Connor Bedard is expected to miss 6-8 weeks after the Chicago Blackhawks rookie had surgery on his broken jaw

Connor Bedard could miss up to two months after jaw surgery, the Chicago Blackhawks announced Wednesday.

Bedard “underwent successful surgery to repair his fractured jaw at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and we expect him to be out of the lineup for approximately 6-8 weeks,” team physician Dr. Michael Terry said in a statement.

That would place Bedard’s earliest possible return in the last week of February. The Hawks begin a five-game homestand Feb. 21 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The timeline ensures that Bedard will miss NHL All-Star weekend Feb. 1-3 in Toronto. He made league history the day before his injury as the youngest player named to the All-Star Game.

After practice Wednesday at Fifth Third Arena, coach Luke Richardson said he wasn’t surprised by Bedard’s timeline.

“I think they are just (being) precautionary on a young guy having a trauma injury like that,” he said. “If it’s earlier, great. But I think that’s probably a normal timeline.”

Bedard injured his jaw Friday in a collision with New Jersey Devils defenseman Brendan Smith. Richardson said Bedard will have to take gradual steps to get back on the ice, even if he’s not taking contact.

“There’s a timeline for him, too, almost like a concussion protocol,” he said. “He’ll graduate to the bike in the gym after surgery and then get to the (ice).

“But he’ll be probably trying to negotiate to get on (the ice) early, I’m sure. We’ll just try and manage that as best as possible.”

Here are three other things we learned at practice.

1. Jarred Tinordi knows this process from soup to nuts (minus the nuts).

Bedard’s menu will look a lot like Tinordi’s liquid meals did around this time last year.

“There was this cheese tortellini. It was actually pretty good in the blender,” said Tinordi, who took a slapshot to the face during a game against the New York Rangers on Dec. 18, 2022. “And like a turkey chili that I put in a blender. You have to thin them down with broth a lot so you’re able to drink it.”

Richardson, who lives in the same apartment building as Bedard, by chance already had an encounter with chef Dee Dee Saracco, who’s making many of Bedard’s meals.

“I ran into her in our building and helped her unload her truck. You know, like one of those hotel carts? It was full,” Richardson said. “I think his mom’s here, too, so he’s going to be well taken care of.”

Food is just part of how Bedard will have to adjust. Tinordi thought back to his own seven-week recovery.

“The first week is painful, especially after surgery. Kind of gets better after that,” he said. “But it’s an adjustment, how you breathe, especially when you start working out. You can’t take those big gulps of air that you normally do.”

Tinordi trained with breathing techniques to learn to breathe through only his nose.

And then there are the psychological challenges.

“I think physically he’ll be OK because he’ll be able to be on the ice, kind of do his normal routine that way,” Tinordi said. “The painful part is just waiting. … The time you’re out, your body feels good, like you’re ready to play, but you have to let that heal. So it’s a grind mentally.”

2. The Blackhawks say Bedard is handling the injury well.

The Hawks have had a lot of key injuries lately, and MacKenzie Entwistle called Bedard the driver of the Hawks offense.

“Any guy you hate to see get hurt, especially that severely,” he said. “But I’ve been talking to (Bedard). He’s been doing pretty well and he’s feeling a lot better. … He seems to be in good spirits.”

Connor Murphy added: “It’s a lonely thing being away and having to deal with the day-to-day away from your team, dealing with injury and discomfort. To have support and guys reaching out is important.

“He’s young, he’ll heal fast and it sounds like he’s on the right track.”

3. Bedard will be no stranger to a mask.

When Bedard does return to game action, he’ll likely wear a cage or some type of protection, though it’s not clear for how long.

“There’s probably options on what’s most comfortable,” Richardson said. “Everybody’s head shape and face shape is different (based) on what mask fits properly.

“It’ll probably have to sit right on his chin so there’s maybe no pressure on certain areas of his jaw. But that’ll probably be just trial and error.”

Last year, International Ice Hockey Federation rules required the then-17-year-old Bedard to wear a cage or other facial protection during Canada’s gold-medal run in the World Juniors.

“He wore one last year in the World Juniors, so it might not be too odd for him,” Richardson said. “It shouldn’t be too much of a distraction.”