While the Edmonton Oilers swung two trades ahead of last Friday’s NHL trade deadline, with Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson being the “big-name additions,” Colton Dach has seemingly slid under the radar.

Dach’s journey to the NHL wasn’t a smooth one, marked by multiple shortened WHL seasons because of the COVID-19 pandemic or injury. He played just 20 games in his draft season, scoring 11 goals and 20 points, which clearly impressed Blackhawks management enough to use the 62nd overall selection in the 2021 draft to bring him into the organization.

He had a much more complete 61-game season in his draft-plus-one season, scoring 29 goals and 79 points in 61 games, marking a significant jump from his draft season.

Dach rounded out his WHL career in 2022-23 with another shortened season due to injuries. He played in 14 games for the Kelowna Rockets, scoring nine goals and 17 points, before being traded to the Seattle Thunderbirds. He played in nine regular-season games, scoring three goals and 10 points, adding three goals and 14 points in 19 playoff games, helping the Thunderbirds win the 2023 WHL championship. They earned a berth to the Memorial Cup, where he had two goals in five games, but came up short in the final against the Quebec Remparts.

Since turning pro in 2023-24, the Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., native has progressed quickly. With this being the third pro season under his belt, Dach is almost at as many NHL (78) games played as AHL (81) games. After splitting the 2024-25 season between the AHL and NHL, Dach earned a spot out of camp with the Blackhawks this year and hasn’t seen any AHL time since.

He’s totalled five goals and 16 points in 78 games during his NHL tenure with the Blackhawks, and got his first point with the Oilers Sunday, notching an assist on Trent Frederic’s second-period goal.

And with what skills he brings to the Oilers’ bottom-six, I don’t believe Dach will see AHL games anymore unless there is a trade at forward that pushes him down the organizational depth chart. In fact, he’s the type of player who has upside to his game, and could be an interesting piece of this roster.

It’s no secret that the Oilers needed to patch up the bottom-six. That’s the reason they went out and traded a first-rounder for one of the better defensive centres this season in Jason Dickinson, however Dach has been a good defensive forward this season for Chicago and when you watch him, you can see why. Colton spent a lot of time on the wing with Nick Foligno at centre and Landon Slaggert on the other wing in my viewings, but throughout the games you notice that although the young power forward doesn’t take the draws he takes on a lot of the centres’ responsibilities on the ice. In the two clips below you can see that he’s the first forward back, engaging, and helping move the puck.

Adding extra defensive support is never a bad thing and Colton Dach will bring a fair amount of it to the Oilers. I’m sure you’ve heard the term “positionless” and that comes to mind with the defensive versatility the 2021 draft pick brings, Dach will fill in to whatever defensive role when on the ice. In the next clip it’s more defensive work from the former Blackhawk.

Excellent backcheck out of Dach and then he quickly moves the puck to Foligno to get the transition started. Now mind you that is six-foot-four and 218 pounds, he isn’t going to shake off of you easily and Dach has the mobility to stick with forwards during the cycle. Since the Oilers bottom-six is bleeding goals against you needed to address it. I do think Dach can help the Oilers keep the puck out of the net at a better rate when he’s on the ice. I also think he has a skill set that can help create offence once coming over to play with not only better players, but more offensive minded players like a Jack Roslovic.

I watch my fair share of WHL hockey and I knew I had some notes from his draft year when Colton Dach played for the Blades. “Underwhelming board work for a player of that size and skill” was a note I wrote down during a viewing and it popped up a few more times (in different wording) during the subsequent viewings. That is not the case anymore and the Oilers’ newest winger has improved his ability to create contact, maintain possession under pressure, and continue moving his feet. In the clip below you will see how Dach creates the contact by stepping into the Washington Capitals player he then easily maintains possession and plays it back to the defenceman who has all day to set up a breakout.

