Chicago Blackhawks forward Colton Dach shed his noncontact jersey during the morning skate Saturday at the United Center, but the team doesn’t have a timetable for when he might play again after suffering a concussion during prospect camp.
“Feel pretty good,” Dach said Saturday.
Dach was placed in concussion protocol Sept. 17, a day after he left in the first period of Game 1 of the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase against the Minnesota Wild at Fifth Third Arena. At the time, the type of Dach’s injury wasn’t immediately known, as there were no obvious collisions involving him.
The exact cause of his concussion remains unclear to Dach too.
“For me it’s still a mystery, I kind of just hit someone,” he said. “Having just one shift I was going out there running around hitting some guys and came back to the bench and got a little headache.
“During intermission, it didn’t go away. I was going to try and just play through it but it kept getting worse and worse and never went away. (Those are the) kind of things you need to tell the training staff. … (It’s) pretty serious.”
Dach said Hawks trainers performed tests, determined he had a concussion and pulled him from the game. The team ran more tests the next day and placed the prospect in concussion protocol.
It had been a promising summer for Dach. He excelled during prospect camp and scored the opening goal of Game 1 of the showcase just 23 seconds in.
“I do think it was a little bit of a setback,” he said. “I didn’t have the opportunity to prove myself.”
Dach said he felt all the usual post-concussion symptoms.
“A lot of headaches, a lot of neck pain and dizziness, sensitive to the light a little bit,” he said. “So everything was kind of normal. There (were) no weird things going on.”
Dach spent most of Hawks camp in a white noncontact jersey along with fellow forward prospect Paul Ludwinski and veteran defenseman Jake McCabe. But Dach still hopes to play in a game before the preseason is over.
“Just trying to get back into practice and maybe get into a game and showcase myself,” he said.
Coach Luke Richardson was unsure when — or if — Dach would get the opportunity.
“He’s progressing, but that’s still one of those funny things,” Richardson said. “Everybody reacts differently. So we have to see day by day. We’re going to see how his body reacts tomorrow after having a little bit heavier load.
“Hopefully, I’d love to see him in a game. He’s a young guy that can shoot the puck and has some offensive talent.”
Meanwhile, Dach said he and his brother Kirby have been checking in on each other’s progress.
“He’s been having fun. He’s in a new place,” said Colton, referring to Kirby’s new team, the Montreal Canadiens. “He’s getting settled in so he’s excited to get the season going. I’m sure he’s going to reach out when he finds out I practiced today.”