Chicago Blackhawks: Of course Alex DeBrincat is bouncing back

The Chicago Blackhawks saw Alex DeBrincat take a step back in 2019-20.

The year ended up being a shortened one thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic but that wasn’t the issue for him. Before the pause, he was having a down year based on what he did the first couple of years in his career. In his rookie year, he scored 28 goals and followed that up with a 41 goal sophomore campaign. In year three, he managed to fall all the way down to an 18 goal total. He probably would have been around the 20 range (which is still good) had the season finished as normal.

The Chicago Blackhawks desperately needed an Alex DeBrincat bounce-back.

So far in this strange 2021 season, it has been a bounce-back for DeBrincat. Even with a short stint on the NHL’s COVID-19 list, he has some really good numbers. In 8 games played, he has four goals and six assists for 10 points. In Chicago’s most recent game, they snapped the Carolina Hurricanes’ five-game winning streak thanks to some clutch play from DeBrincat. He scored the go-ahead goal and the empty netter to seal the deal for Chicago.

With Jonathan Toews and Kirby Dach out, it is very important for the guys who are in to play at their best. We know what we are getting from Patrick Kane but guys like Alex DeBrincat, Dominik Kubalik, and Dylan Strome need to show up. It is also helpful when guys like Phillip Kurashev and Pius Suter contribute as well. We know that the old guard is starting to pass the torch.

When that torch is officially passed, DeBrincat will be one of the leaders. Some people like to think of Ian Mitchell as a guy who can rock the captain C on his sweater but don’t rule out Alex DeBrincat. He has been a leader simply by his play ever since he arrived.

What is Alex DeBrincat’s ceiling? Well, we know he can be a guy who consistently scores 35-40 goals a season if he is going well. He is a pure sniper so it will be interesting to see if he can improve on his playmaking. You never want him to stop shooting the puck when he has good shots to take but making others around you better is also important.

In that year where he scored 41 times, he also had 35 assists for 76 points so there is proof to believe he can be that type of guy that has goals and assists. For now, however, it is good to see that he is feeling good about his game after the way 2019-20 went. He has been having tremendous success on the power play so hopefully, the last game against Carolina is a breakout for his even-strength production.