Prospect Info: Kevin Korchinski, 7th Overall, 2022 NHL Draft

[Kevin Musto]

Bedard specifically said how good it was to have Korchinski with him going through the same things as a newbie, this alone is enough for me to see him stay.

That alone is not a good enough reason lol.

His level of play has to warrant it.

If for some reason there's a drop off, you don't want him out there floundering just because he's Bedard's buddy.

 

[WarriorofTime]

That alone is not a good enough reason lol.

His level of play has to warrant it.

If for some reason there's a drop off, you don't want him out there floundering just because he's Bedard's buddy.

Agreed lol. Korchinski is a much more important player than just being Bedard’s friend.

 

[EbonyRaptor]

I think KD is playing the mgmt. game. After 9 NHL games, we should know if KK is overwhelmed or not in the NHL. There's no doubt if he will have his ups and down in the NHL. However, we'll know soon enough if he's mentally mature enough to deal with NHL adversity at 19.

I have no problem if the Hawks decide send KK back to the WHL. However, we should make that decision at game 9 so not to burn his ELC if we do send him down.

This sucks for KK. He really should stay up for 9 NHL games and develop the AHL for the rest of the season.

I get what you're thinking and that would normally be the way it would be done but I believe KD and crew realize the timing on the rebuild is mostly dependent on the young d-men getting established as soon as possible to align with the new forwards and more importantly the salary cap. Therefore if there's no doubt he's ready by the 9th game - he stays. Likewise if there's no doubt he's not ready by the 9th game - he goes back. BUT - if it's not so black and white one way or the other - I believe KD intends to blow past the 9th to give him more games with which to help them make the decision. I base that on what KD has said.

 

[shakes the clown]

as much as I selfishly want him to develop alongside Bedard, I think it would be best to send him down for another year of seasoning. I know he is our best PP defenseman already, but he struggles physically in the d zone and could use a year of dominating juniors and hitting the weight room.

 

[u2wojo]

as much as I selfishly want him to develop alongside Bedard, I think it would be best to send him down for another year of seasoning. I know he is our best PP defenseman already, but he struggles physically in the d zone and could use a year of dominating juniors and hitting the weight room.

Agree....this is still a tank season given our roster and at some point subjecting a teenager to regular losing and lack of success can be detrimental. We also have plenty of other LHD that we can use to get looks with that roster spot to figure out what else we have. Back to juniors to be top guy, lead Canada in the WJC, and show up next fall more developed physically, more rounded in his game, and have a few of the younger pieces on the current roster further along and a few other pieces currently in jr/college/ahl show up to improve the talent level.

 

[belfour30]

It doesn't sound like they're going to send him back, at least yet.

 

[BHawk21]

Thought he had his worst game. Still made plenty of plays and pushed the play. Keep him up IMO.

 

[EbonyRaptor]

K2 doesn't look overwhelmed to me. He's getting a crash course in playing NHL defense and isn't that what we want him to get. As long as he continues to play with confidence I think the best thing for his development is to keep him on the Hawks.

I wouldn't mind if he and the other two rookie d-men get a game to watch from the press box every now and then. Give them one game off every 5 or 6 games or something like that.

 

[shakes the clown]

K2 doesn't look overwhelmed to me. He's getting a crash course in playing NHL defense and isn't that what we want him to get. As long as he continues to play with confidence I think the best thing for his development is to keep him on the Hawks.

I wouldn't mind if he and the other two rookie d-men get a game to watch from the press box every now and then. Give them one game off every 5 or 6 games or something like that.

that's true. Even when he has struggled he has maintained his confidence. That's the key. Confidence can be fickle at that age so I'm nervous about him being able to maintain it with a season of losing and being minus a million.

 

[Taze em]

Richardson said he's staying. Good news to me! Commence the climb to the 200 NHL game mark for NHL D. January 2026 Korchinski confirmed weapon.

