The Chicago Blackhawks selected Colton Dach with the 62nd overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Colton Dach
Position: Center
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 196 lbs
Age: 18
Club: Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
Nationality: Canadian
| GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 11 | 9 | 20 |
(Stats source: EliteProspects.com)
The younger brother of budding Chicago Blackhawks star Kirby Dach, Colton averaged a point per game for the Saskatoon Blades during the WHL's shortened 2020-21 season.
Colton led the Blades in goal-scoring this season, rebounding from a 2019-20 campaign in which he mustered just 29 points in 62 games. Thanks in part to a hard left-handed shot his brother envies, the Fort Saskatchewan-born center matched his goal total from the previous year in 42 fewer contests - an impressive 37-goal pace over a full WHL season.
Standing 6-foot-4, Colton is Kirby's height and only a couple of pounds lighter, despite being two years younger. Though Colton doesn't have Kirby's skating or stickhandling ability, he may be apt to throw his weight around a little more at the NHL level.
NHL Central Scouting listed Colton 19th among North American skaters in its final rankings.
What they're saying
"He's a big center with very good puck skills who can show good flashes of playmaking to go with a good goal-scoring touch around the net. ... Once he's in the zone, he is dangerous," wrote The Athletic's Corey Pronman.
Pronman notes Colton's major drawbacks are his "lack of quickness in his skating and ability to generate controlled entries."
The Athletic's Scott Wheeler saw some improvement in Colton's assertiveness in the WHL this season, noting that "he looked a step quicker from a standstill than I expected (though more work still needs to be done there)."
