The Blackhawks selected center Kirby Dach of the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft Friday in Vancouver.
As expected, Jack Hughes went No. 1 to the Devils and Kaapo Kakko went No. 2 to the Rangers.
Stan Bowman said there wasn’t much interest from other teams about moving up, so sliding back a couple of picks and still potentially getting Dach didn’t really come up.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) June 22, 2019
Dach racked up 73 points (25 goals, 48 assists) to finish among the team’s top four skaters in all three offensive categories and won 41 percent of his faceoffs. He was one of the main reasons why the Blades ended their playoff drought as he finished the playoffs with eight points (five goals, three assists) in 10 games.
Internationally, the St. Albert, Alberta native tallied seven points (two goals, five assists) as Canada took home Gold at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He also was second on the team in scoring with seven points (one goal, six assists) in his international debut with Canada at the 2017 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. He did not compete at the under-18 World Championship in Sweden due to injury.
Dach is the sixth No. 3 overall pick in Blackhawks franchise history, joining centers Terry Caffery (1966) and Denis Savard (1980), right winger Ed Olczyk (1984), defenseman Cam Barker (2004) and center Jonathan Toews (2006).
Dach could either anchor the third line or move to the wing, a move the Blackhawks have made in the past with Nick Schmaltz.
In addition to providing a right-handed shooting forward, he has the potential to play on the second-team power-play unit. At 6-foot-4, 198 pounds, Dach can add more size among forwards and a strong hockey IQ. He’s drawn comparisons to Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf.
Dach’s NHL timeline remains to be determined. He could impress the Blackhawks enough to earn a roster spot this season or use another season of development with the Blades.