Blackhawks forward depth takes another hit as Jason Dickinson goes down, Dominic Toninato is recalled, and Connor Bedard is left off Team Canada’s Olympic roster.
In the wake of a 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Islanders, there are a few Chicago Blackhawks news items to discuss. The Blackhawks recalled Dominic Toninato, Jason Dickinson will miss some time due to injury, and Connor Bedard was left off of Team Canada’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Dec 12, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard (98) reacts in pain after a face off against St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn (not pictured) during the third period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn ImagesCredit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Dominic Toninato
On Monday, Dec. 29, the Blackhawks assigned Dominic Toninato back to the Rockford IceHogs after a five-game stint (one assist and averaged 9:11 minutes). The move followed Nick Foligno’s return to the lineup as well as Landon Slaggert’s call-up, and Slaggert has looked much better in his three games back. On Wednesday, the Blackhawks recalled Toninato following the injury to Jason Dickinson.
Jason Dickinson
Jason Dickinson did not return for the remaining two periods in Tuesday night’s game against the New York Islanders. Dickinson is day-to-day, as reported by Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. With Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar out, the Blackhawks’ forward depth—specifically the middle—has taken a huge hit. Jason Dickinson briefly played a 1C role, but more importantly, he took the most difficult lineup assignments. Oliver Moore played in a 2C role in last night’s game and excelled with Nick Lardis, but that can be attributed to other lines taking tougher competition. This is the third time this year that Dickinson will miss time due to an injury.
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Connor Bedard
Most disappointing to Blackhawks fans was the exclusion of Connor Bedard from Team Canada’s roster announcement for the 2026 Winter Olympics. While Bedard’s spectacular 44 points in 31 games made him a very strong candidate, there was still debate from Team Canada’s perspective on whether he should be included on the team. GM Doug Armstrong was selecting players based on role. Macklin Celebrini was likely selected due to his own impressive season (60 points in 39 games) and his strong two-way play. While Bedard’s injury probably impacted his chance to play on the international stage, Frank Seravalli reported that “it didn’t really impact the decision.” There is still the likelihood that Bedard is placed on the “reserve” roster in the event of an injury.