New Blackhawks captain Connor Bedard expected to make season debut against Blues

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗
Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-13 · by The Canadian Press

Quick Summary

Connor Bedard, the newest captain of the Chicago Blackhawks and second-youngest in team history, is set to make his delayed season debut against the St. Louis Blues. Expected to contribute after missing six games due to a shoulder injury requiring surgery, Bedard expressed excitement about returning to play. He signed a US$75 million, five-year contract with the Blackhawks this summer and brings significant offensive capability, having scored 203 points in his NHL career. The team hopes Bedard’s presence will improve their current 1-5 start to the season.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-13, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Connor Bedard, 21, is set to make his debut as the new captain of the Chicago Blackhawks against the St. Louis Blues on October 13, 2026. He had been out since training camp due to a shoulder injury requiring surgery during the off-season. Despite missing the first six games of the season, Bedard, who was selected as the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft and signed a US$75 million, five-year contract, expressed excitement about returning to play with his teammates. The Blackhawks are currently off to a poor start at 1-5-0 without their captain, while Bedard boasts an impressive career record of 203 points (75 goals, 128 assists) in 219 NHL games.

Written for “Nhl Hockey News” on 2026-10-13, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Nhl Hockey News
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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Cite this article

The Canadian Press. (2026, October 13). New Blackhawks captain Connor Bedard expected to make season debut against Blues. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/new-blackhawks-captain-connor-bedard-expected-to-make-season-debut-against-blues/article_e3953d26-ca4b-5c2a-ae37-8175ed36a138.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
10
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 10 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-13 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 20 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

The Canadian Press
328 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 CHICAGO - Connor Bedard is expected to make his delayed debut tonight as Blackhawks captain when Chicago hosts the St. Louis Blues.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · New Blackhawks captain Connor Bedard expected to make season debut against Blues
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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
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Topics

Blackhawks CHICAGO North Vancouver Original Six the St. Louis Blues

Subjects

Bedard PERSON · 3× Blackhawks ORG · 3× CHICAGO GPE · 2× B.C. GPE · 1× Connor Bedard PERSON · 1× NHL ORG · 1× North Vancouver GPE · 1× Original Six ORG · 1× The Canadian Press ORG · 1× the St. Louis Blues ORG · 1×

Narrative

But he missed the Blackhawks’ training camp and first six game of the season with a shoulder injury sustained while training in the off-season that required surgery.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-13
🔮 CHICAGO - Connor Bedard is expected to make his delayed debut tonight as Blackhawks captain when Chicago hosts the St. Louis Blues.
2026-10-13 · Toronto Star
New Blackhawks captain Connor Bedard expected to make season debut against Blues · assertive framing

Claims (10 extracted, 0 hedged)

CHICAGO - Connor Bedard is expected to make his delayed debut tonight as Blackhawks captain when Chicago hosts the St. Louis Blues. asserted
Chicago → expect → Blues
Bedard said he was “pumped” to play when he addressed reporters hours before the game’s opening faceoff. asserted
he → say → faceoff
Bedard agreed to a US$75 million, five-year contract in July. asserted
Bedard → agree → July
The No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft became the second-youngest captain in the history of the Original Six franchise on Sept. 15. asserted
pick → become → Sept.
But he missed the Blackhawks’ training camp and first six game of the season with a shoulder injury sustained while training in the off-season that required surgery. asserted
that → miss → surgery
“It’s crazy it’s only been six games,” Bedard said. asserted
Bedard → ’ → ?
“When you miss camp and you miss pre-season and everything, it feels like a lot longer.” asserted
it → miss → season
“Just to be back with the guys and do what I love, it’s exciting,” he added. asserted
he → do → what
The 21-year-old centre from North Vancouver, B.C., has 203 points (75 goals, 128 assists) over 219 career NHL games. asserted
centre → have → games
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2026. asserted
report → publish → Press
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