Blackhawks' Dach misses opening of camp with concussion

Patrick Kane still remembers his first training camp.

And how important it was that he was on the ice for all of it before scoring 21 goals during his rookie campaign 12 years ago.

"For me it was huge," said Kane, who admitted he wasn't at his best in his first couple of weeks in a Blackhawks sweater. "You start thinking that maybe you're going to go back to juniors. Then (the) regular season came around and (I) started playing a lot better."

Kane was just 18 years old back then - the exact same age as Kirby Dach, who missed the Blackhawks' opening day of camp at Fifth Third Arena on Friday.

Dach, whom the Hawks selected No. 3 overall in June, is in concussion protocol because of a hit he took during the Traverse City Prospect Tournament on Tuesday. The big center was checked from behind and his head hit the boards behind the net. After staying down for about 15-20 seconds, Dach skated off the ice and went to the locker room.

Dach is expected to compete for one of two or three forward openings and could center the third line if he proves he's ready for such a task.

"It's too bad," said general manager Stan Bowman, who didn't give a timetable for Dach's return. "Obviously I thought he played well (at Traverse City) a couple games.

"But this is part of it and we don't need to make any determinations today. It's the first day of camp, so we'll just let that play out."

Also missing on Day 1 were defenseman Calvin de Haan and forward Philipp Kurashev. De Haan, acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh in the off-season, is still recovering from shoulder surgery. He is expected to miss 2-3 weeks and may not be ready for the season opener in Prague on Oct. 4.

As for Dach, Bowman said the forward's draft position will not play a factor in whether or not he's awarded a roster spot.

"It's just can you help the team win and can you help the team on the ice?" Bowman said. "He's not different than the other guys that way. The only difference is that he's a very talented player. But besides that he's treated like everyone else."

Jonathan Toews ran into Dach yesterday and told his teammate not to rush his return.

"A young guy like that probably feels like there's a lot of expectations, a lot of pressure for him and he probably wants to come in and show what he can do right at the start," Toews said. "So it's easy to jump the gun in your recovery regardless of what your injury is, but he's got to take his time and make sure he's 100 percent when he comes back."

Every day Dach misses likely lessens his chances, although Kane wasn't about to count the 6-foot-3, 195-pound center out just yet.

"(Camp) was really a much-needed time for me, but I think he might be in a different position," Kane said. "He's a big, strong kid; he can translate pretty well just with his body to the NHL game."

• Twitter: @johndietzdh