When the Blackhawks drafted Kevin Korchinski one year ago, he was described as an elite offensive defenseman and an avid piano player.
Now, Korchinski can be described as an elite offensive defenseman and an improving guitar player.
His status as one of the best prospects in the Hawks’ system — even in all of hockey — hasn’t changed, but he’s getting closer to being a one-man band in his free time, too.
“I switched to guitar for something new,” Korchinski said. “I just went with it last year. A lot of the guys at the world junior [championships] played guitar and had guitars there, and I thought it was really cool how guys can play all these really detailed songs.”
He paused, then added with a smirk: “And I read that it makes you smarter, learning all these instruments.”
The 19-year-old Saskatchewan native didn’t bring his guitar to Chicago for training camp this month — he was already checking so much bulky hockey gear for the flight, after all — but he did practice it frequently throughout the summer. And if he ends up sticking on the Hawks for good this season, he’ll get his parents to ship it.
To that point, Korchinski is arguably the most interesting player at a Hawks camp in years, considering the genuine uncertainty around where he’ll end up and the enormous degree to which his individual performance will determine that.
He could spend all year in Chicago. He could spend all year back on the Seattle Thunderbirds, his junior team. Or he could spend some of the year on one team and some on the other.
The Hawks have been blunt with Korchinski — because they know he can take it — about what he needs to do to prove his NHL readiness.
Entering camp last week, general manager Kyle Davidson stated two things he needed to see from Korchinski. He needed to demonstrate he’s “physically and mentally to handle defending NHL forwards,” and he needed to dial back his offensive risk-taking the right amount to avoid breakdowns — without over-stifling the raw skills that make him such an elite prospect.
“Nothing’s off the table,” Davidson added. “We’re just going to do what we feel is best for him. We’re looking long-term with Kevin. He’s a big piece.”
Hawks coach Luke Richardson and defense-focused assistant coach Kevin Dean have continued that messaging since. Korchinski has received more one-on-one feedback than anyone else at camp, both on the ice after various drills and shifts as well as in video review sessions.
“It’s good to be able to pull [a guy] back rather than to plug a guy forward,” Richardson said. “It’s hard to teach that. He has that naturally. He’s so quick and he glides so well on his feet that sometimes he gets himself into trouble...and sometimes it gets him out of trouble, which is a good quality.
“Especially out of the ‘D’-zone, [it’s about] making sure the play comes to you. If you turn pucks over in the ‘D’-zone, it can be in your net very quickly. So he needs to play on the defensive side and let the puck come to him. He has the ability to beat someone one-on-one skating; he doesn’t need to take off every shift.”
After one practice, Richardson mentioned how much he liked seeing Korchinski get to a loose puck in the defensive zone with three quick strides and an active stick.
That represented a prime example of the advantage Korchinski’s athleticism and quickness provides. He has discovered those skills can more than make up for his disadvantages in the strength and weight categories against some of the NHL competition he’ll face — and he isn’t even too disadvantaged there, given he weighed in at a solid 194 pounds.
“There’s a time and place when you’ve got to pin a guy, but I use my stick and skating to make them uncomfortable where they don’t have any room out there,” he said. “And then I anticipate whether they’re going to try to cut back [or] whether they’re going to drive wide.
“If you have their stick, then they can’t really do anything, can they? Obviously, you have to be aware of the body, but for me, [I’m good at] using my stick and hockey sense to get to the play before they do.”
During another practice, however, Dean pulled Korchinski aside to tell him he can’t leave the defensive zone so quickly after making a breakout pass. Instead, he needs to hold back for a few seconds, just in case the forward who received the pass encounters a trap and needs to pass back to the defense.
The most encouraging thing is Korchinski has embraced all the feedback, be it positive or negative.
“I’m going to make mistakes, so when I do, I want them to let me know how I can do better and fix those mistakes,” he said. “They’re just being constructive with it, trying to make me a better player. And that’s why you want to play hockey: to be the best player you can be. Getting that criticism, it has been awesome. I’ve learned a lot, even these past two weeks.”
In his third career NHL preseason game Thursday — he also played in two last fall — he contributed to the Hawks’ only regulation goal by taking a drop pass on a four-on-two rush near the offensive blue line, skating down near the faceoff dot and sending a shot toward goal. Connor Bedard tipped it, then Philipp Kurashev buried the rebound.
Korchinski ultimately logged 21:07 of ice time, mainly on a pairing with Connor Murphy but also while quarterbacking the second power-play unit. Richardson called him one of the night’s standouts.
“He was up the ice quite a bit,” Richardson said. “[He’s] very confident to take that puck and go.”
If he does end up making the Hawks’ opening-night roster, he could alternate between on-ice appearances and healthy scratches over the first few weeks, Richardson has warned. Richardson is a big believer in the value of young players watching some games from the press box’s vertical vantage point; he put Wyatt Kaiser through the same treatment last spring.
But that would still be better than going directly to Seattle. It would at least give Korchinski more opportunities to keep learning, keep developing and get his guitar shipped into town.
And even if he does wind up in the Pacific Northwest again at some point this season, he’s sure to have a positive attitude about it.
“I’m just really happy to be here,” Korchinski said. “Every day I’m here, I’m trying to live it to the fullest and enjoy it as much as I can. Whatever happens, either way, I’m going to be happy and enjoy it. It’s good to live your dream playing hockey.”
