The Chicago Blackhawks will be without young superstar Connor Bedard for the foreseeable future, as he was injured last night (Dec. 12) when the Blackhawks played the St. Louis Blues. Chicago was trying to mount a comeback from a 3-2 deficit to force overtime. With less than a second remaining in the game, Bedard was attempting to win the faceoff and get a shot off. Here’s the play.
Oh man, Connor Bedard is in some serious discomfort and heads straight to the locker room after the final horn sounds. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/fYCP4caEjI
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 13, 2025
Brayden Schenn of the Blues was also trying to win the faceoff, and as a result he came up hard on Bedard, who crumpled to the ice and then headed to the locker room holding his right shoulder. After the game, head coach Jeff Blashill called it a “freak accident”.
The Blackhawks don’t have an update yet on Bedard. Blashill said they should know more on Monday (Dec. 15). While the the obvious hope is that the injury isn’t serious, it didn’t look good at the time. The loss of Bedard would be huge; he currently leads the team in all scoring categories, with 19 goals, 25 assists and 44 points through 31 games.
Related – Evolution of Blackhawks’ Youngster Leading to Team Success
In a corresponding move, the Blackhawks today recalled forward Nick Lardis from the Rockford IceHogs. The 20-year-old is a top prospect for the Blackhawks, and many felt it was just a matter of time before he was recalled. Lardis has 13 goals and 13 assists in 24 games with the IceHogs. His 26 points leads all rookies in the American Hockey League. Lardis was also named the AHL Rookie of the Month for October, posting 12 points (4G, 8A) in eight games during that month.
Lardis is known for his scoring touch; he notched 71 goals in 65 games last season with the Brantford Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League. This has obviously translated well to the AHL as well. As a matter of fact, the Oakville, Ontario native scored a goal just last night in the IceHogs’ 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Admirals.
Lardy assisted by Slaggs & Rinzel 👏 https://t.co/6yGkhksGCg pic.twitter.com/tUWBHRXbpD
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) December 13, 2025
The Blackhawks host Patrick Kane and the Detroit Red Wings tonight (Dec. 13) at the United Center. Coach Blashill said in his morning press conference that Lardis will indeed make his NHL debut tonight. We don’t know exactly where he will fit into the lineup, but he will receive some time on the power play.
We will have more updates on Bedard and Lardis as we get them. Keep it here at The Hockey Writers for all the latest news, updates and analysis.
