Kirby Dach

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). 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. 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. Team Orr defeated Team Cherry 5–4, with Dach recording one assist. 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. 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. Dach scored his first NHL goal against Marc-André Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights in a 2–1 loss on October 22. Dach finished the pandemic-shortened 2019–20 NHL season with 10 goals and 23 assists in 64 games. He also skated in nine playoff games where he recorded one goal and five assists.

Dach missed much of the 2020–21 NHL season after sustaining a wrist injury in the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He rejoined the Blackhawks on March 27, 2021. 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.

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. In the gold medal game against Sweden, Dach scored a first period goal, helping Team Canada to a 6–2 victory.

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.

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. According to Colton, the biggest difference in their playing styles is that "(Kirby is) pass-first and I’m a shoot-first player.”

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International