![\"Kevin](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/794fd70\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/6000x4000+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F09%2Fab%2F6c8f193f47a6bf617deed67421b4%2Fkorchinski.jpg\")
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For the first year and a half of their professional careers, young Blackhawks defensemen Kevin Korchinski and Nollan Allan were like passing ships.<\/p>\n
Last season, Korchinski was in Chicago and Allan was in Rockford. To begin this season, they had flipped places with Allan in Chicago and Korchinski in Rockford. But for nine games this December, they were finally united on the Hawks\u2019 NHL roster.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was nice to be back out there with him,\u201d Allan said Sunday. \u201cAnd [to have] somebody around the room closer to my age and someone I\u2019ve known for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hawks reassigned Korchinski to Rockford on Sunday, costing the 20-year-old prospect an opportunity to play in the Winter Classic on Tuesday but making the smart move for his long-term development.<\/p>\n
His impressive performance in the first game after he got called up (Dec. 9 against the Rangers) earned him a longer stay in the NHL than the Hawks originally planned. But once his play dropped off somewhat, it made sense to return him to the league where he doesn\u2019t need to be kept on a leash.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout the season, he has taken big steps forward in his development,\u201d interim coach Anders Sorensen said. \u201cWe saw flashes of that early when he was up here, and we want to make sure he stays on that track.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want big minutes for him. Here, he was [playing] 15 or 16 minutes. We want him to play 22 to 24 minutes. That\u2019s a big part of [the reasoning].\u201d<\/p>\n
Allan and Korchinski grew up just one year apart in age in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and then played junior hockey together in 2022-23 on the Seattle Thunderbirds. And Allan, too, has observed Korchinski taking major strides this fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo of his strengths are skating and moving the puck well, and he did that,\u201d Allan said. \u201cHe has gotten stronger off the puck, too. … I noticed [that] since the last time I played with him in Seattle. He has definitely gotten harder and stronger on forwards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Analytically, Korchinski\u2019s nine-game stint was much better than his 76 games last season were. The Hawks had a 48.8% scoring-chance ratio during his five-on-five shifts, up from 41.9% last season. They generated slightly more chances per 60 minutes (26.0 vs. 23.9) and conceded substantially fewer chances against (27.2 vs. 33.1).<\/p>\n
Korchinski used his speed to defend rushes better \u2014 as he demonstrated with a memorable play on Rangers star Artemi Panarin \u2014 and he kept in mind an approach Sorensen calls \u201cquiet feet\u201d to stay more in position in his own zone. He seemed more confident, as well.<\/p>\n
But he did make a bad decision to step up at the blue line after a T.J. Brodie turnover Friday that led to a Sabres goal, and that was one of a few sloppy moments for him that night.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also noteworthy that Korchinski didn\u2019t record a point offensively and actually averaged fewer shots on goal per game than last season.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not a failure on his part; it\u2019s partly because he didn\u2019t receive much power-play time. But considering the Hawks drafted him to be an offensive defenseman \u2014 and he had tallied 11 points in 21 games in Rockford \u2014 they want him to continue learning how to be that type of player at the pro level.<\/p>\n
The mantra for Korchinski\u2019s 2024-25 season that he perfectly worded back in November is worth repeating: “[It\u2019s about] less trying to get by, more trying to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, veteran defenseman Alec Martinez \u2014 who missed his 10th straight game Sunday with a neck injury \u2014 participated in morning skate and is \u201cclose\u201d to returning, Sorensen said.<\/p>\n
When Martinez does return, either Wyatt Kaiser (who was called up Sunday) or Louis Crevier will likely go down to Rockford, and it\u2019ll be interesting if Sorensen will finally remove Brodie from the lineup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Hawks reassigned Korchinski to Rockford on Sunday after nine encouraging NHL appearances. He didn’t record a point offensively, but he showed how much stronger and smarter he has become defensively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n