The Blackhawks may have found the kind of offensive defenseman they hoped Kevin Korchinski would become.
That’s the promise attached to Xavier Villeneuve, the 34th overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft. Chicago took Villeneuve after years of waiting on Korchinski, the seventh overall selection in 2022, to settle into the role the organization originally envisioned for him.
Villeneuve is not being rushed, and that matters. Unlike Korchinski, he’ll take the long development route, which gives the Blackhawks a cleaner path with a player whose offensive ceiling stood out in this draft.
Korchinski’s story has been a bumpy one from the start. After being drafted, he was stuck in a tough spot because of the former Canadian Hockey League-NHL transfer agreement, which prevented players under 20 from going to the AHL.
Chicago had already seen what he could do in his draft year, when he posted 73 points in 54 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League and added four points at the World Junior Championship with Team Canada. Since he wasn’t going to gain much more from the WHL, the Blackhawks put him in the NHL at 18.
That decision came with a cost. In 76 games during the 2023-24 season, Korchinski managed just 15 points and finished minus-39.
The offensive upside that made him a top-ten pick was still there in theory, but the confidence that once came with it faded fast. On a weak Blackhawks team, and with Jaycob Megna as a frequent partner, Korchinski struggled badly in his own zone and looked overwhelmed.
The next season brought a reset. Chicago sent him to the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL, where he spent most of the 2024-25 campaign rebuilding his game before getting called up late.
He finished with two points in 16 games. The numbers were modest, but the improvement showed up in other ways.
His play on both sides of the puck started to settle, and that upward trend carried into this past season with the Blackhawks, when he looked more confident with and without the puck and, for the most part, held his own as a steady defender.
Villeneuve arrives with a very different kind of buzz. He was one of the steals of the draft after sliding to the second round, and the main reason for the drop was his 5-foot-11 frame.
The talent was obvious anyway. In his draft year, he put up 38 points in 37 games with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
His game is built on skill and movement. Villeneuve’s skating drives everything, and he can create space in the offensive zone, slip past defenders, and make the right read.
His passing and shooting are among the best of any defenseman in this class. The defensive side still needs work, but that’s the part that can be developed over time.
He’ll get that time at Boston University, where the Blackhawks hope the development track works in his favor. The comparison point is obvious: Lane Hutson went there and came out as a Montreal Canadiens defenseman. Villeneuve may not become Hutson, but Chicago would love the same kind of growth curve.
For a team willing to swing big on upside, this was the right kind of bet. If Villeneuve reaches what he’s capable of, he could end up being the player the Blackhawks thought they were getting when they picked Korchinski in 2022.
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Now Edmonton has made its intentions clear by extending all three after the season, a sign those deadline additions were never just temporary fixes. It is the kind of follow-up Blackhawks fans probably expected to see from a contender, and it only adds another layer to how the trade will be judged in Chicago as the Oilers keep building around the group they acquired. [Read more 🡒]