Player Discussion Kirby Dach: Welcome to Montreal part 2

[Big Lurk]

Attabooooyyyy

 

[Andrei79]

7 points in his last 9.

He's still not playing quite like he was before the injury, but things are slowly improving.

 

[ahmedou]

Dach's goal celebration to the Dachaters

 

[DrBizz4r3]

I Really like that fire/pest that shines sometimes in Dach. Confidence is starting to be back when you talk back to the other team bench after a goal

 

[Rapala]

Love that long reach when Kirby is moving his feet.
Slaf could use some pointers on how to use it properly when in possession.

 

[OneSharpMarble]

It's crazy how his line has been struggling but still producing, all 3 have gone through hell and they are not giving up. That second line is going to be unstoppable if they all get to 100%.

 

[Rapala]

I Really like that fire/pest that shines sometimes in Dach. Confidence is starting to be back when you talk back to the other team bench after a goal

I wish he would remain humble considering all the bad shit that seems to happen to him.
Just do all your talking with your play.

 

[Walrus26]

I Really like that fire/pest that shines sometimes in Dach. Confidence is starting to be back when you talk back to the other team bench after a goal

Yeah, I like his "Billy Big Bollocks' attitude and swagger when he's rolling. Hockey teams need some snide and bastard in them. Such players are instantly hateable by every other fanbase and that's the way it should be.

Loved his first goal against Utah, typical Dach - power to the net and casual undressing of the goalie with a sick move.

 

[ReHabs]

Yeah, I like his "Billy Big Bollocks' attitude and swagger when he's rolling. Hockey teams need some snide and bastard in them. Such players are instantly hateable by every other fanbase and that's the way it should be.

Loved his first goal against Utah, typical Dach - power to the net and casual undressing of the goalie with a sick move.

Yeah I support it too — he needed the monkey off his back and what better way than swinging your Johnson around on the the ice and scoring goals?

Good for Dach and the Habs

Long may he reign

 

[Andy]

His skating and agility is back. Swagger is coming back too.

Thread is very quiet now

 

[wedge]

glad he's back. Not everybody is like Laine and picking up where they left off (and even better). I guess he really needed time.

 

[BergevinBurner]

Hopefully he keeps it up, he completely holds his own fate in his hands.

If he would've continued playing the same way from October/November then I'm nearly certain he would've been relegated to 3rd line duties season, likely on the wing if Beck makes the jump next year. That would've been worst case scenario for him going into a contract year(demoted from 2C to bottom 6 winger).

If he can put up 25 point over the 2nd half of the season I'd be happy. Showing a 50 point pace with our current 2nd line would likely mean 60+ is very possible for him once Demidov joins us.

 

[Habs 4 Life]

Sorry Kirby I didn't believe in you anymore a few weeks ago!! Glad to see the real you and what you're capable off! Keep it up!!

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

7 in 9 with six goals. That’s great production and you can throw in a game winning shootout goal to boot.

The weird thing here is that he’s always been a playmaker. The way he’s driving to the net now is awesome.

Hopefully it’s not just a streak. The fact that he’s been steadily improving before the production popped is a good sign.

 

[CHwest]

Sorry Kirby I didn't believe in you anymore a few weeks ago!! Glad to see the real you and what you're capable off! Keep it up!!

You were not the only one with a "hot take". Some cannot grasp a serious injury needing some play time to work through.

 

[Adam Michaels]

We can pinpoint the return from the Christmas break as the time Dach turned it around.

Before the break, Dach had 9 pts in 34 GP for a pace of 22 pts. Now he has 16 pts in 43 GP for a pace of 30 pts.

From the Florida game and on, Habs had 48 games left. If we go by the 7 pts in 9 GP he's put up since the break, he's on pace for 37 pts in those 48 GP. Now, time will tell if he will be able to maintain that pace of production. But it is encouraging to see him put up points. But even more encouraging is he's starting to look like the Dach we were seeing before his major injury last year, where he's carrying the puck, enters the zone in possession, and is using his reach and size to play keep-away.

I remember Craig Button on Marinaro's podcast in talking about Dach's production, brought up Connor Brown. He had also missed an entire year for the same injury. He signed with Edmonton as a UFA, and he wasn't doing well. To the point the Oilers fans were upset with him for not living up to the hype and management for signing him. Then around February, Brown started to play better and be the Connor Brown that was signed. Button wasn't worried about Dach because he knows such an injury takes time before the player starts to feel comfortable.

 

[Deebs]

Guess who's back, back again
Kirby's back, tell a friend

 

[Andy]

Guess who's back, back again
Kirby's back, tell a friend

He still has some ways to go. He's been progressing very steadily and very consistently.

Some people just cannot see progress unless points are being scored. It reminded me so much of Slaf last year. It was clear Kirby was getting better before the recent string of points.

