MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — There was a two-month stretch last season — specifically November and December — in which Blackhawks prospect Colton Dach was Rockford’s best forward.
But then injuries and inconsistencies, the two well-known Achilles’ heels of Colton and his older brother Kirby, reared up and prevented him from maintaining that high level throughout the rest of the AHL season. He finished it with 27 points in 48 games.
This fall, Dach is back for his second pro season — and, at least for now, he’s fully healthy. He skated on the Hawks prospect team’s first line Friday — alongside Frank Nazar and Nick Lardis — in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Blues in the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase, held this year in the St. Louis suburbs.
In theory, the 21-year-old Albertan singlehandedly controls how many steps forward he will take in his development during the months ahead. Never one to sugarcoat things, he believes the answer will be quite a few steps forward.
“I know the player I can be,” Dach said Thursday. Then he revised that statement: “I know the player I can be in the NHL.”
“I think I showed a lot of my potential [last season], and I think there’s times where my consistency in the game could be a lot better,” he added. “That’s one of the things that I wanted to work on the last few years.”
Even in last year’s camp, Dach believed he would make the NHL team, and he admitted it “did sting” to receive the call that he would instead go to Rockford.
The odds seem stacked against him again this year, not only because there are probably 15 or 16 forwards ahead of him on the depth chart but also because the Hawks emphasize such patience when it comes to promoting prospects. Still, there are ways to demonstrate progress beyond outright making the team.
Coaches throughout the organization have worked with him primarily on two things: building up his confidence while maintaining a steady mindset, and using his muscular body more effectively against pro opponents.
Said Rockford coach Anders Sorensen: “He plays his best when he plays with emotion, but not emotional. He needs to bring that emotion every day and find a way to get going every game and shift and period, but don’t teeter over to where you get emotional and that leaks into his game.”
Said Rockford assistant coach Rob Klinkhammer: “He’s got that big frame, so he can get guys on his back and he can hold guys off. He has a ton of skill. The next step is using his body awareness, his power and his strength in his game to protect the puck and generate plays that way.”
When Dach does eventually make the NHL, he’ll be asked to fill the role of a power forward with some sandpaper, and it seems he has heard that message loud and clear.
His physicality was — by far — his most noticeable contribution Friday. He delivered at least three big hits and fought Blues prospect Michael Buchinger in the second period.
Earlier this summer, he also worked on his skating — trying to smooth out his crossovers and increase his speed and acceleration — while training alongside Kirby, who was rehabbing from a torn ACL while preparing for his third season with the Canadiens.
“I grew up with Kirby, and he was always an older guy, and I always challenged myself to beat him every time we would do something,” Dach said. “So I just look at it that way. I’m going in here and trying to earn a spot and take a job. And that’s what I’m going to do.”