Confirmed with Link: Kirby Dach to Montreal for 13th and 66th overall picks

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

+/- is a stat of convenience as in the above. Means nothing but then again it means something.

It's convenient to dismiss when it doesn't support the argument and it's convenient to point at when it supports the argument. It's a terrible stat.

 

[TLEH]

Dach isn’t that guy, mentally. He’ll never be.

 

[CanadianHawks]

Dach isn’t that guy, mentally. He’ll never be.

Knew we were in trouble with that pick when he was alone in the slot looking to pass the puck. Clear lane to the net. Saw this too many times to count

 

[Muffinalt]

Dach isn’t that guy, mentally. He’ll never be.

I thought I was in the prospect thread for a sec and ready to ask why you think that of Colton.

But yeah. Combine the two Dach boys (and give them magic health) and they'd be a terrific player.

 

[MarotteMarauder]

+/- is a stat of convenience as in the above. Means nothing but then again it means something.

You and I are both old school and I would opine that a +/- stat and the eye test done by a credible observer would result in better picks than a deep dive spreadsheet.

One need not get too granular to know if a guy can play or not.

 

[hawksrule]

Dach missed a tear, so it’s probably too early to really judge. There’s no denying he’s very talented. My issue with him was that he always leaves himself vulnerable to big hits, and that doesn’t work when you’re made of glass.

 

[OldCraig71]

I'm a Habs fan. I always bring up the fact that even though Dach was a third-overall pick, you guys traded him. If your management thought he was a good piece to keep in a rebuild, wouldn't they have done so?


Plenty of people are telling me to be patient with him because he will need time to get back to normal after a year lost to injury and that is fair. Hopefully, he can get on track but several things concern me about his play. He doesn't seem to be consistent with his effort level and routinely flubs passes and always seems to choose a pass over a shot option. I wonder if the injuries have taken a toll mentally or is he another player taken high in the draft that won't live up to the expectation?

 

[GIADF]

I'm a Habs fan. I always bring up the fact that even though Dach was a third-round pick, you guys traded him. If your management thought he was a good piece to keep in a rebuild, wouldn't they have done so?


Plenty of people are telling me to be patient with him because he will need time to get back to normal after a year lost to injury and that is fair. Hopefully, he can get on track but several things concern me about his play. He doesn't seem to be consistent with his effort level and routinely flubs passes and always seems to choose a pass over a shot option. I wonder if the injuries have taken a toll mentally or is he another player taken high in the draft that won't live up to the expectation?

I assume that was a goof, but he was 3rd overall, not a 3rd round pick.

Even before he mangled his wrist his shot was pretty terrible, and he isn't exactly a dynamo playmaker. He was promising at first because he was so young, had good size, and held his own physically right off the bat. Not to mention he had a really nice performance in the bubble playoffs vs Edmonton.

Once that appeal of him faded away he became a pretty lackluster and injury prone player. Very happy the Hawks were able to move on and get what they did for him and I see him topping out as a 3rd line winger.

 

[OldCraig71]

I assume that was a goof, but he was 3rd overall, not a 3rd round pick.

Even before he mangled his wrist his shot was pretty terrible, and he isn't exactly a dynamo playmaker. He was promising at first because he was so young, had good size, and held his own physically right off the bat. Not to mention he had a really nice performance in the bubble playoffs vs Edmonton.

Once that appeal of him faded away he became a pretty lackluster and injury prone player. Very happy the Hawks were able to move on and get what they did for him and I see him topping out as a 3rd line winger.

I fixed my error, thanks for noticing.

There were games in 22-23 where he looked like he was about to break out and many of us were excited about his potential. The knee injury happened and he didn't play till training camp. He is struggling this year and many are convinced that it will take a year for him to get back to form but I am not so sure.

He looks careless at times, flubs passes, and isn't engaged defensively, which could be due to missing so much time. Is this a trend you guys have seen from him in the past?

