The Blackhawks are rolling into their ninth game of the season tonight against the Dallas Stars with a few early-season storylines already taking shape, and one of the biggest centers on Kevin Korchinski.
So far, Korchinski has appeared in just one game this season, that Oct. 3 meeting with the Buffalo Sabres. When Bowen Byram was being handled as day-to-day, head coach Jeff Blashill went with Ethan Del Mastro against the Jets instead, which only sharpened the question of when Korchinski gets his next crack.
Blashill addressed that on Oct. 16, and his message was straightforward: "I just think he's got to stay with it, and just practice hard and be great in practice every day."
He was then asked if breaking into the lineup is tougher for Korchinski because he’s the extra defenseman. Blashill didn’t dodge that part either: "You're in a hard position, 100 percent, and you got to find a way to again... most importantly from a self perspective is put yourself in a position to jump through that window of opportunity, and that's super hard to do, and I think it's easy to get frustrated.
It's probably easy to wonder when that opportunity's gonna come, and then bam, before you know it, it's there. I know you're ready.
And I mean, there's been lots of stories in sports where that's happened... He's got to be ready.
It's a hard league, though. You have to put yourself in position to be successful and be ready for it."
Korchinski’s spot is tricky because the Blackhawks can’t simply send him to Rockford for ice time; he would have to clear waivers first. That leaves him in a holding pattern for now, even after a strong preseason and with the team looking for the right moment to plug him back in.
There’s plenty else going on around the roster, too. Connor Bedard is back, and his return is viewed as a major boost after he was missed in more ways than one through the first six games. The Blackhawks are also trying to build on a two-game winning streak, and that stretch has been fueled by depth, with multiple players getting on the scoresheet.
Among the early standouts, rookie Roman Kantserov has scored three goals in his last three games, tying him for second on the Blackhawks. Anton Frondell has been even louder on the rookie front, leading NHL rookies with six points in eight games.
There have been other moving parts worth watching as well. Frank Nazar has been shifted to third-line center, Bowen Byram is dealing with an upper-body injury, and Spencer Knight’s first five games included numbers that pointed to a slower start before his standout outing against the Winnipeg Jets got him back on track in his sixth game.
The Blackhawks also had a big win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that result came with positives and negatives that still need monitoring as the season moves forward.
In Other News...
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For a team already searching for answers, Rinzels struggles add another layer of urgency. Chicagos defensive problems are now big enough to raise questions beyond the ice, including whether coaching changes could eventually be in play and how this early-season slump might affect Rinzels contract talks down the road. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Just Got A Reminder Of The Gap They Still Face
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Blackhawks Prospect Vaclav Nestrasil Is Forcing A Bigger Right Wing Conversation
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For Chicago, the bigger question is less about whether Nestrail is part of the future and more about how soon that future can start to press into the present. He is viewed as a promising two-way winger, and the path to the NHL will depend on how his college season unfolds and how the Blackhawks roster evolves around him. If the development keeps trending up, the conversation around right wing could get a lot more crowded in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]