Kirby Dach: Reborn

MONTREAL - Kirby Dach exudes quiet confidence.

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On the ice, the forward can complement the Canadiens' top line as a winger alongside captain Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, just as seamlessly as he can shift to his natural position at center.

From his puck-handling skills to his smooth skating ability and his willingness to battle in the corners, Dach is proving his detractors wrong with flair.

"If you give up on a 21-year-old in hockey or anything else, I think that you probably don't have a lot of patience, but you might not have the full picture or a growth mindset," said head coach Martin St-Louis during a media availability on November 14. "At 21, you're still so young. Kirby was the NHL's third overall pick three years ago. What did I see? I saw a third overall pick. His assets and everything, his height and reach."

With a goal and an assist in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators, the Fort Saskatchewan, AB native has matched his career high of 26 points in 70 games with Chicago last season. That's not bad, considering it took him 28 fewer games to do so.

Not bad at all.

Off the ice, his 6-foot-4 stature and 212-pound frame contrast with his soft-spoken voice. Asked about which aspects of his game he draws confidence from, Dach offered a simple answer.

"I don't know," he said. "I just go out there and play. I think it's still the little kid in me that just enjoys being out there, trying things and having fun, laughing and being around my friends."

And it shows.

His joie-de-vivre is palpable in the locker room and at practice. Despite appearing serious at times in interviews, he displays a goofiness - especially with Caufield - one might not expect from the outside. Among teammates, his devilish smile and sense of humor are almost always on display.

"I think he came to the rink happy most days," said former Chicago Blackhawks teammate and current Ottawa Senators forward Alex DeBrincat. "There were some tough times in the seasons that we've had together. But, for the most part, he was in a good mood, coming to the rink ready to work and improve and just have a good time with the guys."

The struggles DeBrincat alluded to are no secret. Marred by two wrist injuries and a shoulder sprain in his three seasons with Chicago, Dach was off to a difficult start in the NHL. Expectations were high for the 2019 third overall pick, who joined an aging Blackhawks team with dwindling success on the ice. These factors, coupled with the pressure placed on the shoulders of the then 18-year-old from the outset, were not a recipe for success.

Though, perhaps Dach's greatest source of pressure came from himself.

I felt like it was good," he said in response to how he dealt with the pressure of being a top-three pick. "But I felt there were still times where maybe I let it get to myself. But at the same time, the biggest amount of pressure kind of came from myself and what I expected of myself. I think that's a dangerous game sometimes when you get in your own head, and you start doubting yourself and you don't have any confidence."

Dach admitted that the three years he spent in Chicago was the first time he had truly experienced adversity in his hockey career. He turned to family, friends, and many teammates, including three-time Stanley Cup champion Brent Seabrook, for support during this difficult period. The now retired 15-year NHL veteran blue-liner housed Dach for two seasons from 2019-20 to 2020-21.

Seabrook still has fond memories of one of his earliest encounters with Dach.

"He came right up to me and asked if he could live with us, which I thought showed a lot of confidence coming from an 18-year-old kid," he recalled. "He was just a good kid, very nice, very respectful. Like I said, confident kid."

Confidence seems to be a recurring theme with Dach.

He not only showed a big appetite in the kitchen - "We learned real quick that the grocery bill was going to go up," quipped Seabrook - but also an appetite for learning.

"We had a lot of conversations about hockey, situational hockey, things like that," mentioned Seabrook. "He's a student of the game. He asked a lot of questions about our great teams we had in Chicago, so it was always fun talking about that stuff."

Seabrook provided a place to call home and advice from his lengthy experience in the Show.

Through the hurdles, the former rearguard still saw a kid who simply wanted to be the best.

"The one thing that I always liked about Kirby is that he wanted to be great," said Seabrook, who is now a player development coach for the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League (WHL). "He didn't want to just be a plug in the NHL. He wanted to be a great player in the NHL. I think through adversity, and a lot of things, I think Kirby learned some of the things he had to change or adjust to be a great player and he's finding a little bit of it in Montreal."

Seabrook has been keeping tabs on Dach, like a self-proclaimed proud papa. He can see No. 77's confidence and joy on the ice through his TV, especially when his former roommate scored the game-winning goal in a shootout against Chicago back in his old barn at the United Center on November 25.

"It was a lot of fun to see him get back there," he noted. "I think that sort of closes the book on Chicago for him. He can move on and focus on himself and the Montreal Canadiens and enjoy it."

That's exactly what he's doing.

The trade to Montreal this past summer during the NHL Draft has so far proven to be a blessing in disguise for the young talent. In his words, the difference between his debut with the Canadiens and his last three seasons with Chicago is "night and day."

He took the past offseason to reset mentally and hasn't looked back.

"I think I took the summer to really look into myself and what happened the past three years, and [ask myself] whether I'm satisfied with that or not," he said. "You look into your past and into your eyes, and I came out and said I wanted to prove myself again, have fun this year and just enjoy it."