 

[Hattrick Kane]

I fixed my error, thanks for noticing.

There were games in 22-23 where he looked like he was about to break out and many of us were excited about his potential. The knee injury happened and he didn't play till training camp. He is struggling this year and many are convinced that it will take a year for him to get back to form but I am not so sure.

He looks careless at times, flubs passes, and isn't engaged defensively, which could be due to missing so much time. Is this a trend you guys have seen from him in the past?

Very much so. And he lacks awareness on the ice, which is why he’s always getting hurt. He grew early so he probably never had to pay attention in lesser leagues.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Eddie O alluded to issues after trade with Dach work ethic/effort

Sounds like same thing that frustrated Hawks is still part of his game up North

 

[giza]

He has Eric Lindros syndrome....bigger than other player growing up and then gets to the NHL where people are players are bigger, faster and in some case more physical to take advantage of defensively unaware players.

 

[OldCraig71]

Eddie O alluded to issues after trade with Dach work ethic/effort

Sounds like same thing that frustrated Hawks is still part of his game up North

Marc Denis(RDS analyst) mentioned similar things last week in one of the post game segments on that network. He said it was off camera stuff he noticed from Dach on the ice, lack of hustle to get back on plays and at the end of shifts. As I said, hopefully it’s just post injury rust and not the norm.

 

[TheFridge]

He has Eric Lindros syndrome....bigger than other player growing up and then gets to the NHL where people are players are bigger, faster and in some case more physical to take advantage of defensively unaware players.

This is an odd comparison because Eric Lindros was an elite NHL player from the moment he stepped on NHL ice. The guy won a Hart trophy at 21 years old. Yeah he got rocked by Stevens but they also played in completely different eras. If Dach had played in Lindros' era, he'd have been forced into retirement a long time ago.

 

[Kevin Musto]

The player Dach always reminded me of the most was Jason Spezza

 

[Callidusblackhawk]

This is an odd comparison because Eric Lindros was an elite NHL player from the moment he stepped on NHL ice. The guy won a Hart trophy at 21 years old. Yeah he got rocked by Stevens but they also played in completely different eras. If Dach had played in Lindros' era, he'd have been forced into retirement a long time ago.

Dach wouldn't have made it through his rookie year the way he played in a more physical era. I've never seen a guy take so many huge hits.

 

[BobbyJet]

Dach wouldn't have made it through his rookie year the way he played in a more physical era. I've never seen a guy take so many huge hits.

And it seems that Colton has the same tendency to walk into big hits. Coincidence?

 

[Cubs2024wildcard]

I'm a Habs fan. I always bring up the fact that even though Dach was a third-overall pick, you guys traded him. If your management thought he was a good piece to keep in a rebuild, wouldn't they have done so?


Plenty of people are telling me to be patient with him because he will need time to get back to normal after a year lost to injury and that is fair. Hopefully, he can get on track but several things concern me about his play. He doesn't seem to be consistent with his effort level and routinely flubs passes and always seems to choose a pass over a shot option. I wonder if the injuries have taken a toll mentally or is he another player taken high in the draft that won't live up to the expectation?

Well, the Hawks GM is an idiot. So don't put much stock in why he was traded.

I wasn't a fan of drafting Dach unlike many who were comparing him to Getzlaf and Scheifele. No seriously, it was a thing lol.

Dach has tools, it's just that there's a huge lock on his toolbox. As a Hawks fan, there was one instance where Dach looked like a player in his entire tenure on the team. Just one.

Like it or not, he's Adam Creighton.

 

[JaegerDice]

I'm a Habs fan. I always bring up the fact that even though Dach was a third-overall pick, you guys traded him. If your management thought he was a good piece to keep in a rebuild, wouldn't they have done so?


Plenty of people are telling me to be patient with him because he will need time to get back to normal after a year lost to injury and that is fair. Hopefully, he can get on track but several things concern me about his play. He doesn't seem to be consistent with his effort level and routinely flubs passes and always seems to choose a pass over a shot option. I wonder if the injuries have taken a toll mentally or is he another player taken high in the draft that won't live up to the expectation?

