It's been a revolving door of defense partners for 19-year-old Kevin Korchinski this season. The Blackhawks smooth-skating rookie has progressed despite how tough that is for any player.

Chicago was hit hard by injuries, including to top veteran defensemen Seth Jones and Connor Murphy. With players coming in and out of the lineup, Korchinski has had to adjust on the fly while trying to learn the NHL.

Last season he was skating for Seattle of the WHL. Teenage defensemen rarely get a full-time crack at the NHL, but Korchinski is special and he's had a solid season.

At age 19, he had to either play for the Blackhawks or be returned to his junior team per an agreement with the CHL. Sending Korchinski to Rockford of the AHL wasn't an option, as it was for 20-year-old defense prospect Nolan Allan and 21-year-old Ethan Del Mastro who have had solid seasons as minor pros.

The Blackhawks decided Korchinski wouldn't progress in the WHL. So it was time to give him a shot in the NHL.

The rookie D-man has averaged just under 20 minutes of ice time per game and got a good amount of reps on the power play. With the shot and scoring ability he showed in junior, that's the right place for him. But the power play is much different than five-on-five where Korchinski played over 200 minutes with four partners.

Originally, the plan was to have the rookie play with Murphy this season and that usually was working until Murphy got injured on Jan. 13. The two were only paired up for parts of 38 games and 245 minutes at five-on-five this season while Korchinski has played 73 total games.

The defense partner Korchinski has played the most with this season is journeyman Jaycob Megna and the numbers are not great. Yes, Megna is a veteran presence that is good to have beside the rookie and might have been the best option beside Korchinski while Murphy was out, but they've been on the ice for nine goals for and 24 against in 365 minutes at five-on-five. They have been out-shot, out-chanced, and have a very low 37.44 expected goals for percentage (xGF%) this season together.

At least with Murphy, the pairing of him and Korchinski have a 40.04 xGF%, a higher Corsi%, Fenwick%, Shots% and they've been on the ice for seven goals for and 17 against.

Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson speaks on the increased role given to his young players and how they've handled it well.

Murphy just returned, but Megna is still playing on the second pairing with Korchinski.

The season is almost over and Korchinski has built some chemistry with Megna over time. Murphy skated in Friday's 5-1 loss to Nashville and was paired with Del Mastro, who was called up and played his first NHL game against the Predators.

Korchinski will have a season of valuable NHL experience under his belt to start 2024-25. The 31-year-old Murphy should be fully recovered from a groin/hip condition and good to go.

Korchinski has already proven that he is capable of handling top-four minutes in the NHL. The team around him is going to take a step forward next season, but he is also expected to improve. Stability is still going to be key for Korchinski in his development, especially with how he didn't get a ton this season. Expect to see him gain more confidence and be an ever bigger contributor for the Blackhawks moving forward.

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