 

[bwanajamba]

There's a legitimate argument to be made that going to the W may be best for his development but his play has earned him the right to stay up for now, so I like it. No need to commit to any season-long plan yet, as long as he is growing (which is visibly the case in nearly every game so far) keep getting those NHL reps

 

[giza]

He can hit the weight room here. He can learn how to eat and get lifestyle improvements from the Hawks brass instead of Juniors. We're not winning squat this year and even the playoff are unlikely...it's a rebuild...he contributes and he's still learning so the pro's of sending him down don't seem to outweigh the con's.

 

[ORRFForever]

PLEASE let him play at the WJR's. Pretty please.

 

[ello]

So talented at puck moving. So bad at defence. He is directly responsible for what seems like at least one goal against a game, its actually pretty crazy. I know i know he's young and Im not writing him off but some young talented dmen never seem to figure out the defensive side of the puck due to poor instincts. I remember having similar discussions about Boqvist, was told that it was all because of his age. Bouchard's another similar guy.

Im a bit biased here since I wanted Mintyukov so badly at the draft but it's pretty frustrating that our best D prospect in like decades is bad at D and having a two way stud like Mintyukov go 3 spots after sucks (or Jiricek one spot earlier, who also has an extremely well rounded game for a young dman).

Obviously he still has a so much promise. He is so talented at passing and finding seams, even for his outlet passes. Best first pass since Seabrook. It's actually a treat to watch. However, I think he's going to have to be paired consistently with a rock solid defensive oriented dman for the majority of his career (Demelo, Pesce-type) in order for the team to benefit overall from his game.

 

[Putt Pirate]

So talented at puck moving. So bad at defence. He is directly responsible for what seems like at least one goal against a game, its actually pretty crazy. I know he's young and Im not writing him off but some young talented dmen never seem to figure out the defensive side of the puck (Boqvist, Bouchard) and I wish he was naturally better at it. It's pretty frustrating that our best D prospect in like decades is bad at D and having a two way stud like Mintyukov go two spots after sucks (or Jiricek one spot earlier, who also has an extremely well rounded game for a young dman)

Obviously he still has a so much promise, but poor defenders do exist in the NHL.

What, 9 games of NHL experience at 19 yo as a defenseman and he is the finished product??? Overreact much?

 

[Kevin Musto]

So talented at puck moving. So bad at defence. He is directly responsible for what seems like at least one goal against a game, its actually pretty crazy. I know i know he's young and Im not writing him off but some young talented dmen never seem to figure out the defensive side of the puck due to poor instincts. I remember having similar discussions about Boqvist

That's why Korchinski needs to go back to juniors.

Can't have another Boqvist situation where they kept him up and stunted his growth.

So far there's been no growth in Korchinski's game since he was drafted. He has the same strengths and weaknesses. He can't keep coasting on those strengths alone. He needs to make an effort to improve his deficiencies.

But he's not going to do that in a league which will punish him for trying new things and making mistakes.

 

[SimpleJack]

So talented at puck moving. So bad at defence. He is directly responsible for what seems like at least one goal against a game, its actually pretty crazy. I know i know he's young and Im not writing him off but some young talented dmen never seem to figure out the defensive side of the puck due to poor instincts. I remember having similar discussions about Boqvist, was told that it was all because of his age. Bouchard's another similar guy.

Im a bit biased here since I wanted Mintyukov so badly at the draft but it's pretty frustrating that our best D prospect in like decades is bad at D and having a two way stud like Mintyukov go 3 spots after sucks (or Jiricek one spot earlier, who also has an extremely well rounded game for a young dman).

Obviously he still has a so much promise. He is so talented at passing and finding seams, even for his outlet passes. Best first pass since Seabrook. It's actually a treat to watch. However, I think he's going to have to be paired consistently with a rock solid defensive oriented dman for the majority of his career (Demelo, Pesce-type) in order for the team to benefit overall from his game.

Good lord really? Like he hasn’t even been that bad and he’s played like a few games EVER as a rookie kid. And ur all “oh no what if he never ever learns or develops” already???

That's why Korchinski needs to go back to juniors.

Can't have another Boqvist situation where they kept him up and stunted his growth.

