The return of the Chicago Blackhawks‘ newest captain might be closer than we ever expected.

On Wednesday morning, Connor Bedard was taking slap shots ahead of Blackhawks practice as his recovery and rehab process continues. That might seem like a minor update, but it could signal a much faster recovery process than originally thought.

Bedard underwent surgery on July 8 to repair an injury to his left shoulder sustained during offseason training. An injury to his right shoulder back in Dec. 2025 kept him out nearly a month of the 2025-26 season but didn’t require surgery. Bedard sustained that injury at the end of a game against the St. Louis Blues on December 12, but returned to the lineup on January 9 against the Washington Capitals.

Notably, Bedard’s rehab process back in December/January saw him begin to take slap shots on January 6, three days before he was back in the Blackhawks’ lineup.

It’s still early to jump to conclusions that Bedard will be ready to go for the Blackhawks as early as the opening night game on Sept. 29 in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights. But it seems very clear that the original mid-November return timeframe should be out the window. There is still conditioning needed for Bedard to get up to full practice speed, let alone game speed, and he’ll have to be cleared to take contact before he can think about playing fully in practice and then getting into game action. But his return feels close.

The Blackhawks open the season with a three-game road trip against the Golden Knights, Utah Mammoth and Buffalo Sabres before returning to Chicago for their home opener on October 6 against the St. Louis Blues.