Colton Dach’s physicality helping him secure Blackhawks job: ‘He has played to an identity’

Colton Dach has recorded 12 hits and one fight in his first two preseason games, leaning into his status as the toughest and most physical Blackhawks forward prospect.

“He has played to an identity,” coach Jeff Blashill said Sunday.

It could be a while, though, before Dach delivers a hit that more directly impacts a game than his demolition of Blues forward Oscar Sundqvist on Saturday.

The legal hit as Sundqvist skated through the neutral zone, which Dach avoided being knee-on-knee, incited a scrum that occupied all but one Blues player. That allowed Hawks speedster Oliver Moore to skate the other way and discreetly score the eventual game-winning goal with 3:01 left in regulation.

“I just saw [Sundqvist] try to cut to the middle, and I tried to hold my ground and make a hit,” Dach said. “I didn’t know Moore scored until he came up to me and told me he ‘went roof.'”

Said Moore: “I didn’t even know what was going on behind me. I shot the puck, I scored, then I looked back — waiting for my teammates to come celebrate with me — and they were all in a brawl. Nothing like that has ever happened, but we’ll take it.”

Dach’s decision to drop his gloves against Blues defenseman Logan Mailloux in the second period, when the Hawks trailed 2-0, marked another positive turning point in the game.

There’s only so much to be gleaned from two exhibitions. But an opening-night NHL roster spot seems virtually locked up for Dach now, considering the 22-year-old was already penciled into one before camp began.

He’ll likely begin in a bottom-six role, but the Hawks aren’t ruling out anything.

“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he ended up in a top-six spot [as] a guy who goes out and helps a couple of other really good players, because he’s got enough skill,” Blashill said earlier in camp.

“[But] where I think his identity is — and where he can separate himself more than anything else — is by being a big power forward. By being physical on the forecheck, being hard at the net-front and adding some team toughness.

It’s pretty established now what he can bring physically. He dished out 86 hits in his first 25 NHL appearances last season, the highest rate on the team by far. At that time, he weighed about 212 pounds. This summer, he’s got up to about 220 pounds on his broad-shouldered 6-4 frame.

With Pat Maroon retired, Dach is a strong candidate to take over the role of designated team fighter, too.

“I don’t think I’m afraid to do that,” Dach said. “I kind of enjoy it. That’s part of my game. I like getting in guys’ faces. I like getting chippy. I like getting physically engaged. Those netfront battles get me going.”

The only concern there is Dach’s history of frequent injuries and concussions, although he insisted he doesn’t worry about that.

“It’s not really on my mind when I go out there,” he added. “I’m playing the game, using my hockey IQ to my advantage.”

The bigger question is how much Dach can contribute to the Hawks’ hopes of possessing the puck more this season. He’s probably not going to be a frequent puck transporter himself, but his ability to win battles and tie up opponents in dirty areas could help teammates do so.

His analytics indicated improvement — albeit starting from a low bar — in that regard last season. In 13 games before the February break, the Hawks generated an atrocious 28.8% scoring-chance ratio during his five-on-five ice time. In 12 games after it, they generated a solid 50.8% ratio.

In the two preseason games, that ratio is an encouraging 53.3%. He didn’t dress for the Hawks’ third exhibition Sunday in Minnesota.