So far there's been no growth in Korchinski's game since he was drafted. He has the same strengths and weaknesses. He can't keep coasting on those strengths alone. He needs to make an effort to improve his deficiencies.

But he's not going to do that in a league which will punish him for trying new things and making mistakes.

He’s so much better than Boqvist it’s not even funny. Boqvist never showed anything close to what he already has in just a fraction of the time.

 

[mighty Stanley Duck]

So talented at puck moving. So bad at defence. He is directly responsible for what seems like at least one goal against a game, its actually pretty crazy. I know i know he's young and Im not writing him off but some young talented dmen never seem to figure out the defensive side of the puck due to poor instincts. I remember having similar discussions about Boqvist, was told that it was all because of his age. Bouchard's another similar guy.

Im a bit biased here since I wanted Mintyukov so badly at the draft but it's pretty frustrating that our best D prospect in like decades is bad at D and having a two way stud like Mintyukov go 3 spots after sucks (or Jiricek one spot earlier, who also has an extremely well rounded game for a young dman).

Obviously he still has a so much promise. He is so talented at passing and finding seams, even for his outlet passes. Best first pass since Seabrook. It's actually a treat to watch. However, I think he's going to have to be paired consistently with a rock solid defensive oriented dman for the majority of his career (Demelo, Pesce-type) in order for the team to benefit overall from his game.

How can you rate somebody after 9 games? That ''what have you done for me lately'' has f***ed up your vision dude...go watch ESPN.

 

[Pez68]

So talented at puck moving. So bad at defence. He is directly responsible for what seems like at least one goal against a game, its actually pretty crazy. I know i know he's young and Im not writing him off but some young talented dmen never seem to figure out the defensive side of the puck due to poor instincts. I remember having similar discussions about Boqvist, was told that it was all because of his age. Bouchard's another similar guy.

Im a bit biased here since I wanted Mintyukov so badly at the draft but it's pretty frustrating that our best D prospect in like decades is bad at D and having a two way stud like Mintyukov go 3 spots after sucks (or Jiricek one spot earlier, who also has an extremely well rounded game for a young dman).

Obviously he still has a so much promise. He is so talented at passing and finding seams, even for his outlet passes. Best first pass since Seabrook. It's actually a treat to watch. However, I think he's going to have to be paired consistently with a rock solid defensive oriented dman for the majority of his career (Demelo, Pesce-type) in order for the team to benefit overall from his game.

Lol

 

[Chuck Testa]

I really like Korchinski and believe that he will be a key contributor in subsequent years.

IIRC wasn't Keith pretty raw when he first broke in to the league before becoming one of the best defensemen in the entire NHL for a significant stretch?

I'm kind of leaning more toward the side of sending him back, but I'm not 100% sure to be honest. As someone said earlier, the team doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of even sniffing anywhere close to the playoffs this season and seems destined for another top 5 (top 3?) pick in this upcoming draft, which is what this team needs to have happen to position themselves best in the long run.

 

[Hattrick Kane]

I’m not sure how you watch this team right now and determine that KK is the issue right now. I mean other than Musto who should be on everyone’s ignore list at this point.

 

[TLEH]

He’s not the problem at all but his defensive game has a long way to go.

 

[kmwtrucks]

Jr's makes no sense for him. IMO

 

[EmeticDonut]

I really like Korchinski and believe that he will be a key contributor in subsequent years.

IIRC wasn't Keith pretty raw when he first broke in to the league before becoming one of the best defensemen in the entire NHL for a significant stretch?

People here were down on Keith the first few years when he got regular playing time and were ready to send him away.

 

[Pez68]

For those arguing to send him back, have you played hockey before? If you're good enough to play in a league, you play in that league. It's the best way to develop. How is he going to work on the things he needs to work on, if he's not seeing the caliber of play that challenges those deficiencies? With how he has played in the NHL, juniors will absolutely be too easy for him, and he could develop bad habits he has to unlearn when he comes back up. There's no reason for him to play down.

Playing in lesser leagues has only ever hurt me throughout my hockey career. Full stop. You slow down your execution, thought process, develop bad habits.... I never understood this argument.