Blackhawks prospect Colton Dach motivated to show he is NHL prepared

Blackhawks prospect Colton Dach motivated to prove he’s NHL ready initially appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Offered by Nationwide Insurance coverage Agent Jeff Vukovich

Colton Dach is now three years faraway from being chosen by the Chicago Blackhawks within the second spherical of the 2021 NHL Draft, and he’s inching nearer to knocking on the NHL’s door.

Dach believes he may’ve made the bounce to the NHL final season had he stayed wholesome. He was taking part in a few of his greatest hockey in December and was arguably the Rockford IceHogs’ high ahead earlier than being sidelined by a concussion.

“Final yr I got here in, I assumed I had a very good camp,” Dach stated. “I proved to them I can play within the NHL. I got here to camp with the mindset of creating the crew final yr and it did sting slightly bit getting that telephone name. … I wished to try this firstly and clearly the accidents, they sucked, however they construct adversity and are available again this yr able to play.”

“It is at all times irritating, particularly while you miss an extended time period over issues you’ll be able to’t actually management, however in the long run, there is a path that is going to be for me and I simply gotta take that one step at at time. And with these accidents, it permits me to work on little areas of my recreation that want to enhance, so I took that point to attempt to enhance my recreation.”

This summer season, Dach centered on enhancing one key space: utilizing his toes extra.

“Holding my toes shifting, cross overs, attempting to get extra velocity and extra bounce in my recreation,” Dach stated. “Work on the defensive aspect of the puck slightly bit extra, stick on puck kind of issues, and that is one thing Kirby’s actually good at, so it is good to have him on the market on the ice.”

Rockford IceHogs head coach Anders Sorensen believes Dach has the instruments to be an influence ahead within the NHL however notes that Dach must solidify what kind of participant he’ll be on the subsequent stage.

“His greatest factor is determining what he’s going to be within the NHL,” Sorensen stated when requested how Dach can take the following step. “In juniors and even typically final yr, he could have gotten away with some stuff that won’t translate to the NHL for him. I believe he’s conscious of it. It’s only a matter of doing it constantly on the ice — constant being the important thing phrase. If he does that, he has the attributes to be a very efficient participant at that stage as nicely.”

What kind of participant is that?

“Being good on the top wall, again nicely, win quite a lot of pucks, get to the web,” Sorensen stated. “He performs his greatest when he performs with emotion, however not emotional. He must carry that emotion daily and discover a technique to get going each recreation and shift and interval however don’t teeter over to the place you get emotional and that leaks into his recreation.”

One factor Dach doesn’t lack is confidence. He believes in his talents.

“I do know the participant I may be, I do know the participant I may be within the NHL,” Dach stated. “I confirmed glimpses of it within the NHL final yr and that is simply the sport I must play 100% of the time to remain up right here.”

Dach isn’t fazed by the Blackhawks’ current free-agent signings, even when they make his path to the NHL more durable.

“I grew up with Kirby and he was at all times an older man and I at all times challenged myself to beat him each time we’d do one thing, so I simply form of take a look at it that approach,” Dach stated. “I am entering into right here and attempting to earn a spot and take a job and that is what I will do.”