Blackhawks: How Alex DeBrincat Will Rebound In 2021

After a season where Alex DeBrincat struggled, the Chicago Blackhawks will be looking for him to return to his scoring ways during the 2020-21 NHL Season.

Alex DeBrincat came into the 2020 NHL season after scoring 40-goals in 2018-19. He signed an extension to keep him in Chicago for the next few seasons, and he was playing alongside his best friend, Dylan Strome. This seemed like a positive move for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Though things looked up for DeBrincat, nothing panned out the way we fans expected them too. Though he stayed healthy and played all 70-games, he couldn’t score at will as he did during his first two seasons with the team.

DeBrincat still had a decent season putting up 45-points, but it was almost as many points as he had goals in 2018-19. DeBrincat just scored 18-goals and had 27-assists, a downgrade from his 2019 campaign.

In the playoffs, DeBrincat struggled as well, scoring just 2-goals on 27-shots. A career-low shooting percentage at a 7.1% success rate.

2020-21 Expectations:

During the 2020-21 NHL season, there’s a lot to expect from DeBrincat. This poor season could turn into a blessing in disguise, as he has finally faced some adversity in his career. He’s already expressed the frustrations he faced and how he is chalking up this season to a learning experience.

If he can mustard up the confidence he had in 2018-19, there’s a lot to expect from him. For starters, the Hawks have to bring Dylan Strome back. Strome and DeBrincat have to play on the same line again, as they’ve both had their most success as hockey players together, both in the NHL and the OHL.

If their strength is being together, and the Hawks are building solid lines, there’s no excuse for them not being put together on either the second or the third line, depending on where the team wants to put Kirby Dach.

If these two are put back together, for the most part, expect another 30-goal season out of DeBrincat, along with 40-assists for his second 70-point season. Considering how well he’s played in the past, these aren’t impossible expectations.

There’s still a lot of outside factors, with the most important one being, Strome re-signing with the team.