Kirby Dach

MONTREAL — This must be an unusual feeling for most Canadiens fans: the feeling of another fan base watching a young player traded too soon flourishing in ...

[Blackhawks](https://theathletic.com/nhl/team/blackhawks/) was seemingly defined through this limited lens; his inability to win faceoffs seemed to overshadow all the positive elements of his game. The Canadiens surely aren’t complaining; they have an unpolished gem who just turned 22 and played his 200th career game Tuesday night. He’s also still developing — he celebrated his 22nd birthday Saturday with a dominant game against the Maple Leafs — and we are seeing some of that development in his game now. “And you need to have consistency to convince people of your potential.” 13 pick in what was widely seen as a weak 2022 NHL Draft. But it’s just as clear that confidence is a catalyst for that development to shine through. But now they are witnessing the curious eyes in Chicago every time [Kirby Dach](https://theathletic.com/nhl/player/kirby-dach-taOXTkhc7ehcB9fu/) does something noteworthy, which is basically happening every game. He’s such a big body, and when he has full confidence like that, it’s really hard to take the puck off him. In the three following games, Dach won 17 of his 27 faceoffs, including an 8-for-13 night Tuesday, for a success rate of 63 percent. A good hockey player who is bad at faceoffs remains a good hockey player, but a good centre who is bad at faceoffs is seen as a bad centre. The Dach we are watching every night is not the same player we saw in training camp or at the beginning of the season. No one can give you confidence; you have to believe you have it for it to be beneficial, but you can create an environment for it to blossom.