Kevin Korchinski: Ready To Graduate?

Blackhawks best D-man prospect in a decade is in line to turn pro at age 19 after dynamite junior season.

Kevin Korchinski had a dream 2022-23 season as an elite major junior defenseman.

The smooth-skating 19-year-old was the blue line anchor on a Seattle Thunderbirds team that won the Western Hockey League championship and then came up just short in the Memorial Cup Tournament in Kamloops, B.C. Seattle fell to the Québec Remparts, coached by goaltending legend Patrick Roy, in the final.

Korchinski had success on the East Coast too, helping Canada and soon-to-be Chicago teammate Connor Bedard to a gold medal in the World Junior Championship at Halifax in January.

All that came on the heels of being selected in the first-round and seventh overall by the Blackhawks in the 2022 NHL Draft. Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson had dealt sniper Alex DeBrincat to Ottawa to get the pick. 

After taking Korchinski, Davidson signed the 6-foot-1 defenseman to a three-year entry level contract loaded with bonuses — even if Korchinski needed and profited from another CHL season. 

This fall, Korchinski, a native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, could cash in on that deal as a pro. He's surfaced as the Blackhawks best prospect on defense in a decade.

But Korchinski's contract has some stipulations — or complications. He will have to skate either with Chicago or return to Seattle, per an agreement with the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) that prohibits players under 20 from joining a minor pro team. 

The rule prevents NHL teams from poaching top junior talent, unless the player is ready for the NHL. That's a jump Bedard, the No. 1. pick in 2023, is expected to make.

So AHL Rockford wouldn't be a possibility for Korchinski, at least for another year. 

But with a strong training camp, the 6-foot-1 rearguard could join top-3 Chicago prospects Bedard and Lukas Reichel in the NHL.

"There are players that people think, they’re too good for the CHL, but maybe not ready for the NHL," Davidson said Wednesday. "So that’s the balance you’re always trying to strike.

"We’re not making any decisions on him at this point," Davidson added."Hopefully he forces our hand and has a great training camp. But we’ll leave that up to him and then we’ll decide what’s best for his development moving forward."

Korchinski is focusing on clearing that hurdle and landing in the NHL.

"I think I've made some strides this season, just with the improvements I've made," Korchinski said at he Blackhawk prospect development camp this week. "I'm just trying to take it day by day."

Korchinski netted 11 goals and 62 assists and was a plus-50 in 54 regular-season games with Seattle, then added three goals and 11 assists in 19 playoff games en route to the WHL title.  

At the WCJ, he had a goal and three assists, paired with fellow Seattle D-man and Blackhawks prospect Allan Nolan who was drafted by Chicago in the first round, 32nd overall in 2021. Bedard did the scoring for Canada, notching nine goals and a record 23 points in seven games.

"Coming off the Memorial Cup, that was a heartbreaker," Korchinski said. "But overall, winning the Western and the World Juniors was really special and doing it with the guys I did, it was really cool."

Korchinski is filling out with strength, upping his weight to about 193 pounds. He's focused on training this summer to make the transition to pro.

"He starting to look thicker," Rockford coach Anders Sorensen said. "He's starting to look like a man."

"I'm just getting stronger every day," said Korchinski, who's careful any weight gain doesn't slow him down. "Obviously the off-ice stuff is what I really want to work on this summer, being in the gym every day, working on my shot.

"And then when I am on the ice, working on my skating, my skills, my defensive play, he added. "Just trying to improve as much as I can for training camp and putting my best foot forward."

Korchinski compares his game to that of Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore. The 6-foot-2, 197-pound Theodore has averaged about 22 minutes of ice time per game for the Golden Knights the past six seasons. while scoring 61 goals and 247 points in 397 games. 

Translating that to terms a Blackhawks fan can identify with: Not quite a Duncan Keith in terms of wheels or ice time. More gifted than a Niklas Hjalmarsson. Smoother than a Brent Seabrook.

Let's see where Korchinski eventually fits in.