Kirby Dach arrived at training camp with the best of intentions. He performed well in his first campaign before falling twice in combat in the second half of the calendar. The future seemed bright.

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Then, in the second game, a serious but legal check from Jared Tinordi ended his season and left him with a right knee injury. Diagnosis: anterior cruciate ligament tear of the inner ligament.

“It makes you sweat. “I had a good summer, I felt good, I had confidence in my game,” said Dach on Sunday morning during his first official appearance in front of the media.

“I was the victim of an unfortunate game. “There’s nothing I can do about it,” he added. It's not a good feeling to lose a season like this. But the next morning the sun came up.”

The sun rose with a long list of steps to follow before we could hope for a return to play: surgery on October 31, traveling with limited mobility, rehabilitation, getting back in shape. An eight-month process that, unless there is a big surprise, will be ruined and there will be no hope of returning before the next camp.

For a few days now, the 23-year-old striker has been jumping across the ice alone in front of his teammates. A small victory, but a big step for his morale.

“When I get back on the ice and have fun, even alone, I can feel the love for my sport being reborn,” he said.

Take care of the mind

Because the collateral damage of such a mishap, another in the career of Dach, who missed a total of 24 games in 2022-2023, is that it can have serious mental effects.

To ease his colt's suffering, Martin St-Louis decided to include him in trainer meetings aimed at analyzing the tendencies of his next opponent.

“It keeps him top of mind with the things we're working on,” the Canadiens head coach said. Getting involved in the video sessions can help him improve this year without having his touches on the ice.

“Young players are still sponges. “We need to continue to develop their hockey brain,” St-Louis continued. If Kirby watches the game from above, he can see what we're talking about. Even more than the players on the bench.

An advisor to Slafkovsky

The Canadian obviously had great ambitions for the new season. We saw him complete the first trio before being offered the full-time center position of one of the team's other two offensive units.

“It's definitely disappointing when you lose a player like Kirby in the second game of the season,” St-Louis admitted. But you can't stop every now and then and say, “Imagine if we had Kirby too.”

However, the question arises. That presence in the middle, coupled with the emergence of Juraj Slafkovsky, would have added solid depth to the Canadian's attack.

From a Slovakian perspective, Dach recently revealed in Chris Nilan's podcast: The raw knuckles, that he had offered his young teammate support during a difficult phase.

“I see a lot of myself in him,” Dach said. It arrived quickly. Great expectations rest on his shoulders. It comes from him too. He wants to show that he deserves to be there.”

Like Slafkovksy, Dach, the third overall pick in the 2019 draft, made the jump to the NHL at the age of 18.

“When I started in Chicago, I benefited from the help of several players,” he revealed. Without this help I wouldn't be the player I am today. I spoke to Slaf, but also to Cole (Caufield), Arber (Xhekaj) and JB (Justin Barron). I want to help you.”

It's all in his honor. There is no shortage of time at the moment.