It isn't easy for young players in the NHL to get better, but a few Blackhawks have shown great signs.
It isn't easy for young players in the NHL to get better, but a few Blackhawks have shown great signs.
NHL rookie scoring leader Connor Bedard is minus-39 in 64 games. His linemate Philipp Kurashev is minus-40 in 71 contests. Smooth-skating defenseman Kevin Korchinski is minus-37 in 72 games.
The only worse plus/minus players in the league both come from the San Jose Sharks. William Eklund at minus-42 in 76 games and Filip Zadina at minus-44 in 72.
Numbers-wise, it makes sense. The only NHL team with a worse record than the 23-50-5 Blackhawks is the Sharks, at 18-51-9. San Jose's team goals differential is minus-137. Chicago's is minus-102 heading into Friday's game with the playoff-bound Nashville Predators.
Tough Break-In For Young Talent
The rebuilding Blackhawks have lots of young talent in their lineup, but success and experience don't come overnight. Even without a rash of injuries, it might have been a tough 2023-24 season for the Blackhawks, despite winning the draft lottery in May and taking Bedard in June.
The Blackhawks were able to pivot a little bit last summer by acquiring Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno and Corey Perry to support Bedard and other kids. Later they re-signed a few key veterans (Petr Mrazek, Jason Dickinson and Foligno), and left room for some young players to have opportunities.
The loss of Hall in November to knee surgery really hurt, though. So did long-term injuries to Andreas Athanasiou, Seth Jones, Connor Murphy, Tyler Johnson and others.
Perry was expected to add leadership and stability. The 38-year-old forward's release in November after violating team policies smarted too.
And Bedard missed 14 games with a broken jaw.
Blackhawks Kids Learning On The Fly
The Blackhawks currently rank 31st in the NHL and are very likely going to finish there.
It takes time, opportunity and trust to see proper development at the NHL level. While coach Luke Richardson has given that to players like Bedard (18 years old), Kurashev (24 years old), Korchinski (19 years old), Lukas Reichel (21 years old), Alex Vlasic (22 years old), this means the kids match up against the better players and lines of opposing teams.
These young Blackhawks players often have learned the hard way this season as Korchinski, Bedard, and Kurashev are among the five worst plus/minus players in the league.
Many dismiss plus/minus as an irrelevant stat because a number of factors come into play. A minus could just be the fault of one teammate on the ice. But when the numbers skew far in one direction or the other, plus/minus can become either impressive or concerning.
All bottom-five plus/minus players in the NHL are all young and inexperienced. Their rough ratings are more about the matchups against seasoned veterans and good teams.
Korchinski Shuffle
Korchinski has had four defense partners this season that he's played more than 200 minutes together with. The loss of the steady 31-year-old Murphy since Jan. 13 didn't help the rookie defenseman. The two were often paired before Murphy, who's due back on Friday, was sidelined by a hip/groin soft tissue injury.
Only five D-pairings on Chicago this season have played together for at least 200 minutes. This means a 19-year-old is being forced to try to form chemistry on the fly with a new defenseman often. That can impact an player no matter his age.
In all four pairings for Korchinski this season, each has a higher expected goals and lower expected goals-against than what has shown up on the scoresheet. That means factors outside of the rookie's control have occurred a lot.
Korchinski has played much better than what his plus/minus suggests. It should get better from here with more experience, a more consistent partner, and an improved team next season.
Bedard, Kurashev Are Top-Line Forwards On Chicago
Bedard and Kurashev have played against the top lines of the Blackhawks' opponents face all season long. In Bedard's case, regardless of how skilled he is, he is just 18 years old and going head-to-head with the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby.
Bedard and Kurashev have done well offensively this season and taken on a ton of responsibility, playing over 19 minutes per game on average.
Their plus/minus numbers might be better if they were on a team's second line with less difficult matchups. But the Blackhawks don't currently have the basis of a line with more raw offensive talent than what Bedard and Kurashev offer, even if Dickinson has a career-high 21 goals and Foligno has produced in his old solid two-way form.
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