Dylan Strome, #1 Center?

[vic rattlehead]

How does everyone feel about this guy now? I have him in 2 keeper pools, and he was on my drop list. I only hear negative things about his game, but the Blackhawk injuries are making me reassess. Would you hang onto him in a points league, or is this a good time to cash in when his perceived value is super high?

[Daydream Nation]

With the role of being the #1 center will come more difficult opposition. He could be playing in a lot of garbage time too getting a lot of empty stats. If I had him in 2 keeper leagues, I'd hedge my bets and trade him in the league where I can get the best return.

[Doug Glatt]

Not enough information to assess.
Cozens wont be the #1 C in Buffalo with Eichel in place. I thought he had obvious #1 C talent pre-draft. Havent seen anything that changes my view.

[vic rattlehead]

Not enough information to assess.
Cozens wont be the #1 C in Buffalo with Eichel in place. I thought he had obvious #1 C talent pre-draft. Havent seen anything that changes my view.

Whether he has the talent or not is irrelevant. Due to the Dach injury and Toews illness he is now the de facto #1. Dobber had him for 41 points prior to the Toews news. If he is good for 47-49 he is bumped up to a keeper for me.

[pmorrow]

Blackhawks looking pretty smart for signing Soderberg now

Yes I think Strome has a big year with the two others out for a while.

He will get tougher shutdown opposition against but he also will have a bigger leash and OZ starts and pp1 opportunities galore. He will play most of the season with Kane, DeBrincat and/or Kubalik, which should put up big numbers even if theyre losing most of the time.

[BernyBoyD]

Thx for your post, I was just about to write about Dylan. I would like to expand on him. Yes, he’s by default the number 1 center now that Toews and Dach are injured... but why go over his head so easily?!?

Strome: 6’3, former 3rd overall. Entering his 4th season (though the first one was 20 games), 23 years old. Close to that 200 games breakout threshold.
Dach: 6’4, 3rd overall, 1 season under his belt.

Big bodies take longer to develop. Plus we tend to go crazy too soon with kids (exemple: hertl scored 5 goals in a game at the beginning of his career... he just starts to truly develop)

I understand that Strome didn’t make the splash we expected to, but Arizona isn’t the ideal place.

Dach showed flashes, so did Strome.

How come Dach is systematically placed over Strome... that doesn’t make sense to me. Think of all those amazing prospects (big bodies) that took longer than expected... and Dach would immediately rock our fantasy world?!? What am I missing? All articles practically never mention Strome...

The way I saw it, Toews and Strome were the top 2 centers in Chicago, with good upside for Strome while playing with Kane (we often see Toews and Kane not on the same line). Dach would keep on improving, and challenge 2C next year at the earliest...

Please enlighten me!

[newfcollins]

Don't forget that Strome hasn't signed yet. He's still a RFA.

[BernyBoyD]

Don't forget that Strome hasn't signed yet. He's still a RFA.

You’re right! I guess he has the upper hand now 😂

Is it the only reason why he’s not included in discussions?

[Axeman33]

I think it certainly helps his case for his new contract and I do believe he is their 1C by default. He didn't have a good year last year compared to his numbers when he first got to Chicago but I have always been a believer in this kid and I still am. I think he was the 2C coming into camp (once he signs of course) and Dach would continue to play on the wing but I am not the coach; that was just my belief.

I'd be holding him if I owned him right now. There's still a lot of talent on the wings in Chicago.

[Daydream Nation]

How come Dach is systematically placed over Strome... that doesn’t make sense to me. Think of all those amazing prospects (big bodies) that took longer than expected... and Dach would immediately rock our fantasy world?!? What am I missing? All articles practically never mention Strome...

The way I saw it, Toews and Strome were the top 2 centers in Chicago, with good upside for Strome while playing with Kane (we often see Toews and Kane not on the same line). Dach would keep on improving, and challenge 2C next year at the earliest...

Please enlighten me!

Dach improved greatly from the regular season to the playoffs. He was more dominant, more confidant, and showed the type of progression that could lead to becoming a true #1C. Even though Strome is nearly 4 years older, Dach was the better player in the playoffs and his defensive game is already much stronger than Strome's. Dach's game is emerging while Strome's game is stagnant while being nearly invisible in the playoffs. This is why Hawk followers view Dach as the #1C of the future while Strome is considered a quality #2C. Considering that this was a rebuilding year, the Hawks were always going to put Dach in the best position to improve. He had already shown that he could handle playing center against quality opponents so putting him at wing this season never made much sense.

[vic rattlehead]

Sounds to me like he would be a speculative keep for one year. You could enjoy the bump in production or maybe to let his value inflate and then sell just as Toews comes back.