Habs' Dach says he's healthy and excited to start
Knee now healed; eager to play with newcomer Laine
The Canadiens' Kirby Dach isn't tempted to throw out what became his regular seat in the Bell Centre press box.
Dach suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second game last year and missed the rest of the season. He watched the remaining games at the Bell Centre from the same seat in the press box.
“No ... not at all,” Dach said at the Canadiens' golf tournament Monday at Laval-sur-le-lac when asked if he now wants to toss his chair away. “Everything happens for a reason. It was good for me to learn different things last year and to see the game in a different light.”
Apart from watching games from the press box, Dach also joined the Canadiens coaching staff for video and game-planning sessions.
“It's more about staying in the loop than anything,” he said about the time spent with coaches. “You're still watching and learning systems and seeing what they're implementing and see how they want us to play. Watching from above and from afar kind of gives you a different aspect on the game. So hopefully I can take those lessons that I did learn and translate them into my game.”
Dach required surgery to repair torn anterior cruciate and medial cruciate ligaments in his right knee after being checked into the boards by Chicago defenceman Jarred Tinordi during a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks last Oct. 14.
Dach said Monday that his knee is 100 per cent healed and that he felt ready to play games at the end of last season.
He has been skating with teammates at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard while getting ready for training camp, which opens Wednesday when players report for physical and medical testing.
“I'm excited,” Dach said. “It's been a long time since I played a meaningful game. It's nice to be back here and be around the guys and the camaraderie and hanging out with them away from the rink and seeing them at the rink. It's an exciting feeling being back and I'm kind of itching for camp to start.”
Dach is also excited about the arrival of Patrik Laine in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets this summer. There's a good chance Dach and Laine will be linemates, along with Alex Newhook, to start the season.
“We play a good team game,” Dach said. “I don't think there's a lot of other teams that play the game the way we do with the puck and how good we can transition.
“Everybody's a year older, we're a little bit more mature. We got a little more experience and then you add Patty Laine. Honestly, it's one of the best shots I've ever seen and his release. We're definitely going to have a little more skill and talent up front, and hopefully we just kind of continue to take steps and we can get into those meaningful games down the stretch. We'll get there eventually.”
Dach described the hit he was injured on last season as “kind of a weird play.”
“It's kind of half my fault the way I played it,” he said. “I thought I was a little closer to the glass. I went to kind of jump into (Tinordi) and just kind of bounce off the glass. It wasn't the right area. I kind of felt it right away, to be honest with you. I was walking around on it and I found out the next day after I had a couple of scans and X-rays on it. I didn't think it was going to be the whole season gone, but I definitely knew I was going to miss some time. It wasn't a ton of pain with it right away or anything. It was just more like a weird feeling.”
Dach is thankful to his teammates, friends and family members who helped him get through the emotional and physical pain
“I spent a lot of time with a lot of guys away from the rink, especially David Savard,” Dach said.
“He was hurt right at the start of the year, too. Him and I were hanging out quite a bit and then Devo (Christian Dvorak, who was injured) later in the year, we spent a lot of time together, which was nice. The whole team kind of helped me out with that aspect and I had a lot of support from family and friends back home, too. That was nice. My mom actually came and lived with me for three or four weeks. Helped me move around, get groceries and get the stuff that was a little bit more difficult to do.
“I got a good support system from family and friends and my teammates and coaches,” Dach added, looking ahead to this season. “We're all one big family here and we're going to help each other do whatever we can to win games and get into the playoffs.”