Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton always believed center David Kampf, despite two seasons of defensive excellence and essentially zero scoring, had something to offer offensively.
It has required much patience, but Kampf finally is proving Colliton right.
After scoring four goals in 46 games as a rookie in 2017-18 and four goals in 63 games last season, Kampf has scored four times in the Hawks’ last 12 games despite going scoreless in a 4-2 loss Tuesday to the Hurricanes at the United Center.
‘‘He’s playing well; he’s chipped in a little more offensively,’’ Colliton said Tuesday. ‘‘Without going back and looking at his shot attempts, I feel like he’s hitting the net. [And] when you hit the net, you give yourself a chance for some pucks to go in. [You] also create rebounds, and that can only be a good thing.’’
Colliton’s gut feeling again was correct. Kampf’s recent scoring surge hasn’t come simply because of puck luck: He legitimately has been creating offense.
Per minute, Kampf ranks fifth among Hawks forwards in shots and scoring chances and fourth in shots on goal. By comparison, he ranked in the bottom three among Hawks forwards in all three categories last season.
Kampf’s overall lack of offense entering this season — not just a lack of finishing but a lack of everything in the attacking third — made Colliton’s comments about him during training camp somewhat perplexing.
‘‘There’s a lot of chances [Kampf] creates for himself and his linemates,’’ Colliton said Sept. 19. ‘‘I would just like the shot selection to be a little better, but we’ve talked about it. . . . Whether you create a rebound or consistently hit your spot, you can create some extra goals for yourself.’’
A few months later, Colliton’s analysis checks out and Kampf’s efforts to improve his shot selection do, too.
Not only have Kampf’s overall shot rates improved, but so have his accuracy and efficiency. He is putting 64.1 percent of his shots on goal, up from 54.1 percent in his first two seasons, and generating rebounds on 20.6 percent of his shots, up from 11.4 percent the last two seasons.
‘‘[For] a lot of guys who get a lot of chances [and] who maybe don’t convert as much as they’d like, to me it’s more about picking a spot and always shooting there and being consistent about hitting it,’’ Colliton said, referring to Kampf. ‘‘If you do that, the numbers are going to come back to you.’’
Kampf’s defensive numbers, meanwhile, are down from his first two seasons. But that’s largely a product of the Hawks’ overall porousness because Kampf’s responsibility and reliability in his own zone remain apparent.
The across-the-board solid play has added up to a bigger role than ever for Kampf, who is averaging nearly 15 minutes a game, by far the most playing time of his career.
Colliton has liked the soft-spoken Kampf since taking over as the Hawks’ coach, and Kampf has benefitted from that. Not only was he given a long leash before his offense came around, but he also has enjoyed the most line stability of any forward on the team, playing with Dominik Kubalik the whole season, Brandon Saad throughout October and Andrew Shaw throughout November.
But Kampf also deserves plenty of credit for broadening his skills so dramatically.
‘‘This year, I feel more comfortable and I play a little bit more,’’ Kampf said. ‘‘So it’s better than last year.’’