A few hours after being acquired by the Montreal Canadiens, young center Kirby Dach said he was particularly delighted with the idea of playing under Martin St-Louis and benefiting from a fresh start.
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The former first-round pick, third overall in 2019, from the Chicago Blackhawks will have the opportunity to wipe the slate clean with CH after a turbulent start to his career, notably due to injuries.
"I want to put the past behind me," he said at a virtual press conference on Wednesday. But injury aside, I learned a lot from the players and staff in Chicago."
If his production of 59 points in 152 duels in the National Hockey League may seem disappointing, the 21-year-old pivot assures that he is ready to move to the next level in the Quebec metropolis.
"I couldn't be more excited," continued the Saskatchewan native. [St-Louis] is going to bring out my best qualities to help me become a better player.”
“I am looking forward to joining this group of forwards. It's very exciting, especially because of the direction the team is heading. The CH staff is on the right track.”
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson had two brilliant shots in one day. The trade that sent Dach to Montreal came hours after the trade that made Alex DeBrincat a new member of the Ottawa Senators.
“We knew they had opted for a reconstruction, slipped Dach. They were very open with us about it. They wanted to go a different direction than keeping [DeBrincat] and me."
The former Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League also revealed that he had been training for five years with another jewel of the Habs organization, Kaiden Guhle, and that they were particularly enthusiastic about the idea of wearing the same colors.
Dach concluded that he didn't know much about the city of Montreal, but was excited to move to a place where food and fashion were valued.
