The People Want To Know If Kirby Dach Is Ready For The NHL In 2019-20

Is Kirby Dach ready for the NHL? In a word…¯\_(?)_/¯

Dach is kind of hard to figure out on paper and youtube. You look at his size and skill and you kind of expect his number to be more dominant in the WHL. 73 points in 62 games is nothing to sneeze at, but when you see his “HOLY FUCK” youtube highlights you’d kind of expect to see more production.

Here is the thing though…sometimes guys like Dach can struggle to produce BECAUSE they’re so much better than their peers. Dach is a pass-first type center. He will protect the puck, think the game, try to feather pucks through seams, and get on the scoresheet. He wins with his brains and hands more than his feet and size. When you’re a guy like that you need players who can also think the game at an elite level to produce in a big way. There is an example of this with two current Chicago Blackhawks at the CHL level…Dylan Strome and Alex Debrincat. Those two guys put up a GAZILLION points for the Erie Otters because they’re soulmates. They know how to play off of each other. They know how to get to soft areas. They know how to attack the defense. Debrincat finished his OHL career with 167 goals and Strome had 354 points. Those are crazy numbers and there’s no way they’re able to put up numbers like that if they didn’t have the ability to lean on each other. Dach didn’t have a wing man like that because it’s rare. He still put up really good numbers. He just didn’t break 100 points. I think playing at the NHL level with guys who really know how to play the game will actually help his game rather than hurt it. That doesn’t mean he’s ready, it just means that I am not worried about people who look at his numbers and go “ehhhhhh”.

Physically, he probably won’t get pushed around at the NHL level. He’s 6’4 and 200lbs. He’s going to need to learn how to use his body to protect pucks against bigger, strong, faster, smarter NHL players as opposed to teenagers, but it’s not like Dach is some sort of scrawny kid out there. If he has big summer in the weight room he could have an NHL-ready body.

Then the only two questions left are 1) “can he help you win?” and 2) “is it good for Dach’s development?” and those are two questions that I don’t know how to answer right now. On 6/24 we have no idea what the Blackhawks roster will look like on opening night. A lot of change is coming in between now and July 1st. You would HOPE that the Hawks would spend some of this 16M in cap space that they presently have and maybe they add even more after they trade Anisimov and whoever else. I have a hard time imagining Kirby Dach being able to make the jump to the NHL as a center. That’s a LOT of responsibility in the dzone for an 18 year-old, but maybe his “transition year” to the league he could help at wing. So if he’s a wing he needs to be in the top 9 getting regular minutes in good situations. If he’s a bubble player then he’d be better off going back to Saskatoon where he can play big minutes in every situation with a clear list of aspects of his game to work on being crafted by the Blackhawks. When you look at the Blackhawks roster as presently constructed you have to ask if Kirby Dach is better right now than the group of wingers including Caggiula, Kubalik, Quenneville, Sikura, and Perlini. Those are the wings, at present time, who are in the mix for the extra top 9 spots. That’s before the Hawks hopefully add guys like Pavelski, Dzingel, Lee, etc. My gut says…Dach is going to have a hard time beating enough of those guys out and he will be back in Saskatoon. Which is not a bad thing. I hope he makes the team. I hope he really is given every opportunity as Stan said, because if he does then that means he’s a special player at 18 and a guy who moves them closer to the playoffs because he can flat out play. It’s going to be an interesting summer. Already looking forward to Prospect Camp