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what happened to bedard

Connor Bedard, the Chicago Blackhawks star, is currently out with a right shoulder/upper‑body injury but is expected to return this month, and a side story is that he was a surprise omission from Canada’s initial 2026 Olympic roster.

Quick Scoop: What Happened?

  • Connor Bedard was injured on December 12 in a game against the St. Louis Blues, going down hard after contact on a late faceoff and clutching his right shoulder as he left the ice.
  • The Blackhawks placed him on injured reserve with what’s described as an upper‑body/shoulder injury; he recently skated again (no shooting yet) and is slated for reevaluation this month, with optimism he can return soon.
  • At the time of the injury he had 44 points in 31 games (19 goals, 25 assists) and was among the NHL scoring leaders despite his age.

Olympic Roster Snub Angle

  • Around the same time, Hockey Canada announced its initial roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics and left Bedard off, which created a lot of buzz because of his star status.
  • Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong said Bedard was “right there until the last second” and that the injury was not a major factor, hinting the decision was more about roster mix and timing.
  • Some coverage and commentary suggest politics and past decisions (like skipping the previous World Championship to focus on training) may have played a subtle role, though that part is speculative.

How He’s Actually Playing

  • Before getting hurt this season, Bedard had significantly improved his two‑way game: his plus‑minus jumped from a heavy negative in his first two seasons to a +8 this year, and his faceoff win rate climbed to about 47 percent from roughly 38 percent last season.
  • Even while injured and stuck on 44 points, he still leads the Blackhawks in scoring and remains on a 100‑point pace over a full season.
  • Chicago’s record dipped notably after he went out (a losing stretch following a roughly break‑even start with him), underlining how central he is to the team’s offense.

Forum / Trending Context

  • Fans and forum conversations have swung between defending Bedard fiercely and debating whether the Olympic snub is a “wake‑up call” or simple roster crunch.
  • Some online discussions date back to earlier in his career, where people pushed back against “Bedard haters” and overly harsh criticism, which has resurfaced now that he’s both injured and in the middle of an Olympic controversy.
  • Overall mood:
    • Short‑term concern over the shoulder, but reports frame the injury as significant yet not catastrophic.
* Long‑term confidence that he’s still the Blackhawks’ franchise cornerstone and a likely future lock for Team Canada once healthy and more established.

TL;DR: Bedard got hurt on a December 12 play, injuring his right shoulder and landing on injured reserve, but he’s already skating again and is expected back this month; meanwhile, his surprise omission from Canada’s 2026 Olympic roster has turned his injury and status into a big talking point across news and forums.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.