Chicago Blackhawks: Another brother is coming to town

The  City of Brotherly Love might be Philadelphia but the Chicago Blackhawks are trying to make this the city of brotherly hockey. On Friday, they acquired Seth Jones from the Columbus Blue Jackets a week after trading Duncan Keith to the Edmonton Oilers for Caleb Jones. Now, Seth is worlds better than his brother but Caleb can be an effective player too. Now, there is a new set of brothers on the team not named Jones.

With the 62nd pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Blackhawks selected Colton Dach. Yes, he is the baby brother of Blackhawks center Kirby Dach. They are both centermen. Colton is coming off two seasons where he played for the Saskatoon Blades. He was projected to go somewhere in from the late first round or second round.

In the short 2020-21 season for the Blades, Dach had 11 goals and 9 assists for 20 points in 20 games. He didn’t light the world on fire but those are still really good numbers. He has a chance to be a very good NHL player if he continues developing at his current pace.

Kirby was, of course, a first-round pick. In fact, the Hawks took him with the third overall pick so that tells you what NHL teams think of him. Colton might not reach Kirby’s level but you never know. You can only hope that playing together ignites a fire in both of them that allows them to succeed at the highest level. They are both very good players.

The Chicago Blackhawks are getting younger and more skilled in the organization.

It doesn’t seem likely that the younger Dach will end up in the NHL right away. He has some development to go before he takes that stage. In fact, there were questions as to Kirby making it in year one too but he was so good early that they kept him. If the Hawks were smart, they would let Colton develop at his own pace.

This is a good way to kick off day two for Chicago. Little Dach is actually not so little. He stands at 6’4″ and 205 lbs. That is huge for an 18-year-old kid trying to make his way to the NHL. A lot of his high-end skill revolves around his big shot. He uses his hands in a way that makes it hard for goaltenders to read which is why he has so much success.

When he develops a little more, the shooting along with the playmaking should really take him to a new level. This is a great pick for the Chicago Blackhawks as they try to continue adding young talent while remaining competitive.