WRIST AND REWARD
In his first 5 games back, Dach has had lingering pain and hasn’t exactly lit it up
Kirby Dach returned to the Blackhawks’ lineup five games ago, but lingering pain in his surgically repaired right wrist continues to be an issue.
“Obviously, there’s pain with it still,” Dach said Monday. “It’s a four- to five-month injury, and I’ve been playing within three months. There’s going to be a little bit of pain with it.”
That comment turned some heads and raised some questions. Is playing now a risk to Dach’s long-term health? Was he medically cleared too soon?
But coach Jeremy Colliton clarified that Dach’s lingering pain was of no significant concern.
“There’s no way the medical staff and organization would have [approved it if it was risky],” Colliton said. “He’s too important for us. I wouldn’t be in favor of playing him if that were a concern. Everything that I’ve been told is that this doesn’t slow down his process of feeling 100% at all. In fact, it should speed it up.”
Dach’s first five games have been decent but unremarkable, perhaps not fully living up to the hype stirred by his surprise return March 27.
Dach, 20, had an assist in each of the two Hurricanes games before being bumped up to first-line center against the Predators. He hasn’t been a huge difference-maker in any game, and the Hawks have gone 1-4 during this stretch.
Defensively, he’s scraping off the rust with his positioning, stick usage and physicality. Offensively, he’s frustrated that his progress has been even slower.
“It’s just confidence-[related] things like, in the offensive zone, hanging on to the puck and making plays and trusting my shot more,” he said. “I’ve got a long way to go in getting that back and being comfortable with shooting in certain areas.”
Dach has tended to pass too often and shoot too little in his NHL career to date. It was a big emphasis last season, when his shot share — the percentage of all Hawks shots he was on the ice for that he took himself — was only 20.7%. (Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, comparatively, had shot shares above 28%.)
Dach has hovered around the same shot share (20.1%) this year. His current reluctance to shoot, however, is not only a mental dilemma but a physical problem.
“I don’t know if it’s necessarily confidence in myself [that’s lacking],” he said. “It’s confidence in my wrist and how it’s holding up — the strength of that and how much power I have behind it.”
The Hawks are willing to take a patient, long-term approach with their cornerstone forward.
Colliton talked with Dach throughout the recovery process to remind him it would take weeks or months to rediscover his A-game. So nine days since Dach returned, Hawks leadership has no worries about his lack of immediate results.
“It’s just going to take time,” Colliton said. “It’s [about] reps and taking those shots when someone’s putting their stick in there or finishing a check on you. It was important that he started [to get] some games in and have that competition and contact . . . . He’s moving in the right direction, and he’ll get there.”
Dach is the one holding himself to the loftiest standard.
“The doctors have done a really good job of managing [my wrist] and taking care of it after games,” he said. “I don’t really see it as an excuse where it’s like, ‘My wrist is hurting.’ If I’m out playing on it, I expect to be 100% out there and make the plays and be the player I am.”
NOTE: The Hawks put forward Lucas Wallmark on waivers Monday. Wallmark hadn’t appeared in a game since March 18, and the team needed to open a roster spot for trade acquisition Vinnie Hinostroza, who joined the Hawks at practice Monday. Colliton said Wallmark will be assigned to the taxi squad Tuesday if he clears waivers.