Connor Bedard was injured during the Blackhawks-Devils game Friday.
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NEWARK, N.J. \u2014 Connor Bedard never saw Brendan Smith coming Friday.
Shortly after Bedard carried the puck into the Blackhawks\u2019 offensive zone during the first period, the Devils defenseman stepped up and delivered a crushing high hit.
Bedard immediately skated to the bench holding his face \u2014 while Nick Foligno, Brett Seney and a number of his Hawks teammates ignited a brawl below the net \u2014 and went directly to the locker room.
He did not return for the second period and was ruled out for the game by the Hawks.
It\u2019s the first time in his NHL career that the 18-year-old rookie has dealt with an injury. He had appeared in each of the Hawks\u2019 first 38 games of the season uninterrupted, averaging 19:29 of ice time per game.
Just hours earlier Friday, he had discussed his nomination as the Hawks\u2019 representative to the All-Star Game.
\u201cI\u2019m happy with being announced,\u201d Bedard said before the game. \u201cObviously with our group, it hs been a little frustrating lately with the results of the games. It\u2019s good to go there and meet some of those guys, so it should be fun.
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m getting more comfortable and stuff. There\u2019s a lot of areas I can be better, for sure. But I think that\u2019s part of when you\u2019re young \u2014 your first [season] is learning. Hopefully, I can be a better version of myself in the second half.\u201d
This story will be updated.<\/i><\/p>\n