country that’s going. But, there’s so many great players, and they got tough decisions to make. So, obviously, you respect that. But you know, I think every player would say that they would love to be on that team and disappointed not to. But like I said, it’s a great team. You can’t really be mad at the roster they pick. So, you know, there’s no hard feelings for me.”

He expounded later on, “I think the positive that I’ve taken out of this is I get to look at my game and, you know, where can I improve? When you don’t meet an expectation or meet one of your goals… I think the only thing to do is look in the mirror and see where you can get better. So, that’s an exciting opportunity for me. And at the end of the day, the players pick the team and how you play. And obviously, you know, I feel like I was playing well. But, you know, of course, I want to make it where there is no choice. And that’s not on who’s picking the teams, it’s on the players. So, I think that’s a positive I’ve taken out of that, and it’s exciting for me.”

Bedard seems to be on the right track, and in true Bedard fashion, he is never satisfied. When talking about his game prior to injury, he shared, “I think there’s definitely positives for me. I thought I was growing in a lot of areas of my game. And, you know, I think, as a guy who wants to make plays, wants to create offense, that’s obviously maybe the biggest part of my game. But I just want to keep improving all over the ice. I think I’ve been doing that, but just keep striving to get better in that area.”

Bedard’s intellect and mindset always speak volumes. He and the Blackhawks are certainly looking forward to his return.

Blackhawks at World Juniors

At the World Juniors, the gold medal game on Jan. 5 featured Anton Frondell (Sweden) versus Václav Nestrašil (Czechia). AJ Spellacy and Team USA were previously eliminated from medal contention by Finland.

Frondell and Sweden took home the gold.

Frondell finished 11th in scoring at the World Juniors, leading Sweden with 8 points in 6 games and posting a plus-4 rating. Meanwhile, Nestrašil had 7 points in 6 games and was a plus-4. Frondell didn’t record a point in the gold medal game, but Nestrašil had an assist.

Both players had a strong tournament. So did Spellacy, who had 4 points in 5 games and was also a plus-4.

Also, it seems like Nestrašil could end up being a quote machine. When he spoke after the championship game, he was asked about a fun interaction he had with Frondell in the handshake line and what he said to him. Nestrašil jokingly said, “Eff off. Yeah, I think he’s going to give it to me for the next few years if we play together, hopefully.”

Related: Bertuzzi Earns Hat Trick & Blackhawks Win 3-2 in Overtime Over the Golden Knights

It’s nice to see a solid bond among the Blackhawks’ prospects.

The Case of Ethan Del Mastro

Defenseman Ethan Del Mastro was recalled from the Rockford IceHogs two days after Bedard’s injury (Dec. 15). But he has only played in one game since, which was on Dec. 16 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s been a healthy scratch for the last nine games.

We asked Blashill at practice what the plan was with him. He responded, “You know, right now, I have those other three lefties ahead of Ethan on a night-to-night basis, and I don’t want to take one of them out. So, I don’t anticipate Ethan playing tomorrow [Jan. 7 against St. Louis].”

“We’re cognizant of the fact that he has sat for a while. You know, he hasn’t been in a game. So, we got to get him in a game, whether it’s in a game with us, whether it’s sending him back down to Rockford- one way or the other, we got to get him in a game eventually. No concrete plans on that yet, but eventually we got to get him playing a little bit. I don’t want him to just sit out and just practice with us. So, we’re certainly cognizant of that.”

This is a similar situation to the one forward Landon Slaggert was in earlier, when he was healthy scratched for a bit before they sent him to Rockford, and Blashill mentioned he didn’t want him sitting too long, either.

So, Del Mastro is a player to watch to see what they decide on with the 22-year-old’s playing time. I believe the longer he sits, the more likely he is to get sent back to Rockford. But we’ll see.

Be sure to check back for more News and Rumors, as we will update throughout the season.