Blackhawks 2022 Player Grades Part 2: Kirby Dach

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Michael
May 31, 2022 (0:04)

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Welcome back Blackhawks fans to part 2 of hawksinsider.com 2022 player grades. Last time we took a look at goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's time before he was traded to the Minnesota Wild at the deadline. He received a grade of a B- for his 2022 performance.

Today, we're going to be taking a quick look at Kirby Dach. Many fans were hoping that we would finally see the Kirby Dach that we saw in the bubble. In case you forgot, in the Blackhawks 9 games in the bubble, Kirby Dach had a total of 6 points with 1 goal and 5 assists. And while those numbers don't jump off the page, the confidence he was playing with then was way more prevalent then now. Confident was the last impression anyone got from Kirby Dach this season. The former third overall pick has just yet to take that stride that many thought he would have taken by now.

This season, Dach's number were to put it blunt, lackluster. He played 70 games and only accumulated 26 points with 9 goals and 17 assists. Dach continues to struggle at the face-off dot as well, only winning 33% of his face-offs this season.

Season Grade: D+

Might be considered harsh, but the fact of the matter is, Dach hasn't made any significant improvements to his game in his three years in the NHL. Still too early to give up on him completely, but you gotta think the ice is getter thinner and thinner. Hopefully whoever is at the helm next season for the Blackhawks will give Dach a try at wing for a few games. It's clearly not working out at center, and not like putting Kirby Dach at wing is going to damage the Blackhawks any further. Next season is going to be rough either way, so might as well try a few new things out.

Check out some Kirby Dach highlights below: