For the first year and a half of their professional careers, young Blackhawks defensemen Kevin Korchinski and Nollan Allan were like passing ships.
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' NHL roster.
"It was nice to be back out there with him," Allan said Sunday. "And [to have] somebody around the room closer to my age and someone I've known for a while."
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.
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't need to be kept on a leash.
"Throughout the season, he has taken big steps forward in his development," interim coach Anders Sorensen said. "We saw flashes of that early when he was up here, and we want to make sure he stays on that track.
"You want big minutes for him. Here, he was [playing] 15 or 16 minutes. We want him to play 22 to 24 minutes. That’s a big part of [the reasoning]."
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.
"Two of his strengths are skating and moving the puck well, and he did that," Allan said. "He 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."
Analytically, Korchinski's 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).
Korchinski used his speed to defend rushes better — as he demonstrated with a memorable play on Rangers star Artemi Panarin — and he kept in mind an approach Sorensen calls "quiet feet" to stay more in position in his own zone. He seemed more confident, as well.
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.
It's also noteworthy that Korchinski didn't record a point offensively and actually averaged fewer shots on goal per game than last season.
That's not a failure on his part; it's partly because he didn't receive much power-play time. But considering the Hawks drafted him to be an offensive defenseman — and he had tallied 11 points in 22 games in Rockford — they want him to continue learning how to be that type of player at the pro level.
The mantra for Korchinski's 2024-25 season that he perfectly worded back in November is worth repeating: "[It’s about] less trying to get by, more trying to make a difference."
Meanwhile, veteran defenseman Alec Martinez — who missed his 10th straight game Sunday with a neck injury — participated in morning skate and is "close" to returning, Sorensen said. When Martinez does return, either Wyatt Kaiser (who was called up Sunday) or Louis Crevier will likely go down to Rockford, and it'll be interesting if Sorensen will finally remove Brodie from the lineup.
