Kirby Dach - is there precedent for a happy ending?

[Captain Mountain]

That's not a bad comparison, but most of those injuries were actually before he made the NHL. After breaking his leg in his rookie year he only missed 4 games in year 2 and none in years 3-5.

None of those are comparable? I'm not talking about star players who came back from serious injury - there are many of those. I'm talking about a promising player who had his prime development years derailed but still "made it".

Out of curiosity, why are you invalidating comparable scenarios to a scenario that already doesn't have a lot of comparables one way or another? Like, its hard to figure out what you're actually trying to determine.

In recent memory, Mittelstadt, Byram, Chyrchrun and D. Strome have all had injury issues early in their career and either figured it out are generally considered to be figuring it out right now.

Either we acknowledge that there are precedents for players to overcome early career injuries and precedents for players to not overcome early career injuries, or we treat Dach as an entirely unique situation and ignore precedents.

 

[bsl]

So much of this Habs roster seems to depend on Kirby Dach being the player we all want him to be. I'm definitely in the camp of "his injuries aren't related - he can bounce back!" but it's got me wondering, is there any historical precedent for a young player going through this many injuries (3 of first 5 seasons derailed by major injury) and still turning into a top player / borderline all-star?

chelios had some serious knee probs his first 5 years if I recall. But dach is strange as it seems to be random and varied.

 

[DAChampion]

So much of this Habs roster seems to depend on Kirby Dach being the player we all want him to be. I'm definitely in the camp of "his injuries aren't related - he can bounce back!" but it's got me wondering, is there any historical precedent for a young player going through this many injuries (3 of first 5 seasons derailed by major injury) and still turning into a top player / borderline all-star?

Sean Couturier took many seasons to reach his potential.

Admittedly his peak didn't last long.

 

[1909]

Dach has still to prove that his body can stand a 75 to 82 games per season. So far, it looks pretty bad.

 

[Egresch]

So much of this Habs roster seems to depend on Kirby Dach being the player we all want him to be. I'm definitely in the camp of "his injuries aren't related - he can bounce back!" but it's got me wondering, is there any historical precedent for a young player going through this many injuries (3 of first 5 seasons derailed by major injury) and still turning into a top player / borderline all-star?

Martin Pospisil is the one who comes to my mind. He is no top player, but he fulfilled his potential of 105 OA from 2018. He had serious injuries 3 of 5 post draft year and made it to NHL at 23y. He is one of the most intriguing bottom 6 players in the league.

 

[Rapala]

Benoit Brunet won a cup.

 

[Ozmodiar]

He’s the most significant question mark among the forward group.

It’s a question of health plus not knowing what be brings over an 82 game season at center. We haven’t seen it yet. Going on 24, but still a prospect in a way.

I like the potential tho.

 

[Frankenheimer]

As several have noted, Koivu is the best example. A ton of early injuries of different kinds (knee, shoulder) plus cancer and still played over a 1000 games.

 

[Rob Sense]

Dach has still to prove that his body can stand a 75 to 82 games per season. So far, it looks pretty bad.

He doesn't have to prove anything...he could play 74 games and get cut by a skate or get a STD it has nothing to do with previous injuries. He had a broken wrist, a concussion and a traumatic knee injury. If anyone can demonstrate how these are connected or predictable or sign of a fragile human then i have a nice shiny two-nee for you!

 

[donghabs98]

Lots of player have been given the injury prone label only to come back healthy and productive. For a while Markov was looking like he would never be healthy but then came back and missed 2 games over the next 4 seasons. Koivu was another who ended up pretty healthy after being labelled injury prone.

Markov is a good example as there were a lot of legitimate reasons to think he A) couldn't stay healthy and B) wouldn't be able to remain a top 4 defenseman. After all, in 08-09, 09-10 and 10-11 ended each season injured and he didn't make his debut in 11-12 did the end of the season.

I remember when he made his return against the Canucks in 2012, the team really had to shelter his minutes in case of another injury.

 

[JIMVINNY]

He doesn't have to prove anything...he could play 74 games and get cut by a skate or get a STD it has nothing to do with previous injuries. He had a broken wrist, a concussion and a traumatic knee injury. If anyone can demonstrate how these are connected or predictable or sign of a fragile human then i have a nice shiny two-nee for you!

I would argue that a lot of injuries suffered by some younger players can be due to immaturity in their physical development. As they get out of the teens and early 20's, if they can avoid anything too serious, they get stronger, and injury concerns become a thing of the past. Hopefully this is the case with Dach.

 

[donghabs98]

I'm not holding my breath for Dach honnestly , easier on the heart this way.
The team I cheer for has trained me well in expecting nothing good ever

I feel like being a Habs fan in the 2000s gives you extra trauma and mistrust anything an injury happens to a player. Think of all the seasons that fell apart after a key injury or two (2015-16, 08-09 and 2006 playoffs). Other seasons also saw an absurd number of injuries like 22-23, 21-22 and 11-12. 2010-11 also saw a lot of key injuries too with Markov, Gorges and Pacioretty being out.

