Kirby Dach had his NHL debut Sunday night against the Washington Capitals. It wasn't a flashy effort, and the Blackhawks lost, 5-3.
The Blackhawks' centers are: Jonathan Toews, Dylan Strome, David Kampf, and Ryan Carpenter. If you wanted to, you could add Andrew Shaw and Zack Smith to the mix. A strong group of centers. One would question, is it really necessary to have the 18-year old, up with the NHL club, at this time, as he learns the system.
Yes, it is good experience for him. Yes, it was a feel good moment in which his parents and sister were present at the game. It wasn't good that the Hawks lost a game in which they had gathered 5 points out of their last 6.
They had built momentum over those last few games. Lines were starting to gel and play with consistency. Then Dach is thrusted into centering a line between Strome and Kane.
The lines prior to Sunday night, seemed to be set. Other than the argument that could be Kane should be with Toews, and DeBrincat should be with Strome, why introduce Dach at this point?
Many teams give 10 games to potential rookies to get some experience with the big team and that is fine and good. The problem with that, is that it can wind up hurting a team that hasn't made the playoffs for a number of years. Those ten games, are nearly 10% of the season, with a potential of 20 points.
After one game, you can't jump to conclusions, but the Blackkhawks, and the upper brass, are hungry to get back to the playoffs. Toews and Patrick Kane are in their prime. Time is running out on aging stars, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Corey Crawford.
Does Stan Bowman have the time to allow another season to slip by without another playoff appearance? Keep this in mind. Last year, the Blackhawks missed the playoffs by six points.
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