CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks standout center Connor Bedard is likely to be sidelined for the opening stretch of the season after having surgery Wednesday on his left shoulder.

The team said Wednesday that it expects Bedard to fully recover, placing his estimated return window at roughly four months.

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If that recovery schedule holds, Bedard would be out for at least the first month of the 2026-27 campaign. The season will be the NHL’s first 84-game schedule under its new collective bargaining agreement, with regular-season play beginning earlier, in late September.

Bedard, who turns 21 on July 17, sustained the injury while training with Kaivo Hockey in Vancouver. Footage captured by Blackhawks Focus on July 2 showed him losing an edge and sliding hard into the boards before leaving the ice quickly while protecting his left shoulder.

The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL draft and the 2023-24 Rookie of the Year is preparing for his fourth season in the league. Last season, he paced Chicago with 75 points in 69 games, including 30 goals.

Across his NHL career, Bedard has produced 203 points in 219 games while posting a minus-98 rating. He has not yet made a Stanley Cup playoff appearance with the rebuilding Blackhawks.

Chicago finished last season at 29-39-14, improving by 11 points from the year before. The Blackhawks have ended each of the past three seasons ranked 31st in the NHL.

Bedard is now a restricted free agent after completing the final season of his entry-level contract. General manager Kyle Davidson has said he will not discuss negotiations publicly until the club reaches an agreement with its franchise center.

But those talks may have been complicated by the recent offer sheet signed by Anaheim Ducks restricted free agent center Leo Carlsson with the Philadelphia Flyers. Carlsson, who was selected second overall to Bedard in 2023, will have an average annual salary of $18 million beginning next season, the highest of any player in the NHL.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.