A couple of big items of news came out over the last couple of days. Both involving the Chicago Blackhawks.

First, it was announced that Team Canada captain, Kirby Dach had successful wrist surgery and will be out 4-5 months. That’s a big old yikes. The Hawks took a risk sending him to the WJC knowing that it would interfere with training camp. They did so because they kept him in the NHL last season instead of letting him participate, and this was the 19-year-old’s final crack at the event.

The positive aspect was that Dach would experience high-level hockey ahead of training camp, represent his country and presumably see a lot of confidence and success. The risk was, well, exactly what happened. A long term injury before the action even began.

Dach was scribbled in as Chicago’s #2 centre this season. He was spending the majority of his time next to Patrick Kane during the return to play in the summer. His six points in nine games were telling of his progress as an offensive threat. It was expected they’d be together again in 2021. Now we won’t see him until May or June. That means he’ll have played just nine games in 14 or so months.

Not ideal.

I still love Dach long term but Kane isn’t getting any younger and the depth chart doesn’t boast a ton of game-breakers coming.

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The next part of the bad news came from the team’s captain. Jonathan Toews released a statement on Tuesday indicating that he’s suffering from lethargy and lack of energy. He will remain out indefinitely until he and the medical team can figure out why.

I’ve gotta say, I can really relate to JT here. 2020 has sucked the energy out of many of us. But this is a concerning statement. Did Toews contract COVID-19 at some point and these are lingering symptoms? Is it a different mystery illness? Either way, we’ll send good thoughts and hope the veteran can recover soon.

However, this leaves the team without their top two pivots. No Bueno. Their lineup is going to be pretty gross.

I don’t know about you, but I’m already looking to dump my Kane stocks. He’s so so good, but at some point, he’s going to slow down and being saddled with a mostly AHL lineup isn’t going to help matters.

Expect Chicago to be picking very early in the next draft.

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There has been a lot of angry ink spilled over the name of Quinton Byfield the past week. Vitriol that is undeserved, but unsurprising as the most recent second-overall pick had accrued just a single assist in two games for Canada at the WJC.

Well, that narrative sure was flipped on its ear on Tuesday. The towering 6’4 220lbs center put on a show against the Swiss squad recording two goals and four helpers in the 10-0 victory. Byfield had been excellent defensively early in the event but the transition offense that has been his trademark in Sudbury had been missing. It was sure there on Tuesday.

Suddenly, the youngest member of Team Canada sits second in team scoring and third overall for the tournament with seven points in three contests. He hasn’t been on the ice for a goal against yet either.

It’s unsurprising coming from the only person who had Byfield first-overall on his board last year that my stance and belief in this young man is massive. As massive as he is. He’s going to learn under Anze Kopitar – the top two-way big man of the last generation. LA had the top prospect pool in the league before they selected him in October. Now it’s just ridiculous.

The train is starting to fill up.

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Speaking of redemption outings, Vasily Podkolzin had been getting eaten alive on Canucks twitter after going pointless in his first two games. He came out absolutely flying against the Austrians on Tuesday. He was just an inch away from recording a first-period hat trick but settled for two goals and a helper to begin.

He hit a post and produced several more grade-A setups that were not finished by his mates. He ended the game with three points but could’ve easily had five or six.

Much like Byfield, the vitriol was not deserved but was not surprising. Canucks fans have long lambasted the 19-year-old for failing to have his stats pop off of the page. However, his play early in this tournament showcased the incredible hustle, defensive ability and detail-orientated game that makes him such an effective player wherever he plays.

I maintain that it’s unlikely the 2019 10th overall selection will ever be a prolific scorer in the NHL, but he will be a fantasy asset. He’ll see a ton of top-six ice, work the peripheral categories like a madman and chip in some solid production on top.

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If you’re looking for a fourth-year breakout candidate, look no further than Nico Hischier. The 2017 first-overall selection has been a steady Eddie through the first three seasons. His point-per-game output has mimicked that – 0.63, 0.68, 0.62. He still isn’t seeing the monster minutes at evens or on the PP. But they’re coming.

Word came out on Tuesday that he suffered an injury training in Switzerland a few weeks back. The indication is it’ll be a minor deal and shouldn’t keep him out long. Here’s hoping, because I see him upping his pace from the mid-to-low 50s into the mid-60s in 2021.

The growth will only continue after that.

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Trevor Zegras had five points for the Yanks on Tuesday morning to vault him into the top spot for WJC scoring with 10(!) points through three games. This kid is oh-so-good. Seriously, you need to have him on your fantasy team. Jamie Drysdale moving the puck up to Zegras will be instant offense in the near future.

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I remain steadfast in waiting at least five years post-draft to accurately conduct a post-mortem on my rankings. So when a follower asked me to re-do the 2019 class I was hesitant. But then I realized I’m a few hundred words shy for tonight’s Ramblings. So what the hell.

For reference, here were the top-20 picks in 2019:

This is what my top-15 looked like on draft day: 

1. Jack Hughes

2. Kaapo Kakko

3. Alex Turcotte

4. Bowen Byram

5. Trevor Zegras

6. Alex Newhook

7. Peyton Krebs

8. Vasily Podkolzin

9. Dylan Cozens

10. Kirby Dach

11. Matt Boldy

12. Cole Caufield

13. Mo Seider

14. Victor Soderstrom

15. Phillip Tomasino

And if I was ranking them again today, giving it all of 18 seconds of consideration, I’d rank them as such:

1. Jack Hughes

2. Kaapo Kakko

3. Kirby Dach

4. Mo Seider

5. Bowen Byram

6. Trevor Zegras

7. Dylan Cozens

8. Alex Turcotte

9. Alex Newhook

10. Vasily Podkolzin

11. Peyton Krebs

12.Cole Caufield

13. Victor Soderstrom

14. Nicholas Robertson

15. Matt Boldy

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Sleep well, folks. There’s another full day of WJC action tomorrow!

@Hockey_Robinson