Calvin De Haan, Kirby Dach still injured as Blackhawks open training camp

Calvin de Haan, acquired by the Blackhawks from the Hurricanes in June, still has several weeks of injury recovery left. | AP Photos

The Blackhawks officially opened 2019 training camp at 10 a.m. Friday.

But Calvin de Haan was forced to jump the gun.

Still recovering from shoulder surgery at the end of last season, as well as from a groin strain presumably suffered during offseason training, de Haan and prospect Philipp Kurashev were skating on the Fifth Third Arena ice shortly after 9 a.m.

Neither participated in the grueling first day of team practice, however. Nor did Kirby Dach, who is in concussion protocol after a bad hit in Tuesday’s Traverse City prospects tournament finale, even though his withdrawal from the game was initially deemed only precautionary.

De Haan is expected to be out another two to three weeks, as has been expected all summer since his trade from the Hurricanes in late June.

That places him on a crash course for the start of the regular season. General manager Stan Bowman said the reliable defenseman’s return to full health will be “close” to the Oct. 4 season opener.

Bowman had less encouraging things to say about Dach.

“[Dach’s recovery] could be short, it could be a day or two, it could be longer,” the GM said. “We don’t know on that, so that’s why we don’t put a timeline on it. It’s too bad.”

A concussion before Dach’s professional career has even really begun is alarming for his chance to make the Hawks this season and also for his long-term durability and mental health.

Third overall pick Kirby Dach suffered a concussion in a boarding incident on Tuesday.

Neither Dach nor de Haan were made available to media, but Jonathan Toews said he bumped into Dach on Thursday and advised him to take his time resting, no matter how strong the itch to join camp becomes.

“A young guy like that probably feels like there’s a lot of expectations, a lot of pressure for him, and he probably wants to come in and show what he can do right at the start,” Toews said. “But he’s got to take his time and make sure he’s 100 percent when he comes back.”

The rest of the Hawks focused on defensive skills and conditioning in practice — a clear indication this will be a Jeremy Colliton training camp through and through. The 55-man roster was split into two groups, each of which worked for about 90 minutes.

For the remaining members of the old core, it was a fresh reminder of their advancing age.

Corey Crawford said he wasn’t able to lift as much weight this summer. “The body, it seems like it wears down a little bit easier as you get older,” he said.

Duncan Keith said he noticed a different mood this year — partially because of Colliton bearing down to ingrain his system into the team’s collective mind, and partially because of the fresh faces in the “D” corps, even if arguably the most impactful one wasn’t actually participating.

“There’s lots of turnover every year, but when you bring in guys like Olli Maatta and Calvin de Haan and [Ryan] Carpenter that come from good organizations, teams that have won before, it’s nice to have that experience,” Keith said. “They’re young guys, too, but it gives everyone more confidence in the group.”