Kirby Dach's performance under King compared to Colliton

The Chicago Blackhawks are now 10-6-0 since Derek King has taken over as interim head coach. The team is forming an identity as a stingy defensive team, polar opposite a style to when Jeremy Colliton was bench boss. A lot of the advanced stats are starting to look better and it's finally turning into offense as of the past couple games against Toronto and Washington. A player that's been a key part of that is Kirby Dach.

(I wrote a similar article about Seth Jones a few days ago and will make this a series of players who've improved under the new coach.)

As of writing this, Kirby Dach has played 110 NHL regular season games, but has just 45 points. While you'd definitely expect more out of the 2019 third overall pick, keep in mind, he doesn't turn 21 for another month. Also, his underlying metrics well certainly help him produce more points if he keeps driving play like he has been.

Here are Dach's stats under Colliton. *All stats are 5v5*

• TOI - 164:40
• Corsi - 42.90%
• Fenwick - 43.41%
• xG - 37.10%
• HDCF - 41.51%

Here are Dach's stats under King.

• TOI - 253:48
• Corsi - 50.83%
• Fenwick - 50.63%
• xG - 51.24%
• HDCF - 55.00%

Dach's stats over the whole 2021-22 season.

• TOI - 418:28
• Corsi - 47.52%
• Fenwick - 47.79%
• xG - 45.94%
• HDCF - 49.62%

All stats via naturalstattrick.com

While the analytics have gone up, Dach's offensive production has lagged behind it, with just 7 points in 16 games under King and 12 points in 28 games overall.

Despite that, Kirby Dach is showing more glimpses under Derek King on why he was drafted third overall. Big body, great skater, and tremendous playmaking abilities. The biggest knock on Dach has always been his reluctance to shoot the puck, even though he has a solid wrist shot. Last night against Washington, he shot on a 2-on-1, which created a rebound and allowed Caleb Jones to score on the rebound. Dach has all the tools, he just has to put them all together.