Kirby Dach took a pass at center ice, deked around Matthew Highmore and — with a few powerful strides — created a breakaway for himself.
He used his new strength to hold off a pursuing Brent Seabrook and nearly executed a beautiful forehand-to-backhand-to-forehand move on Collin Delia.
It was the most exceptional part of the Blackhawks’ 25-minute intra-squad scrimmage Saturday, which ended in a 1-1 tie between Team Red and Team Black after goals from Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat.
This was a heck of a play by the rookie: https://t.co/Vm7l6iXVtU
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) July 18, 2020
Technically, 19-year-old Dach is still a rookie; technically, this is still the 2019-20 NHL season. But functionally, after more than four months between official team activities, Dach is going into his second year as a pro.
Any third overall pick is going to improve over their first few years in the league. Dach, however, is improving at a startlingly rapid pace.
“I expected, almost hoped, he’d come and look like he took another step, just by being older and with some months of training,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “He’s been very noticeable with his skating and confidence on the puck, even more so than last year.”
“We’ll see more production from him as he gets older and more comfortable at our level and [sees] what he can do against NHL defenders. We’re excited to see how that turns out.”
During the season stoppage, Dach went home to the Edmonton suburbs and immediately set himself up his family’s home gym.
In between trips “up at the lake and away from social media,” the mature-beyond-his-years forward put on quite a bit of muscle.
“A big thing for me during this break was to get in the gym right away and maintain my strength and try to add some size, but at the same time not take away from my on-ice game,” Dach said. “I feel like I was able to accomplish that and tweaked a couple things in my offseason, started working with some new people that really helped me out.”
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The rinks in Alberta — like the rest of the continent — were closed for much of the spring. But Dach said he was able to enjoy “three or four weeks” of skating five days a week after they reopened and before he traveled back to Chicago in time for the start of training camp this past Monday.
Since returning to Fifth Third Arena, Dach has been centering a line with Dominik Kubalik and Drake Caggiula in practice, and also making his improvement visible during the Hawks’ two scrimmages so far.
On Wednesday, the Hawks’ scrimmage was free-flowing. On Saturday, the coaching staff ran the scrimmage with more structure, starting each shift with a faceoff.
In both formats, Dach was noticeably more smooth and effective at creating scoring chances.
“I noticed it right away when he came back,” Patrick Kane said. “Looks like he’s skating better, looks like his shot’s better. He looks like he’s a little bit bigger, like he might have put some weight on. He’s looked good.”
Dach’s point total wasn’t bad in his first season: 23 in 64 games. That tied for seventh among rookie forwards, actually matching second pick Kaapo Kakko’s 23 and exceeding first pick Jack Hughes’ 21. And Dach’s advanced defensive stats were truly great, ranking among the best on the Hawks.
Still, he didn’t have the offensive success right off the bat that Jonathan Toews, the man he’s often projected to eventually replace, did in his 2007-08 rookie campaign.
The Hawks hope it’s not that Dach won’t reach that level, but just that it’ll just be a second-year achievement. Based on the first week of camp, that hope seems well-placed.
