From the start of an intra-squad game for the Canadiens, on the second day of his training camp on Saturday, we got a glimpse of the dilemma surrounding Kirby Dach.
He took the first faceoff once morest Jake Evans, and Dach lost it. His team didn’t touch the puck for the next 30 seconds as the trio of Evans, Joel Armia and Jonathan Drouin bustled in the offensive zone. Then David Savard killed a game behind his net, gave the disc to partner Kaiden Guhle, and the dilemma became clear.
Guhle looked up and he saw Dach making a turn high in the defensive zone, ready to accept a pass. Guhle joined him right on the paddle and Dach scampered off, speeding up and weaving through the neutral zone, so he had a ton of speed when he crossed the offensive blue line. This speed forced the opposing defensemen back, allowing Dach to make a breakout in possession before handing the puck to Rem Pitlick along the boards. He then charged towards the net, dragging two opposing players with him. This push towards the net created a big space for Savard who came in the second wave at the top of the upper crease, Pitlick made an easy pass to Savard, and a scoring opportunity had just been created.
Dach’s skills are clearly tailor-made for the way Martin St-Louis wants the Canadiens to play. He has excellent speed for a player of his size, he sees the ice extraordinarily well and his transition game is very effective.
“A very good player,” Pitlick noted Friday. I told him on the bench that he has a nice backhand. I don’t know if it’s because he was playing with (Patrick Kane) and Kaner has this nice backhand, but he gave me a few passes today and I was like ‘whoa, that was a nice pass’. He has speed. He’s a big guy, but he skates well. I really like his vision of the game and he will bring his youth and all the things I just mentioned. »
The combination of size and skill is what impressed Savard the most, and reminded him of a young player he played with earlier in his career who had a similar combination.
“He’s quite imposing, I think that’s going to be his strength,” said Savard. You can see he’s good at puck protection and can read the game well. He kinda reminds me of Pierre-Luc (Dubois) when I played with him (in Columbus), big in the protect the puck. It’s fun to watch him go and I can’t wait to see how he can help us this year. »
But that’s ignoring the first 30 seconds of that first appearance in Saturday’s intra-squad game, the one where Dach’s team didn’t touch the disc because he lost the face-off.
Face-offs are a fascinating part of hockey. Centers are defined by their ability to win them consistently, but when they do, they only win them – at best – six out of ten times. Last season, Dach won face-offs just over three out of ten times. So, in reality, we’re talking regarding a difference of three face-offs in 10 that differentiates Dach – the worst center in the NHL in the face-off circle last season – some of the best players in the league.
And yet, those three out of ten face-offs are going to make you look at a player like Dach and wonder if he’s cut out to play in the middle, even though all of his other qualities seem perfect for that position. It’s kind of like Shaquille O’Neal, who was one of the most dominant centers in basketball history but only made just over half of his free throws, unlike a shooter. proficient free throws that lands around 70%. So less than two in 10 free throws separates them.
That didn’t stop O’Neal from playing in the center position, but it did make him somewhat of a liability for his team late in the game, when teams intentionally foul him. Dach might be a liability in his own way late in the game due to his inability to perform a very specific skill that doesn’t really have to do with how the rest of the game is played. But this very specific skill can still have a big impact on the game.
Last season, Dach spent a good portion of his shifts chasing the puck and playing in the defensive zone following losing a faceoff, which isn’t the best way to use his assets. As time progressed, the Chicago Blackhawks used other players to take faceoffs for him, depending on the situation, and then walked off the ice. Towards the end of Saturday’s practice, the Canadiens did the same thing, having Pitlick take the face-offs on the left side and Dach focusing on his strong side on the right side.
His inability to win faceoffs had become a focus in Chicago, to the point that Dach began to cringe somewhat over his dire stats. But now he recognizes that this attention was warranted.
“No, it was okay,” Dach said Thursday. I think I know that’s something I have to work on as a young center player. But I will get there. It will get better. »
St. Louis, for his part, seems to recognize that winning faceoffs isn’t the only thing that will define Dach as a center, even though it’s an important part of the game.
“A center has a lot of responsibilities,” St-Louis agreed Friday. You can have a player who is very strong on faceoffs, but you don’t necessarily want him to be on the ice all the time. »
But on Saturday, when presented with the idea that a good center shouldn’t necessarily be defined by his skill at the face-off circle, St. Louis pushed back a bit on that idea.
“There’s a key element in the face-off that sometimes dictates the ice time,” he said. Usually guys who are really good on faceoffs are going to play significant minutes because of that. So we want to put Kirby in a position where we feel comfortable with him in the circle. It’s an art, and I know you get better with age. We simply have to find ways to make it progress in this area. It’s not just Kirby’s responsibility, it’s ours as a coaching staff and probably some of our other center players. »
Dach is only 21 and has yet to make 1,000 faceoffs in the NHL, so he’s got a long way to go, and it’s been proven that players who are bad at the faceoff circle early of their career can improve. Connor McDavid, for example, had 41.2% 43.2% and 41.4% in his first three NHL seasons, but last season he broke the 50% mark for the first time in his career. career.
It should also be noted that a significant wrist injury might be a factor here. Dach fractured his right wrist (thus the wrist of his strong hand for face-offs) during the 2021 World Junior Championships. It required surgery on December 28, 2020, and Dach was supposed to miss four or five months, except that he returned much earlier and played for the Blackhawks on March 27, 2021, so three months following the operation.
Dach insists his wrist is no longer a problem.
“It was a bit of a mess, but we’re recovering and we have to get through those injuries,” said Dach. Not everyone can have a perfect career without having sores. So, we have to deal with it. Obviously, there was a bit of pressure when I came back earlier and re-injured myself a bit. But for now, everything is fine, I don’t think it should bother me. »
When listening to Dach talk regarding his time in Chicago, it’s hard not to sense that there’s a certain disappointment in his voice regarding how things went there. Players don’t talk regarding re-establishing themselves if they weren’t already de-established.
“It’s exciting, I have a new opportunity here to recover and play solid center from 200 feet like I know I can do,” he said. I think they will give me the opportunity to do that and I can’t wait to see where I finish and hopefully help the team win games. »
This creates a certain challenge for St-Louis, who must restore not only Dach’s game on the ice, but also his approach to the game, his state of mind. Dach is excited now, but everyone is excited in training camp. The question is how he’ll feel if things start to go wrong, but he has a coach in St. Louis who’s committed to handling that situation when it comes up.
“It’s my job to get to know the kid,” said St-Louis. I don’t know how he sees himself yet, I’m not there yet with the short time we’ve had here. But it’s something I’m going to learn, I’m going to try to understand it. We’re here to coach every player, to give every player the resources they need to be the best they can be on the ice. I know that I have a role to play and I take this work seriously. I want my players to feel good regarding themselves. I was impressed with how he behaved on the ice. His skill level and puck touches are really good. But I have to get to know him. »
At this early stage in camp, St-Louis has already made an impression on Dach.
“He’s very inspiring,” he said. He recognizes the moments and he chooses them rather well. He speaks from his heart and I think as a player he strikes a different tone with you. It’s more authentic and you feel like you have a better connection instead of hearing the same speech over and over once more. Marty is really good at getting the same message across and making it clear that this is a family, that everyone here is equal and that everyone should be treated with respect. »
(Photo: David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
