- Connor Bedard shed his no-contact jersey for a full Blackhawks practice
- No return date yet, but he says he feels “normal” after shoulder surgery
- Read below for his video scrum on waiting for the green light
Connor Bedard shed his no-contact jersey Sunday and went through a full practice with the Blackhawks.
The captain still doesn’t have a return date. Bedard told Scott Powers of The Athletic he feels good, but there isn’t a specific game circled for his comeback:
Bedard talked with reporters after practice about how the day went. He was asked how he felt skating with the group again.
“Good. Yeah, feel good, feel confident in everything,” Bedard said.
Watch the full scrum video from Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio:
Bedard was asked about the stretch where he kept clearing hurdles and then had to wait on the doctors. He said the wait is the hardest part.
“It’s almost more frustrating near the end of it than the start of it,” Bedard said. He added that he wanted to play in the opener, but he knows he has to be smart about it.
Bedard had surgery on his left shoulder in early July, and the team set a four-month recovery window. That points to an early November return, which Jeff Blashill reinforced when he said Bedard wasn’t close to practicing back on Sept. 23.
Sunday is a big jump from that. Practicing with contact is the step that gets him closer to a game.
Chicago could use him. The Blackhawks scored twice in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Carolina, and Frank Nazar has been working as the top-line center in the meantime.
Bedard also hasn’t played a game as captain yet. He was named the 37th captain in franchise history, and the crowd honored him during opening night ceremonies.
