Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill praises Connor Bedard after the center is left off Canada’s roster

Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill reacts to a call during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Chicago, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill praised Connor Bedard’s all-around game a day after the center was left off Canada’s roster for the upcoming Winter Olympics.

The 20-year-old Bedard is on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. He skated before practice on Monday and could return this month.

Bedard ranked among the NHL leaders with 19 goals and 25 assists in 31 games before he got hurt on Dec. 12 at St. Louis. Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong said Wednesday that Bedard was in the mix “right there to the last second,” and the injury wasn’t much of a factor in the decision.

While acknowledging the difficulty of finalizing Canada’s roster for the 2026 Games, Blashill took aim at some of the conversation surrounding Bedard in his third season since he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft.

“I don’t think the rest of the league knows how good of a two-way winning hockey player Connor has become,” said Blashill, who was hired in May. “That’s the one thing probably, and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s based on previous years. But I don’t think they have a full understanding of how good a winning hockey player he is today.”

Bedard was a gifted offensive playmaker long before his NHL debut in October 2023. But the other parts of his game have come a long way since he first joined the Blackhawks.

He is a plus-eight this season after he had a plus-minus rating of minus-80 while playing on two last-place teams in his first two years in the league. He has won 47% of his faceoffs, up from 38.3% last season.

Blashill indicated that some of the reservations about Bedard have more to do with the limitations of defensive metrics than the center’s play on the ice.

The Blackhawks went 13-12-6 in their first 31 games with Bedard. They are 1-6-1 since he got hurt.

“That’s the impact he’s had. That’s the type of two-way player (he is),” Blashill said before Thursday’s game against Dallas. “You don’t have that impact if you’re just a point-getter. You only have that impact if you’re a true two-way kind of winning player, and that’s what he’s become.”

Chicago also has been playing without Frank Nazar, who was placed on IR on Sunday after he was hit in the face by a puck during a 6-4 loss at Ottawa on Dec. 20. He is expected to be sidelined for approximately four weeks.

The Blackhawks lost another center when Jason Dickinson left Tuesday night’s 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Islanders with an unspecified injury. But Dickinson skated on Thursday morning and could play against the Stars.

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Jay Cohen, The Associated Press