C Kirby Dach (2019, 3rd, CHI)

[jj cale]

It always starts out as a two-horse race. But neither Hughes nor Kakko have shown enough to be looked at as clearly the best guys from their draft. It's not like with McDavid or Crosby or Ovechkin where they showed early on that they were head and shoulders better than everyone else.

Hughes and Kakko are the early favorites, but what Dach has done in his 3 NHL games and Turcotte has done in his short time in the NCAA should give people a little pause when declaring who might wind up the best. Byram could easily be the best of the bunch too, but he's off to a slightly slower start that the others this year.

Agreed.

 

[OKOptimistic]

Damn maybe that is why he was third and not Byram or Cozens

 

[CallMeShaft]

Could also end up being some random from the later rounds like Kucherov or Stone or Benn, etc. Obviously not as likely but it’s just so early.

Agreed. Was just looking at Kane's draft year (2007) because he's always the guy who Hughes most gets compared to, and saw that the second best guy there was Benn. Obviously if Hughes follows in 88's footsteps and the rest of the 2019 draft looks like what the 2007 draft did, he'll easily be the best of the bunch, but you just don't know what'll come out of this draft so soon after it happened.

I also look at Scheifele's draft, seeing as he's the easiest comparable for Dach, and MS is probably the best first rounder in that entire draft, despite being picked 8th. Of course that draft also had Kucherov, so Scheifele definitely isn't the best player in that draft, but he was better than the guys picked ahead of him. Honestly, if that was the case with Dach (better than the guys selected ahead of him, only worse than one guy picked after), I'd be ecstatic.

 

[CallMeShaft]

Damn maybe that is why third and not Byram or Cozens

Your avatar fits nicely with this thread.

 

[Dominance]

It’s nice to be right.

Such a shame this kid will be held back by skating issues.

 

[snipes]

Kane should become BFFs with Kirby. That’s an unreal combo in the making.

If I was a skilled and high hockey IQ player like Patty, I’d be drawn to Dach as my centre.

A Dach-Kane pairing is terrifying for the Central. The new Chicago Outfit.

 

[Hattrick Kane]

It’s nice to be right.

Such a shame this kid will be held back by skating issues.

Coincidentally, Kakko is the one who looks like he has skating issues right now.

 

[snipes]

Coincidentally, Kakko is the one who looks like he has skating issues right now.

Dach is a better skater than Kakko.

If he plays at the intensity level he showed against PA, then he’ll be in the convo for the best player from the 2019 draft. No reason he can’t be an alpha male centre at the pro level.

He’s showing early that he’s the most pro ready forward prospect from that draft.

 

[jj cale]

Gonna suck to lose him for the WJC.

 

[snipes]

Gonna suck to lose him for the WJC.

Too bad. I know you follow our Western Canadian lads jj.

I think he’s on the Hawks full time unless they grant Dach permission.

The Hawks have full power here. If they think he’s ready to be a full time NHLer, then we let the lad go. He’s doing Western Canada proud.

But, if he’s available, watch him and Lafreniere destroy the WJC. Alpha male line.

 

[jj cale]

Too bad. I know you follow our Western Canadian lads jj.

I think he’s on the Hawks full time unless they grant Dach permission.

The Hawks have full power here. If they think he’s ready to be a full time NHLer, then we let the lad go. He’s doing Western Canada proud.

But, if he’s available, watch him and Lafreniere destroy the WJC. Alpha male line.

Sure hope we can land him for the tournament, Dobson looks out, ditto Hayton.

The losses are piling up.

 

[Rorschach]

Yeah this is no 2004 draft. Hughes/Kaako are not Ovechkin/Malkin and although both drafted by Chicago, Kirby Dach is no Cam Barker.

 

[Zaddy]

Wow what a surprise that this guy is doing well, who saw that coming?

Him and Turcotte were the clear #3/4 for me with Zegras not far behind.

Will be fun to compare Dach to guys like Byram, Cozens and Podkolzin in a couple of years.

 

[jj cale]

Kane should become BFFs with Kirby. That’s an unreal combo in the making.

If I was a skilled and high hockey IQ player like Patty, I’d be drawn to Dach as my centre.

A Dach-Kane pairing is terrifying for the Central. The new Chicago Outfit.

The Spilotro brothers.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

And posters said I was "just trying to stand out" by ranking him 3rd.

 

[WeThreeKings]

And posters said I was "just trying to stand out" by ranking him 3rd.

