Colton Dach in Concussion Protocol After Vicious Hit

Colton Dach is in concussion protocol after a brutal hit yesterday against the Milwaukee Admirals. The Blackhawks prospect and Rockford IceHogs forward was brought to the ice by Milwaukee Admirals forward Zach L’Heureux and is now in concussion protocol per the IceHogs.

Hoping that Colton Dach (#28) is ok. What a dirty play by Zachary L’Heureux. Not anything new from L’Heureux either as he was suspended nine times in the QMJHL (including one 10 game suspension). #Blackhawks #Preds #IceHogs pic.twitter.com/PkXPkjGjXE

— Chicago Prospects (@Chi_Prospects) December 31, 2023

As Wally Mazurek via Chicago Prospects pointed out, L’Heureux has been suspended nine times and it was chronicled in a recent article from the Nashville Post  where those suspensions were brought up in the article. Noted, as Wally tweeted, that he was suspended nine times in the Q as well as getting a ten-game suspension.

From the Nashville Post article:

“Yeah, I think [the suspensions are] part of the game,” L’Heureux said this week during the Predators’ developmental camp. “Some of them are deserved, some of them are not deserved. It’s a lot different game, I think, in junior, and the way it’s [officiated] and the way it’s called — how they manage and deal with situations like that.

“I’m happy I’m done with it and I’m moving to the next step. So it’s something I want to leave in the past. I want to move forward from it and not let it affect me going into next year.”

From the video, Dach does get a shot in when L’Heureux has his back turned. Dach initially falls after the hit, tangled or tripped by L’Heureux’s skates. After that, Dach is hit and then crumples to the ice.

Nashville Hockey Now had an article where it specifically talked about how the Nashville staff was working with him on the discipline.

Looks like they need to get back to work on that one.

An Avoidable Injury to Colton Dach

Dach’s hit on L’Heureux kicked off the vicious sequence, but in no way should it have resulted in the response. The intent L’Heureux has, just watching his skating stride prior to his hit on Dach, was obvious. But Dach, who has been having a great season for the IceHogs, is shelved for some time. The hope, obviously, is that it’s not a long term issue for both the IceHogs and Dach–primarily from a long-term health standpoint. Hits to the head are obviously an issue–and one that the league has been cracking down on.

This is the issue with hockey at times. While he got a five and a match, the issue is that L’Heureux has a long history, albeit in juniors, of undisciplined behavior. The one that got him the ten-game ban was an alleged spearing of a fan. Video shows him jabbing his stick into the crowd–which really brings up more questions than answers about the youngster.

But this isn’t just a hockey issue. The young man clearly has a temper and cannot control that temper in a reasonable way. Look, anyone can understand that taking a shot in the back would upset. But the reaction is what can’t be understood.

L’Heureux clearly has an issue and for the sake of a career not being wasted by it, he and the Predators organization should get to the root of it. Otherwise, someone could be seriously hurt down the road. The hockey of yesteryear where players policed one another isn’t there as it once was. A shot like that even twenty years ago would have resulted in a bloodbath, sending a message that hits like that would come with consequences on the ice.

Now, it’s up to the league and the Predators to do something to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

As for Colton Dach, one hopes that it doesn’t dim what was a great season for the Blackhawks prospect.