What's Up Dach? Hawks Shouldn't Move on from No. 3 Pick

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James
May 26, 2022 (0:04)

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Kirby Dach hasn't exactly panned out like many Chicago Blackhawks fans hoped he would when the team drafted him third overall in 2019 behind Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko.

Now, if you were following that draft closely, you may be thinking why didn't the Hawks take Anaheim's Trevor Zegras at No. 3 or possibly defenseman Moritz Seider who just finished a stout rookie campaign with Detroit?

Instead, many thought they "reached" for the 6'4", 198 lb Dach from the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League. What did the Hawks need at the time? A power forward with hands, speed and skill, but with the strength to get to the net, cause some havoc and be a dominant force on the ice. Dach checked all those boxes and was the right choice at the time. It has been what has transpired since then that has been troubling, and it is anyone's best guess as to how his career pans out from here.

He is just 21 years young, that's it. In many ways, it is unfair to judge him as a hockey player, given his youth and limited sample size (59 points in 152 games).

When Dach was a rookie in the 2019�20 season, he spent a mere three games with the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL on a conditioning assignment before the Hawks determined he was ready to be a NHL center night in and night out, not exactly an easy task for a teenager. He had a decent enough rookie campaign with 23 points (8 goals) in 64 games. Dach took his game to another level in the playoff bubble in Canada with six points in nine games, leaving fans excited about a potential breakout in year two.

Unfortunately there was a different kind of break in his future, a fractured wrist, while captaining Team Canada at the World Junior Championships. This caused him to miss all of training camp as well as almost the entire 2020-21 season (one that would have been crucial to his development). He appeared in only 18 games that season and registered 10 points. This year he appeared in 70 games missing time with a sprained shoulder, and accumulated 26 points.

Dach is not ready to be a center. His career 34.6 faceoff percentage isn't good enough. The Hawks need to simplify his game and make him a winger like they did for some games this season. He's currently a restricted free agent and should be signed to a bridge deal this offseason, a "prove it" contract probably in the two-year, $2-2.5 million per season range.

It is way too early to give up on him. He still is really young, has great hands, brings a physicality to his game and he can still develop. The Hawks have learned the hard way not to mail it in on promising prospects. Look no further than Ryan Hartman and Teuvo Teravainen. At this point, it's safe to say they probably rushed Dach a little too quickly into the show, which is the exact opposite of how the team is handling 2020 first-round pick Lukas Reichel.

I'd love to see Dach step up his offense and be a key part of Chicago's future. Hopefully the organization feels the same.