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Team Canada general manager Don Sweeney indicated that Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard is still in consideration for the 2026 Winter Olympics despite being snubbed from Canada’s NHL 4 Nations Face-Off roster this week.

Bedard, 19, was the NHL rookie of the year last season. He had dominating performances for Canada at the 2023 world juniors (23 points in seven games) and the 2024 IIHF world championships (5 goals in 10 games). That sparked speculation that Bedard would make the roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, a four-team exhibition tournament that’s replacing the NHL All-Star Game this season, to better prepare him for the 2026 Olympic tournament in Italy.

But Bedard has struggled in his second NHL season, with five goals in 26 games after scoring 22 goals in 68 games as a rookie. He has 19 points for the Blackhawks.

Sweeney, who is the general manager of the Boston Bruins, said that Bedard is part of “the next wave of great players” for Canada but one who needs to gain experience before making the leap to the national team.

“It’s his second time around the league. There’s some challenges associated with that. He’s working through that, in a situation where he gets all the attention possible from the best players that he’s playing against each and every night,” said Sweeney. “So I think he’s living and breathing it right now and it’s only going to help him to continue to build his résumé, and we’re excited about that.”

Sweeney, who will be the assistant to GM Doug Armstrong for the Canadian men’s hockey Olympic team, and Team Canada coach Jon Cooper both expected Bedard would push for a roster spot in 2026.

They also said the 4 Nations Face-Off roster, which features just one player born after 1998, was built for this tournament rather than as a test run for the 2026 roster.

“We built this team to win the 4 Nations. The Olympics is still a year away. Are there players that are going to develop and take strides in that time? There’s no question,” said Cooper, who is the coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. “Especially some of these younger players where your development continues. That’s just going to make decisions tougher.”

Sweeney said that’s why Team Canada had a “wider lens” in looking at players such as Bedard who might not be ready for the 4 Nations tournament but could make the cut in 2026.

“We wanted to identify players that are going to project out down the road. Players that might not necessarily be ready to push somebody out of a job that we felt had earned it at this point,” he said. “We’re going to have to continue to have those [players] stack up on top of each other in the next year and a half and make a really hard decision on several emerging players. We’re incredibly excited about them, but we couldn’t lose sight of the fact that we were building a team for February.”

It’s not unprecedented for Canada to leave a young phenom off its national team roster. Sidney Crosby was left off the Canadian Olympic team in 2006, when he was 18 years old, despite playing at a point-per-game pace as a rookie. Steven Stamkos didn’t make the 2010 Olympic team despite scoring 51 goals as a 19-year-old in his second NHL season.

Meanwhile, the player who finished second to Bedard in the rookie race last season — 22-year-old Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber — made the cut for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

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Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies

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Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies

Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series, died Friday in Sintra, Portugal, the team announced.

Jenks, 44, who had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer, this year, spent six seasons with the White Sox from 2005 to 2010 and also played for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. The reliever finished his major league career with a 16-20 record, 3.53 ERA and 173 saves.

“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “None of us will ever forget that ninth inning of Game 4 in Houston, all that Bobby did for the 2005 World Series champions and for the entire Sox organization during his time in Chicago. He and his family knew cancer would be his toughest battle, and he will be missed as a husband, father, friend and teammate. He will forever hold a special place in all our hearts.”

After Jenks moved to Portugal last year, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. That eventually spread into blood clots in his lungs, prompting further testing. He was later diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and began undergoing radiation.

In February, as Jenks was being treated for the illness, the White Sox posted “We stand with you, Bobby” on Instagram, adding in the post that the club was “thinking of Bobby as he is being treated.”

In 2005, as the White Sox ended an 88-year drought en route to the World Series title, Jenks appeared in six postseason games. Chicago went 11-1 in the playoffs, and he earned saves in series-clinching wins in Game 3 of the ALDS at Boston, and Game 4 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.

In 2006, Jenks saved 41 games, and the following year, he posted 40 saves. He also retired 41 consecutive batters in 2007, matching a record for a reliever.

“You play for the love of the game, the joy of it,” Jenks said in his last interview with SoxTV last year. “It’s what I love to do. I [was] playing to be a world champion, and that’s what I wanted to do from the time I picked up a baseball.”

A native of Mission Hills, California, Jenks appeared in 19 games for the Red Sox and was originally drafted by the then-Anaheim Angels in the fifth round of the 2000 draft.

Jenks is survived by his wife, Eleni Tzitzivacos, their two children, Zeno and Kate, and his four children from a prior marriage, Cuma, Nolan, Rylan and Jackson.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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In search of infield options, Yanks add Candelario

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In search of infield options, Yanks add Candelario

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees, digging for options to bolster their infield, have signed third baseman Jeimer Candelario to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the affiliate announced Saturday.

Candelario, 31, was released by the Cincinnati Reds on June 23, halfway through a three-year, $45 million contract he signed before the start of last season. The decision was made after Candelario posted a .707 OPS in 2024 and batted .113 with a .410 OPS in 22 games for the Reds before going on the injured list in April with a back injury.

The performance was poor enough for Cincinnati to cut him in a move that Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall described as a sunk cost.

For the Yankees, signing Candelario is a low-cost flier on a player who recorded an .807 OPS just two seasons ago as they seek to find a third baseman to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base, his natural position.

Candelario is the second veteran infielder the Yankees have signed to a minor league contract in the past three days; they agreed to terms with Nicky Lopez on Thursday.

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Dodgers’ Snell pitches to hitters, ‘looked good’

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Dodgers' Snell pitches to hitters, 'looked good'

LOS ANGELES — Pitchers Blake Snell and Blake Treinen are progressing toward a return for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Snell and Treinen each faced hitters Saturday, and Snell pitched two innings. Each could begin a rehab assignment after the All-Star break.

The 32-year-old Snell has pitched in two games for the Dodgers following his five-year, $182 million free agent deal after spending last season with the San Francisco Giants and three before that with the San Diego Padres. He is a two-time Cy Young Award winner.

“(Snell) looked good. He looked really good,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I don’t know what the velo was but the ball was coming out really well. He used his entire pitch mix. I thought the delivery was clean, sharp, so really positive day.”

The Dodgers’ starting rotation has been injury-prone this season but is starting to get a boost from Shohei Ohtani, the two-way superstar who is working as an opener in his return from elbow surgery.

Treinen is looking to get back to his role in the back end of the bullpen. He threw one inning Saturday.

“Blake Treinen I thought was really good as well,” Roberts said. “Both those guys should be ready at some point in time shortly after the All-Star break.”

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