It doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense that Kevin Korchinski would’ve fallen out of favor with the Chicago Blackhawks at this point.
A young team hoping to build itself up into a contender has a talented defenseman on its hands in Korchniski who likely hasn’t yet reached his prime.
Despite that, Korchinski has been a healthy scratch in the early going, with trade rumors swirling mostly because the rest of the NHL is also intrigued by the fact that Korchinski isn’t playing.
Korchinski is just 22 years old, but he already looks at least a bit on the outs in Chicago.
Why is Kevin Korchinski a Healthy Scratch?
Korchinski isn’t going to be sent down to the AHL, because he’s no longer exempt from waivers, so that removes one option for Chicago while they work through a new-look defense that also includes Bowen Byram and Ian Cole.
A recent report from the Chicago Tribune included this paragraph to start explaining things:
“It’s obvious (coach Jeff) Blashill doesn’t trust the young defenseman to join the top six yet. That was evident last season when (Ethan) Del Mastro was recalled from Rockford weeks before Korchinski in the wake of injuries to Artyom Levshunov and Matt Grzelcyk.”
Korchinski has played this season, but just once — and that’s when Bowen Byram wasn’t available while his twin daughters were born.
Korchinski was a minus-2 in just 11 minutes and 21 seconds.
Since then, he hasn’t played again.
Korchinski isn’t hurt, but something about his game isn’t pleasing to the Blackhawks. They took a while in the offseason just to reach a new contract agreement with him as a restricted free agent, which already pointed to the fact that maybe things weren’t perfect here.
It is a conundrum, though.
“Both Blashill and Davidson have preached that the Hawks need to develop their young talent into NHL-ready players for the foreseeable future,” the Chicago Tribune writes. “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.”
How Kevin Korchinski Feels
Korchinski is at least publicly saying the right things.
“Be a student in the game, be attentive, learn as much as you can and be prepared when your name is called,” Korchinski told the Chicago Tribune.
It’s just hard to know what would cause Chicago to give Korchinski a chance. If the Blackhawks are healthy, it’s tough for Korchinski to ever prove he deserves a longer-term opportunity.
It does feel a bit like he’s stuck.
The Tribune writes: “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.”
Korchinski will have to exhibit some patience, which can’t be easy, but he doesn’t have another choice.
Why Kevin Korchinski is Stuck as Blackhawks’ Healthy Scratch