I said all year that any list that had Cozens ahead of Dach was worthless.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I would caution to try to dunk on those who weren't fans of Dach based off two games into his NHL season. Heinola was a huge steal for Winnipeg, then a few weeks later he might get sent down. Bjornfot was a huge steal for LA, then a few weeks later he is sent down. And thats nothing against those two players. They might turn into very good NHL'ers, but it shows not to change an opinion based off a small sample. For all we know, Dach had his two best games he'll have this season in the NHL, and the next 5 he'll struggle, and eventually get sent down to the WHL.

I'm not anti-Dach or anything like that. I agree with most of these posts. I had the guy 4th pre-draft, and thought about ranking him 2nd, but decided against it. All I'm saying is that I think its way too early to change opinions. If you thought Dach was great beforehand, you should think the same thing right now. But those who didn't aren't necessarily wrong. It's been two games.

 

[Zaddy]

I would caution to try to dunk on those who weren't fans of Dach based off two games into his NHL season. Heinola was a huge steal for Winnipeg, then a few weeks later he might get sent down. Bjornfot was a huge steal for LA, then a few weeks later he is sent down. And thats nothing against those two players. They might turn into very good NHL'ers, but it shows not to change an opinion based off a small sample. For all we know, Dach had his two best games he'll have this season in the NHL, and the next 5 he'll struggle, and eventually get sent down to the WHL.

I'm not anti-Dach or anything like that. I agree with most of these posts. I had the guy 4th pre-draft, and thought about ranking him 2nd, but decided against it. All I'm saying is that I think its way too early to change opinions. If you thought Dach was great beforehand, you should think the same thing right now. But those who didn't aren't necessarily wrong. It's been two games.

I think all that goes without saying. It's way too early to make any definitive statements about these guys. Going back to juniors/getting sent down obviously doesn't mean that a player is going to be worse in the long run than someone who stays up, but I think it's pretty encouraging to see how well these guys have been doing, especially considering that guys like Dach, Björnfot and Heinola wasn't considered nearly as NHL ready by the masses as guys like Byram, Cozens etc.

 

[CallMeShaft]

I would caution to try to dunk on those who weren't fans of Dach based off two games into his NHL season. Heinola was a huge steal for Winnipeg, then a few weeks later he might get sent down. Bjornfot was a huge steal for LA, then a few weeks later he is sent down. And thats nothing against those two players. They might turn into very good NHL'ers, but it shows not to change an opinion based off a small sample. For all we know, Dach had his two best games he'll have this season in the NHL, and the next 5 he'll struggle, and eventually get sent down to the WHL.

I'm not anti-Dach or anything like that. I agree with most of these posts. I had the guy 4th pre-draft, and thought about ranking him 2nd, but decided against it. All I'm saying is that I think its way too early to change opinions. If you thought Dach was great beforehand, you should think the same thing right now. But those who didn't aren't necessarily wrong. It's been two games.

It's been 4 games, he has 2 points.

He had his best game today but the rest of the team played meh to bad hockey and we got shutout. Arguably our best player today.

 

[greasysnapper]

It's been 4 games, he has 2 points.

He had his best game today but the rest of the team played meh to bad hockey and we got shutout. Arguably our best player today.

Not sure he was the best player, but you did say arguably. He played well, but I truly believe he showed he's not ready in a number of areas and moments in the game. As I continue to say, I believe the best course of action is to get him in a couple of games, get his feet wet, get him a little walking around money, and then send him down and let him grow into his body and work on a few things. Bowman's smart enough to know not to ruin this asset.

 

[CallMeShaft]

Not sure he was the best player, but you did say arguably. He played well, but I truly believe he showed he's not ready in a number of areas and moments in the game. As I continue to say, I believe the best course of action is to get him in a couple of games, get his feet wet, get him a little walking around money, and then send him down and let him grow into his body and work on a few things. Bowman's smart enough to know not to ruin this asset.

I personally liked him and Nylander today and that's it. Sure, I'm a little easier on the kids, but nobody else impressed me.

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

Way to be vague, Chicago...but it sure seems like they will at least play him in 10 games, burning year 1 of ELC.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Yeah, he's staying up. And deservedly so, he's shown he's an NHLer right now.

 

[greasysnapper]

I think it's the wrong decision but we'll see. Hope he is a great one.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I don’t think that’s a good decision either. They can always send him back at some point, but he’s exactly the type of 18 year old player I would not expect to be able to put together a full season at the NHL level. Most struggle with consistency as 18 year old rookies. Dach has struggled with it in junior hockey. It probably won’t get much better playing in the best league in the world.