Kirby Dach

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Kirby Dach
Born (2001-01-21) January 21, 2001 (age 20)
Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
NHL team Chicago Blackhawks
NHL Draft 3rd overall, 2019
Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career 2019–present

Kirby Dach (born January 21, 2001) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who currently plays centre for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL).[1][2] Dach was selected by the Blackhawks with the third overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career[]

Junior[]

During the 2016 Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam Draft, Dach was selected second overall by the Saskatoon Blades.[3] He played in 19 games, scoring 10 points. Dach joined the Blades full-time for the 2017–18 season. In 52 games, he recorded seven goals and 39 assists.

In January 2019, Dach was named as an alternate captain for the Blades for the remainder of the season. He was named captain for Team Orr for the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.[4] Team Orr defeated Team Cherry 5–4, with Dach recording one assist.[5] He finished the season with 25 goals and 48 assists in 62 games.

Dach was ranked third among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS)' final draft rankings for the 2019 NHL Entry Draft; Dach was selected third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks.[6] He signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the club on July 8.

Professional[]

Dach began his professional playing career immediately with the Blackhawks after training camp. He made his NHL debut on October 20, 2019 against the Washington Capitals.[7] Dach scored his first NHL goal against Marc-André Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights in a 2–1 loss on October 22.[8] Dach finished the pandemic-shortened 2019–20 NHL season with 10 goals and 23 assists in 64 games.[9] He also skated in nine playoff games where he recorded one goal and five assists.[10]

Dach missed much of the 2020–21 NHL season after sustaining a wrist injury in the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[9] He rejoined the Blackhawks on March 27, 2021.[9] Dach appeared in 18 games where he tallied two goals and eight assists. He reaggravated his wrist injury and missed the final three games of the season.[11]

International play[]

In 2018, Dach was named to Team Canada for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup where he scored 2 goals and 5 assists in 5 tournament games.[12] In the gold medal game against Sweden, Dach scored a first period goal, helping Team Canada to a 6–2 victory.[13]

He was loaned by the Blackhawks to Canada's 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships roster, where he was eventually named captain. On December 23, in Canada's lone pre tournament game which was played against Russia, Dach bumped into Russian forward Ilya Safonov. The impact was enough to injure Dach, who left the game immediately and did not return. X-rays later confirmed Dach had sustained a fracture in his wrist, and would miss the rest of the tournament.[14]

Personal life[]

Kirby's brother Colton Dach is an ice hockey forward with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League as a prospect of the Chicago Blackhawks, who drafted him in the 2nd round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.[15] According to Colton, the biggest difference in their playing styles is that "(Kirby is) pass-first and I’m a shoot-first player.”[16]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2015–16 Fort Saskatchewan Rangers AMHL 34 14 21 35 12 — — — — —
2016–17 Fort Saskatchewan Rangers AMHL 22 6 20 26 6 — — — — —
2016–17 Saskatoon Blades WHL 19 6 4 10 4 — — — — —
2017–18 Saskatoon Blades WHL 52 7 39 46 12 — — — — —
2018–19 Saskatoon Blades WHL 62 25 48 73 40 10 5 3 8 6
2019–20 Rockford IceHogs AHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2019–20 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 64 8 15 23 24 9 1 5 6 4
2020–21 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 18 2 8 10 4 — — — — —
NHL totals 82 10 23 33 28 9 1 5 6 4

International[]

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2017 Canada Black U17 7th 5 1 6 7 2
2018 Canada HG18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 2 5 7 0
Junior totals 10 3 11 14 2

References[]

  1. ^ "Kirby Dach at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  2. ^ "2019 Draft Prospect Rankings, NHL Draft Prospect Rankings". NHL.com. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  3. ^ "2016 WHL Bantam Draft Summary – WHL Network". Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  4. ^ Zary, Darren; January 21, Saskatoon StarPhoenix Updated; 2019 (2019-01-21). "2019 NHL Entry Draft: Blades' Kirby Dach ranked No. 2 in North America | Saskatoon StarPhoenix". Retrieved 2019-02-17.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Team Orr completes thrilling comeback in 5-4 victory". Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  6. ^ Myers, Tracey. "Dach aims to prove Blackhawks right at choosing him No. 3 in NHL Draft". National Hockey League. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  7. ^ Thompson, Phil (2019-10-20). "Kirby Dach starts at center on the first line in his Blackhawks debut: 'He looked comfortable'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  8. ^ "Kirby Dach Scores 1st Career Goal for Blackhawks". NBC Chicago. 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  9. ^ a b c Thompson, Phil (2021-03-22). "3 things we learned from the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, including plans for Kirby Dach and a focus on defense: 'We can execute better and have more of a killer instinct'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  10. ^ Spiegel, Jackie (2020-11-18). "World Juniors 2021: Canada's Kirby Dach with an assist for the ages during practice". Sporting News. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  11. ^ Roumeliotis, Charlie (2021-05-04). "Blackhawks' Kirby Dach sidelined with wrist aggravation". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  12. ^ "11 WHL players win gold with Canada at 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup – WHL Network". Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  13. ^ "Game Summary". www.hockeycanada.ca. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  14. ^ "Team Canada captain Kirby Dach out for remainder of World Juniors". www.sportsnet.ca. December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  15. ^ "Colton Dach". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  16. ^ Thompson, Phil (July 25, 2021). "Seth and Caleb Jones. Kirby and Colton Dach. The Chicago Blackhawks are cornering the NHL market on reuniting brothers in the organization". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-07-27.

External links[]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Chicago Blackhawks first round draft pick
2019 		Succeeded by
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