The 24-year-old winger led all NHL rookies with 30 goals in just 68 games played.
Coming into the 2019-20 regular season, not many people knew what to expect from newly-acquired forward Dominik Kubalik. The 2013 seventh-round pick (191st overall) of the Los Angeles Kings was sent to Chicago in exchange for a 2019 fifth-round pick in January of 2019, but at the time, there was not much hype surrounding the acquisition.
The lack of initial excitement from Hawks fans was likely because Kubalik spent the last handful of years in the Czech and Swiss leagues and had not generated much exposure. Well, Kubalik’s play in Europe certainly caught the Blackhawks attention, as even in a rebuilding stage, they were willing to risk a fifth-round pick for a player that had not returned to North America since finishing his junior career in 2013-14. Risky.
But the Blackhawks are one of the best in the league at scouting talent in Europe, so it was no surprise to see them go out and take a chance on a guy like Kubalik. After all, his numbers while playing for HC Ambri-Piotta of the NLA (top Swiss league) from 2017-2019 and at the Olympic level were quite impressive. In his first partial season in the NLA, Kubalik finished with 27 points (10G, 17A) in 25 games, which was right on with the point-per-game pace he averaged during his previous three-year tenure with HC Plzen of the Czech league. 2018-19 was more of the same for the Kubalik, as the skilled winger went on to lead the league with 57 points (25G, 32A) in 50 games. That doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but in a low-scoring league like the NLA, averaging over a point-per-game is significant.
Kubalik also exploded onto the scene while representing the Czech Republic at the 2019 IIHF World Championship. The Pilsen, Czech native recorded 12 points in 10 contests, which was tied for the eighth-most in the tournament with future Blackhawks teammate Patrick Kane. Kubalik finished tied for eighth in goals as well, as he, Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov, and 2019 No. 2 pick Kaapo Kakko all finished with six tallies.
So, Kubalik had some momentum heading into his first NHL campaign, and he carried that into the fall with nine points (5G, 4A) in his first 19 games. Things then began to stall a bit for the Czech rookie though, as in the next 14 contests, he only recorded four points and was beginning to lose some of his ice time. But right around Christmas, Kubalik caught fire on the top line alongside Jonathan Toews and finally hit his stride. In the final 35 games of the season, he amassed a whopping 22 goals and 11 assists for 33 points, officially inserting his name into the rookie of the year conversation. One major turning point in Kubalik’s season came in a 17-day span from Jan. 2 – Jan. 19, when he racked up 10 goals and four assists in just nine games.
In total, Kubalik finished his rookie year with 30 goals and 16 assists for 46 points in 68 games. Although he surely will not win the Calder Trophy for NHL’s rookie of the year, the fact that he’s even in the running with Colorado’s Cale Makar and Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes is spectacular.
Even more spectacular is that Kubalik managed to have this productive of a season while averaging only 14:22 per game. In terms of goals scored per 60 minutes this year, only Boston’s David Pastrnak, Washington’s Alex Ovechkin, New York’s Mika Zibanejad, and Toronto’s Auston Matthews finished with a higher average. Not bad, rookie.
Kubalik also finished with only four power-play goals, so another impressive aspect of his 2019-20 campaign is that he did most of his damage while at even strength. Looking at some of Kubalik’s other statistics, one that jumps out immediately was his absurd 19.5 shooting percentage, which just does not happen too often at the NHL level. Nearly one out of every five of his shots found the back of the net, so the Blackhawks NEED to up his time on ice and get the puck in his hands in the future.
Kubalik’s most impressive performance of his rookie season was probably his first career hat trick on Feb. 27 in Tampa Bay, as he led the Blackhawks to a much-needed 5-2 victory over one of the elite teams in the NHL.
Overall, Dominik Kubalik was terrific in 2019-20, as he helped pick up the slack offensively while Alex DeBrincat had a bit of a junior slump. He found strong chemistry in the second half of the season on the top line with Jonathan Toews, so if the NHL’s 24-team postseason does take place in about a month, that is exactly where coach Jeremy Colliton should slot Kubalik.
Also, I cannot wrap up this article without mentioning this ludicrous goal that Kubalik scored back in January against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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