Chicago Blackhawks interim head coach has seen strides in 20-year-old defenseman’s game

The Chicago Blackhawks coaching staff and front office have had a tough time deciding which defensemen to keep in the NHL on a nightly basis. The season began with the team having one of the league’s oldest defensive groups, but that has changed quickly over the last month. Trading Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers for goaltender Spencer Knight and a first-round pick got the ball rolling on bringing up the youth movement of blue line prospects in Chicago’s system.

Artyom Levshunov was the first of the crop to make his debut on March 10 against the Avalance on the road. The 2024 number two overall pick has settled in nicely to life in the NHL but still has improvement that needs to be made in his game.

Sam Rinzel made his NHL debut this past Sunday at home against Utah. He’s a right-shit defenseman like Levshunov, and the pair project to be a part of Chicago’s top-four defensemen for nearly the next decade. Other youngsters like Ethan Del Mastro, Nolan Allan, and Wyatt Kaiser have impressed at times this season as they too are beginning to find their footing at the highest level.

Another young defenseman spent most of this season down in Rockford after beginning his professional career last year with the Blackhawks. Now that he had options in his contract this season, it made the most sense to have him develop his game in the AHL this season.

Anders Sorensen has seen strides in Kevin Korchinski’s game

Kevin Korchinski has had two brief stints in Chicago this season after playing 76 games as a rookie a year ago. The 2022 first-round pick has gained a ton of confidence, and interim head coach Anders Sorensen has seen that.

“He’s calmed down, quieted down a little bit defensively,” Sorensen said. “Still room for improvement, for sure. We want him to be able to utilize his positive attributes: his skating and his offensive abilities and finding more touches in those areas that we can get him involved. That’s the biggest thing.”

The new Blackhawks’ bench boss has worked with Korchinski at both levels this year, as he was Rockford’s head coach before replacing Luke Richardson in December. Korchinski doesn’t have a point in the 11 games he has played with the Blackhawks this season and currently has a -11 plus/minus rating.

Sorensen made Korchinski a healthy scratch for Wednesday night’s home contest against Colorado in favor of Del Mastro, which caught some by surprise. Chicago has so many young defensemen that need NHL minutes to show the front office what they have. It makes decisions like those tough, but it doesn’t reflect negatively on Korchinski as a prospect whatsoever.

The Chicago Blackhawks need to figure out Korchinski’s future soon

With Alex Vlasic, Levshunov, and Rinzel locked into the Blackhawks’ blue line for the foreseeable future, it only leaves three everyday spots up for grabs. Korchinski will have to compete with Del Mastro, Allan, Kaiser, and any other veterans that the front office brings in to stay in the NHL next year.

With next year’s right side likely being Levshunov, Rinzel, and Connor Murphy, it leaves four young guys and potential veterans competing for the two open spots on the left side. Korchinski will have to prove his game on both ends this summer and into camp, or he could be a trade chip further down the line for general manager Kyle Davidson.