Chicago rookie Connor Bedard departed Friday night’s NHL game against New Jersey after he was levelled by Devils defenceman Brendan Smith in the first period.
Bedard was hit by Smith at 10:49 after he carried the puck into the offensive zone. Bedard then skated to the bench holding his face as Nick Foligno, Brett Seney and several teammates ignited a skirmish with Smith behind the Devils net.
The 18-year-old Bedard, the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft, went straight to the Chicago dressing room.
Head coach Luke Richardson said after his team’s 4-2 loss Bedard would be evaluated after the team returned to Chicago.
Connor Bedard went to the locker room following this hit from Brendan Smith. <a href=”https://t.co/OUZyKCBCRx”>pic.twitter.com/OUZyKCBCRx</a>
—@Sportsnet
Chicago forward Boris Katchouk told reporters that he felt it was a dirty hit but Richardson wasn’t convinced.
“I didn’t really see it too many times yet,” Richardson said. “I just saw it quick on the bench. I don’t know if it was dirty. I think Connor was reaching for a puck and didn’t see him because he was behind one of their players. I don’t think he stepped up on him. I think he just kind of stopped and Connor kind of ran head-first into him.
“He obviously banged his head. We’ll get him checked out at home by our specialists to see if everything is OK.”
<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Devils?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Devils</a> Smith, Big Dman had elbows down, no head pick, does not leave his feet, textbook open ice hit. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Blackhawks?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Blackhawks</a> Bedard, high value player, impact and result very unfortunate. <br>It’s a clean hit. Period. End of Story. Doesn’t change that it’s an UNFORTUNATE RESULT, but 100%… <a href=”https://t.co/nllhve5674″>pic.twitter.com/nllhve5674</a>
—@NHL_AaronWard
‘That was just a solid hit’
Devils bench boss Lindy Ruff felt Smith’s hit on Bedard was clean.
“It’s unfortunate where he got him” Ruff said. “At different times, all young players learn. … I learned the hard way, I got knocked out cold.
“You’ve got to be aware. There was no intent or anything. That was just a solid hit.”
After the all-star forward departed, there was a series of skirmishes between the teams.
Chicago defenceman Jarred Tinordi had words with Smith as the teams were skating off the ice after the first.
Foligno and Smith had a prolonged bout early in the second period. Chicago defenceman Alex Vlasic also fought with Devils forward Nathan Bastian as part of a general on-ice fracas with most of the crowd at Prudential Center to its feet.
At one point, there were four Chicago and three Devils in their respective penalty boxes.
Bedard has had a stellar start to his career despite Chicago’s struggles, leading the team in goals (15), assists (18) and points (33).