The Chicago Blackhawks gave up quite a bit this offseason to draft Kevin Korchinski, selecting the young defenseman with the seventh-overall pick. That pick was part of the return from the Ottawa Senators for Alex DeBrincat, meaning there is a lot riding on Korchinski’s development.
Today, the team has decided that development will continue at the junior hockey level. After an impressive debut training camp, Korchinski has been returned to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. The team has also sent Arvid Soderblom to the AHL and Samuel Savoie to the Gatineau Olympiques, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.
Korchinski, 18, is not eligible to pay in the AHL this season or next, though it would be an unlikely destination for him anyway right now. After being the tenth overall pick in the 2019 WHL draft, it actually took him a little while to really make an impact, thanks to COVID delays and cancelations.
It was 2021-22 when he really burst onto the scene, scoring 65 points in 67 regular season games and then another 19 in 25 playoff matches. With a relentless offensive mindset, Korchinski is always trying to create something with the puck on his stick, and often leads the rush with his excellent skating ability.
For now, that offensive mind will be headed back to junior, where he should dominate once again. He’ll also be a candidate for the Canadian World Junior squad in December.
Next year will be a telling one for the Blackhawks, as Korchinski will not be eligible for the AHL. It will be either NHL or CHL for him at that point, meaning his designation should give some insight into whether or not the Blackhawks are ready to start turning the corner on their rebuild.
At the moment, playing their top prospects in the NHL seems like a waste, as the team isn’t expected to be very competitive. At some point though, there will need to be a shift from junior and minor league development to getting them reps at the highest level. The seventh-overall pick will be a strong indicator of when that shift occurs.
Starting a rebuild with a defenseman seems a solid strategy as usually D take longer to develop. I don’t envy Blackhawks fans at the moment. Right now you can just sit and trust the management I guess.
It’s the right place for him right now and the right thing to do. He just needs to get a little stronger as his skills definitely play in the NHL right now. He could probably play in Chicago this year but it would be a hard learning curve. It’s definitely a good draft pick and a decent return for the Cat alone. Just going to take time. Dudes only 18.
I wonder if he’s not completely ready for the NHL next year if they could loan him to a Swedish Pro Team so he could still refine his skills and still play in a pretty good pro league. I know the Hawks have a lot of contacts in Swedish and Finnish League’s. Food for thought anyway.
They can’t – under the NHL-CHL transfer agreement, he’s gotta get sent back to his junior team if he’s eligible.
The article plainly says that he can’t be sent back to Juniors again. That it’s either the NHL, CHL as he can’t play in the AHL next year either. I have no idea why. I just thought it might be a different option.
He can’t play in the AHL because they have an agreement with the WHL that doesn’t allow a player that was drafted into the WHL to play in the AHL until he’s 20 years of age.
(This may be incorrect but I believe it’s true)