Kevin Korchinski is in a peculiar position to start the 2026-27 season.
The Chicago Blackhawks defenseman was a restricted free agent for much of the offseason. As other RFAs such as Connor Bedard and Drew Commesso agreed to new contracts, questions arose about whether Korchinski, 22, would remain in the Hawks system.
The speculation ended when he signed a two-year, $2.65 million contract Aug. 29. He told reporters he wasn’t too worried about getting a deal done.
“It was out of my control, so I didn’t really pay too much attention to it,” Korchinski said Sept. 18. “You have friends and guys asking when you’re going to sign, but I just approached the offseason (as a) chance to get better. Came here for a month and worked with a lot of different coaches and strength coaches, and I think it was beneficial. It was a good summer.”
General manager Kyle Davidson was laid-back about the timing of contracts for Korchinski and fellow defenseman Ethan Del Mastro, who signed a two-year, $1.9 million deal Sept. 16.
“We had some other business to handle ahead of that, so I wouldn’t necessarily read too much into timing-wise,” Davidson said Sept. 17. “It’s their job to continue to grow, continue to get experience and push their way into playing time when it becomes available or when it’s necessitated.”
Korchinski no longer is exempt from waivers, so the Hawks needed to keep him on the roster to avoid another team potentially claiming him. Even with the offseason additions of defensemen Bowen Byram and Ian Cole, the new contract seemed to show that the Hawks still had bigger plans for the No. 7 pick in the 2022 draft.
Or so we thought.
Korchinski got some preseason time against the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues, but that was with mostly AHL-heavy lineups. That’s when we should’ve seen him gain reps, but that didn’t happen in the shortened training camp.
The Hawks finalized their opening roster Sept. 26 with 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders. Eight blue-liners — including Korchinski and Del Mastro — made sense at first, as coach Jeff Blashill ran an 11-forward, seven-defenseman lineup a few times last season.
But when asked Sept. 28 before the trip to Las Vegas for the season opener if he would use such lineups again or rotate his defensemen, Blashill said: “I wouldn’t say we’ll work a rotation. We’ve got to find ways to get some wins here. If we think there’s a clear delineation, we’ll play those six. … We’ll certainly try to get the other two in when we can, but it’s not going to be a rotation.”
Korchinski and Del Mastro made their season debuts Saturday in Buffalo while Byram was out for the birth of his twin daughters. The defensive pair finished with a minus-2 rating, and Korchinski’s 11 minutes, 21 seconds of ice time was the lowest of the Hawks defensemen.
Blashill declined to comment on Korchinski’s performance postgame, saying: “They’re not the same. I thought (Del Mastro) had a good game.”
And that’s all Korchinski has been able to show on the ice this season. There’s no sign he’ll be joining the lineup, barring an injury or off-ice predicament for the current top six defensemen.
So what’s the plan for Korchinski?
It’s obvious Blashill doesn’t trust the young defenseman to join the top six yet. That was evident last season when Del Mastro was recalled from Rockford weeks before Korchinski in the wake of injuries to Artyom Levshunov and Matt Grzelcyk.
In the meantime he’s working toward earning that nod.
“That starts in practice, being attentive (to) all these drills and being good in the practice,” Korchinski told the Tribune on Wednesday. “To build trust, you’ve got to earn it. It’s not given (and) it’s on me to do.”
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Korchinski struggled as a 19-year-old rookie in 2023-24, totaling 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) with a minus-39 rating in 76 games. He has played in only 30 NHL games since, while putting up 53 points (five goals, 48 assists) with a minus-38 rating in 109 games for the IceHogs the last two seasons.
Both Blashill and Davidson have preached that the Hawks need to develop their young talent into NHL-ready players for the foreseeable future. But how can they do that if a young player doesn’t see the ice?
Mistakes will happen with the youngest team in the league. Blashill has noted this, most recently on Wednesday about 21-year-old forward Nick Lardis’ slow start.
“The game is going to happen, mistakes are going to happen, and I’m OK with that as long as (Lardis) keeps brushing it off and attacking the game,” Blashill said. “He’s got to keep playing through it (and) at some point, if you keep doing the right things, things will start to trend in your favor.”
Korchinski hasn’t gotten that gracious nod, at least during Blashill’s tenure. For now, he’s a backup option that the Hawks don’t want another team to have.
For Korchinski’s part, he’s taking advantage of his current position the best way he can — learning from observing.
“Be a student in the game, be attentive, learn as much as you can and be prepared when your name is called,” he said.
Byram, 25, and Cole, 37, are great figures to learn from. Their experiences, despite being in different points of their careers, can provide Korchinski with new ideas for his game.
“Just being a sponge off them, stack some little things, like what makes them successful, things that are easy to implement,” Korchinski said. “Those are things that can go a long way, where you’re not reinventing the wheel but you can add a little thing.”
Cole is on a one year-deal, so that could be a timeline as to when the Hawks expect Korchinski to be ready. If that’s what it is, a full season of healthy scratches isn’t going to do much for him.
Regardless, Korchinski feels ready for whenever the bell rings.
“For me, it’s making sure I’m ready whenever my name’s called,” he said. “Being ready, working extra at practice, before practice, doing (the) little things, taking care of my body and being ready to go.”