Connor Bedard Likely to Miss Initial Team Canada Olympic Roster
Team Canada’s Olympic roster will be revealed in less than two weeks, and Connor Bedard will likely not be a part of it.
the Chicago blackhawks star center is currently on injured reserve with an upper-body injury and is expected back in the new year. The injury has paused an remarkable third season, but it may not be enough to secure his spot in Italy.
TSN hockey Insiders Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun both reported Thursday that Bedard appears set to miss out on at least the initial roster for the 2026 Games.
“What I can tell you is that, internally, Bedard’s season opened some eyes,” Johnston explained on Insider Trading. “He definitely has some backers among the people making this decision, but I’m not sure it’s going to be enough to see him named to the initial roster of players on Dec. 31. Of course, injuries or other issues could arise, but as of right now, that doesn’t appear to be the case.”
“It’s important that Bedard works his way back from his shoulder injury. That January window is still vital to players not on the roster. Canada will identify some reserves in case of injury before the February start of the event, and Bedard is very high in the mix in that conversation.”
The 20-year-old centre suffered his injury with 0.8 seconds left in a loss to the St. Louis Blues last week. He has 19 goals and 44 points in 31 games this season, putting him on pace to surpass his career-best numbers.
Bedard won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2023-24 after tallying 61 points in 68 games, and followed that with 23 goals and 44 assists over 82 games last year.