I love the patience to make the play under pressure. As an NHL winger you have to be strong along the wall, being able to get the puck off the boards and into some open space for yourself or for teammates helps move play in a positive direction. In fact I found a lot of Dach’s offence came with his back to the defenders, using his full frame to buy himself some space. It’s a good profile to have for the Oilers bottom-six, they added a defensively aware winger that can lean into defenders on the cycle. In the next clip it showcases the battle level and strength Dach carries with him when he goes into these board battles.

The former Kelowna Rocket captain created the contact against Calgary Flames centre Matt Coronato and tossed him aside easily. Dach generates a decent chance coming out of the battle as well. It’s no shocker that before the trade Colton Dach was leading the Blackhawks in hits and now he comes to Edmonton to take over as the hits leader, he brings a high intensity to his game. On the next clip, Dach is able to create a turnover on the forecheck with a big hit and instantly take the puck off the wall to find an open defenceman.

It’s not a pretty play, but its a necessary one. I love Dach’s intensity and during a playoff run in Edmonton he will only feed off of the energy in the building. The final clip displaying the board work and puck protection skills of the WHL alum will also help us segue into the next talking point. However the clip below combines Dach’s protection skills and his body positioning with a sneaky bit of playmaking he brings to the game.

In my viewings, Dach is much more of a playmaking forward than a shooter and right now he does average under a shot per game. Some of that can be explained by being on a bad team that wasn’t generating much offence as is, but even in his play the Fort Saskatchewan product will look off a good shot for what he believes is a great shot. It is nothing fancy, he won’t manipulate a defender to open a lane, and he can struggle going to his secondary options, however there were some eye-popping passes made by Dach that gives some extra hope. The video below is a great example of looking off a good shot for a great one.

Excellent no-look pass by the Oilers’ newest addition and not only does it show the potential of his passing, but he maps in his head where Nick Foligno would be to accept the pass in the high slot. Especially after a turnover it shows that Dach can adapt to his new environment instantly. Remember that Dach just turned 23-years-old and has under 100 NHL games under his belt still, processing comes with experience and where he is at right now is a great point to be at. The next example of the left-shot winger’s playmaking skills resulted in a primary assist and Dach takes one pre-scan check before picking up the puck finding Nick Foligno once again.

Now it did seem like Dach and Foligno had chemistry together, but to only scan once and make that pass shows off the processing speed again. Another thought I had was that Colton Dach could potentially have some excellent peripheral vision use helping him make these types of passes, but that could be stretching it. The only issue is that you don’t see it enough, however like I brought up beforehand, playing limited minutes on a team that struggles to create offence can hide some of the puck skills a player has. The other primary assist in my viewings of Dach came off a shot from the point that got tipped in as you will see.

Being the responsible-minded forward that he is, Dach was covering the point for an engaging defenceman and he shows off solid shooting mechanics. In his first game with the Oilers, Dach played under ten minutes with 9:32 played. That continued a streak of four straight games of not getting over ten minutes a night. I don’t expect his playmaking skills to pop out at somebody if he continues to get this amount of playing, however if he can consistently get around 12 to 14 minutes a night I think it will start to pop out more. Trying him with Trent Frederic down the lineup makes sense as they are both big bodies and Frederic is more of a shooter plus he has scored over 15 goals twice in his career. Maybe that connection can give you some much needed run support.

The addition of Colton Dach is one that adds some youth, size, and defensive awareness to a Oilers bottom-six that needs to stop bleeding goals if there is any chance at winning a Stanley Cup. The versatile winger is an RFA at the end of this year and being under team control with not much to show for in his box-score stats, Dach could potentially sign a cheaper contract next year and set himself to exceed that deal. The skating mechanics are about average and you want the foot speed to pick up a little bit, but I don’t see it as a major issue. Dach has the frame and mobility to be an everyday bottom-of-the-lineup player and what helps him stand out is the defensive awareness mixed with the potential of growth in his playmaking game. I believe the former second-rounder is a safe bet to stay in the lineup and if he can take another step forward maybe he can be a cheap and effective third-liner Edmonton has been thirsting for.