It was a matter of time before it started being reflect on the scoresheet. He just had to keep it up. He did, and now he's scoring at a second line pace. But as usual, there is a segment of this fan base that just refuses to see any nuance in a player's game once they designate that player a whipping boy.

The skating, agility, and swagger are back. He's an absolute pain in the ass with his long reach on the forecheck and backcheck when coming back from the offensive zone.

He's gotta clean up his touches a little bit. He still whiffs passes quite a bit, especially those on the cycle. And his cross-ice passing accuracy is still a little off. Like all things, I would be concerned if Kirby always had this problem, but that is not the case. This makes me hopeful that this aspect of his game will get cleaned up as well.

 

[sampollock]

Looking better every game. getting more sure of his knee I suspect

 

[Habs Halifax]

He still has some ways to go. He's been progressing very steadily and very consistently.

Some people just cannot see progress unless points are being scored. It reminded me so much of Slaf last year. It was clear Kirby was getting better before the recent string of points.

It was a matter of time before it started being reflect on the scoresheet. He just had to keep it up. He did, and now he's scoring at a second line pace. But as usual, there is a segment of this fan base that just refuses to see any nuance in a player's game once they designate that player a whipping boy.

The skating, agility, and swagger are back. He's an absolute pain in the ass with his long reach on the forecheck and backcheck when coming back from the offensive zone.

He's gotta clean up his touches a little bit. He still whiffs passes quite a bit, especially those on the cycle. And his cross-ice passing accuracy is still a little off. Like all things, I would be concerned if Kirby always had this problem, but that is not the case. This makes me hopeful that this aspect of his game will get cleaned up as well.

Agreed. It's just another rollercoaster ride and we are at a high point now. Dach's development will continue to be unstable but the potential for him to be who we think he can be is still there. It's going to be a process and all he needs is to stay healthy and keep working at his game.

I have confidence he is a 60 pts forward (Center or RW)... What I don't know is if that is next season or the year after.

 

[Naslundforever]

You were not the only one with a "hot take". Some cannot grasp a serious injury needing some play time to work through.

And many totally grasp it but don’t think a rehabbing player should have been given the 2nd line. Patience and a winning streak has come out on top, no doubt there.

 

[Andy]

And many totally grasp it but don’t think a rehabbing player should have been given the 2nd line. Patience and a winning streak has come out on top, no doubt there.

This really wasn't what the contingent of negative nancys were saying though. Yes, there was the "he shouldn't be on the second line" phrases thrown out there, but that wasn't the main part of the debate.

The issue is that this thread, and board were hijacked by a fairly vocal group of posters incessantly calling him a bum, saying he wouldn't get claimed on waivers, re-wrote history, said all his points were mooched, that the Hawks saw that he sucked this bad and that's why they moved him.

It was so hyperbolic. If the discussion was, "Hey, Kirby is playing shit, and doesn't look in nhl game shape just yet, maybe 2nd line is too much." Sure, that is an actual discussion. But this is not what it was.

So much about wasted picks, propping up Romanov, over-exaggerating the awfulness of the move, the bad pro-scouting, no team would want him.

Just immature debating. And as always, these folks just go f***ing silent after spamming the thread, GDTs every day with the same nonsense.

 

[sampollock]

Man we sure get drama over players sometimes a little much 77 needs time to get over this knee

 

[JianYang]

Love that long reach when Kirby is moving his feet.
Slaf could use some pointers on how to use it properly when in possession.

You saw what slaf can do when he is moving on that shift where he almost went through the team.

I think he sort of gets static because he likes to dish the puck. He is a decent playmaker, but he's way more dynamic when he's skating because that's when his size becomes a factor.

 

[DAChampion]

How much of Dach's improved goal scoring is due to opposing teams being afraid of Dach passing to Laine?

This really wasn't what the contingent of negative nancys were saying though. Yes, there was the "he shouldn't be on the second line" phrases thrown out there, but that wasn't the main part of the debate.

The issue is that this thread, and board were hijacked by a fairly vocal group of posters incessantly calling him a bum, saying he wouldn't get claimed on waivers, re-wrote history, said all his points were mooched, that the Hawks saw that he sucked this bad and that's why they moved him.

It was so hyperbolic. If the discussion was, "Hey, Kirby is playing shit, and doesn't look in nhl game shape just yet, maybe 2nd line is too much." Sure, that is an actual discussion. But this is not what it was.

So much about wasted picks, propping up Romanov, over-exaggerating the awfulness of the move, the bad pro-scouting, no team would want him.

Just immature debating. And as always, these folks just go f***ing silent after spamming the thread, GDTs every day with the same nonsense.

I had a poster tell me that Harvey-Pinard had shown more NHL merit than Dach.

Another, or might have been the same one, said Dach didn't deserve to be drafted 3rd overall, that he was some huge reach.