 

[Guess]

agreed and the two he had were totally unrelated...wrist and knee.

He's on his way to becoming a cyborg

 

[BLONG7]

Dach has still to prove that his body can stand a 75 to 82 games per season. So far, it looks pretty bad.

Again..............Hughes said Dach was their best player in camp. Freak play causes a season ending injury. Bad luck.....which he seems to have in spades.

Time will tell, gotta stay healthy the next two season, there is so much talent there.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

I would argue that a lot of injuries suffered by some younger players can be due to immaturity in their physical development. As they get out of the teens and early 20's, if they can avoid anything too serious, they get stronger, and injury concerns become a thing of the past. Hopefully this is the case with Dach.

Now that is possible. May be less fragile when he has completely matured. And he needs to protect himself and avoid taking unnecessary hits.

 

[Bobby Holik agent]

Kirby Dach - is there precedent for a happy ending?

Just promise me,
whatever we say
Whatever we do to each other
For now we take a vow to just.. Keep it in the closet

 

[Milhouse40]

Eichel and Barkov have suffered a whole lot of injuries to start their carreer, maybe not at the level of Dach, but still....

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Eichel and Barkov have suffered a whole lot of injuries to start their carreer, maybe not at the level of Dach, but still....

Barkov still goes off every 2 or 3 games but returns shortly after. Eichel never plays a complete season. But 65 games is pretty good as long as he is able to play in the playoffs.

 

[x Tame Impala]

What's up Habs fans!? Hawks fan here, saw the thread title on the HF side bar. Really wish the best for this kid, i met him in person in Chicago a few years back and he seemed like a nice guy.

What're you all expecting from him? From what us Hawks fan saw from his time with us I think he's got potential to be a 50-60 point guy, a reliable top 9 forward down the middle for years. He'd show flashes of high skill but lacks that offensive killer instinct IMO. He'd also routinely put himself in vulnerable positions so I worry about his health.

I doubt he becomes a true 1C, sadly. Nazar is far from a guarantee himself, so I hope both of these guys reach their full potential. Best of luck to Dach going forward!

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

He doesn't have to prove anything...he could play 74 games and get cut by a skate or get a STD it has nothing to do with previous injuries. He had a broken wrist, a concussion and a traumatic knee injury. If anyone can demonstrate how these are connected or predictable or sign of a fragile human then i have a nice shiny two-nee for you!

Because the broken wrist and knee injury were on nothing plays. As opposed to, for example, Chara's cheap shot on Pacioretty where an injury was to be expected.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

Dach has still to prove that his body can stand a 75 to 82 games per season. So far, it looks pretty bad.

That’s really my only concern.

I think he can quite easily be a 50-60pt center. The size and talent is blatantly obvious. Like you said, his ability to stay healthy is by far the biggest risk.

 

[Habssince89]

Countless examples. Close this thread up. The Dach drama is ridiculous

 

[Dach Vader]

What's up Habs fans!? Hawks fan here, saw the thread title on the HF side bar. Really wish the best for this kid, i met him in person in Chicago a few years back and he seemed like a nice guy.

What're you all expecting from him? From what us Hawks fan saw from his time with us I think he's got potential to be a 50-60 point guy, a reliable top 9 forward down the middle for years. He'd show flashes of high skill but lacks that offensive killer instinct IMO. He'd also routinely put himself in vulnerable positions so I worry about his health.

I doubt he becomes a true 1C, sadly. Nazar is far from a guarantee himself, so I hope both of these guys reach their full potential. Best of luck to Dach going forward!

He seemed ready to take off last year before the injury. We're hopeful he can come back stronger and regain his form early on. He really makes a big difference when he's on the ice, and we're definitely a better team with him. He's a solid all-around player.

I get what you're saying about the killer instinct mentality, but I think he's moving away from that. He's been playing more aggressively as his time here has gone on.

He'll likely play center in the top 6 with Newhook & Laine.

 

[Knuckles30]

Out of curiosity, why are you invalidating comparable scenarios to a scenario that already doesn't have a lot of comparables one way or another? Like, its hard to figure out what you're actually trying to determine.

In recent memory, Mittelstadt, Byram, Chyrchrun and D. Strome have all had injury issues early in their career and either figured it out are generally considered to be figuring it out right now.

Either we acknowledge that there are precedents for players to overcome early career injuries and precedents for players to not overcome early career injuries, or we treat Dach as an entirely unique situation and ignore precedents.

What I'm curious about is the impact of the loss of prime development years. 18-23 are hugely formative years in today's NHL, so I was trying to think of a player that missed significant time during those years but still developed to their potential. That's why I'm saying vets that came back form serious injury isn't the same thing - obviously I know that people can come back from serious injury. I guess I didn't explain myself very well.

 

[Knuckles30]

agreed and the two he had were totally unrelated...wrist and knee.

You got me. Two major injuries and a third season with 24 games missed including a season ending injury. As I said in my original question, I'm aware they are unrelated but am questioning whether anyone ever "made it" after missing so much time early in their career.

Koivu

This is probably the best example I've seen, and even he played 78 more games than Dach over his first five seasons.