Dach was a late riser in that draft.

For the seasons before his draft year, he got a lot of criticism for inconsistency and streakiness in effort and intensity (and by extension, production).

I think a lot of teams/scouts fell in love with the tools and convinced themselves they can 'fix' his issues. I think that will be the story of his career.

 

[thedarkstark]

He has Eric Lindros syndrome....bigger than other player growing up and then gets to the NHL where people are players are bigger, faster and in some case more physical to take advantage of defensively unaware players.

Bro what? Lindros was a very good and very phyisical NHL player, His main issue was that he kept his head down far too often and got lit up with blindside hits which left him severely concussed on many many occasions.

Tissue paper Dach is NOTHING like Big E other than the tact that they both spent a lot of time on IR.

 

[BobbyJet]

Bro what? Lindros was a very good and very phyisical NHL player, His main issue was that he kept his head down far too often and got lit up with blindside hits which left him severely concussed on many many occasions.

Tissue paper Dach is NOTHING like Big E other than the tact that they both spent a lot of time on IR.

Yep. The comparison of the two players makes little sense. Lindros, in some ways was the perfect combination of finesse and physicality. Before his injury problems he was feared by ops with his thunderous hits and was quite skilled offensively. Lindros was a dominant force growing up and that probably was the main reason that he never did learn to keep his head up. Unfortunately, he and his brother despite their formidable size were more prone to head injuries than most.... and it shortened their NHL careers.
As for Dach, he has had a rough go of it since he turned pro. Hopefully the chronic injuries are now behind him.

 

[giza]

This is an odd comparison because Eric Lindros was an elite NHL player from the moment he stepped on NHL ice. The guy won a Hart trophy at 21 years old. Yeah he got rocked by Stevens but they also played in completely different eras. If Dach had played in Lindros' era, he'd have been forced into retirement a long time ago.

I'm not comparing Eric Lindros production, skillset and physical superiority to Kirby Dach. They both grew up bigger than their competition and Lindros played with a head down one too many times---especially with Scott Stevens around.....no matter how big you are, you need to be aware on the ice.

 

[TheFridge]

I'm not comparing Eric Lindros production, skillset and physical superiority to Kirby Dach. They both grew up bigger than their competition and Lindros played with a head down one too many times---especially with Scott Stevens around.....no matter how big you are, you need to be aware on the ice.

I mean, Lindros got victimized by one of the most predatory, vicious hitters to ever play the game. A hit that isn't even acceptable in the game today. I don't think it's sufficient evidence to say that Lindros never played with his head up as a result. I'm not sure what we're really comparing here.

 

[giza]

I mean, Lindros got victimized by one of the most predatory, vicious hitters to ever play the game. A hit that isn't even acceptable in the game today. I don't think it's sufficient evidence to say that Lindros never played with his head up as a result. I'm not sure what we're really comparing here.

More than once. The point is, players who are bigger than their competition don't always have the necessary "awareness" due to their historical size advantage. Adam Creighton was big and got rocked, as well. This is a very simple point ---you don't have to agree with it....but it is not a player comparison.....Lindros was great and a beast, not really sure what Dach is.

 

[TheFridge]

More than once. The point is, players who are bigger than their competition don't always have the necessary "awareness" due to their historical size advantage. Adam Creighton was big and got rocked, as well. This is a very simple point ---you don't have to agree with it....but it is not a player comparison.....Lindros was great and a beast, not really sure what Dach is.

It's just a strange player reference to evoke because Lindros was one of the greatest of all time. He didn't lack awareness, he just got rocked by an exceptionally predatory player.

There are lots of players that one could bring up when attempting to make the point that Dach basically benefitted from always being one of the biggest players growing up. And a better comparable would probably be someone who went on to be a middling or lackluster NHL player, as Dach has been to date.