Chicago Blackhawks 2025-26 Player Grades: Kevin Korchinski – The Hockey Writers – Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks finished their 2025-26 campaign 31st in the league, with a record of 29-39-14 and 72 points. It was an improvement from last season’s totals of 25-46-11 (61 points), but the organization had more progress in mind when they embarked on this campaign. The good news is the Blackhawks finished with more wins and more points than the previous season. They also feel they’ve taken positive strides in the growth and development of a plethora of young players, who could be a big part of a more successful future.

In this summer series, we’ll hand out individual grades to every player on the team. Today, we highlight defenseman Kevin Korchinski.

Korchinski’s Season Stats

0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, minus-4 in 13 games. Average time on ice (ATOI) of 13:38 minutes

47.1 Corsi For Percentage (CF%), 13 blocked shots, 4 hits, 2 takeaways, 13 giveaways, 4 penalty minutes

Contract Status: Restricted Free Agent (RFA) this summer

Season Overview

It was thought that Korchinski would have to really impress in training camp to make the Blackhawks’ opening night roster. He flourished with the Rockford IceHogs the year prior, where he was the AHL All-Star MVP, and was even named Defenseman of the Year by the IceHogs with 27 points in 56 games.

When the Blackhawks signed Matt Grzelyck from a PTO (Professional Try-Out), their left side was set with Alex Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser, and Grzelyck. So, Korchinski started the season with Rockford. He thrived there again. He had 26 points in 53 games, was named to the AHL All-Star Game again, and was the IceHogs’ top-scoring defenseman.

The point for Korchinski in Rockford was to continue developing and gain confidence. He got his first NHL call-up of the season in early January when there was an illness that made it through the Blackhawks’ locker room. He played in two games before being sent back to Rockford. In his first game back against the Washington Capitals, head coach Jeff Blashill called his performance “fine”, and for getting a last-minute call-up and in a 5-1 loss, that wasn’t nothing.

He had two more call-ups from Rockford after, and showed progress. He was mainly on a third-pair with Ethan Del Mastro, and even though they had their hiccups, Korchinski did look more established in his game.

Teammate Alex Vlasic complimented Korchinski on his game in early April, saying, “He’s been great since he’s since he’s been here. I feel like he’s been playing really good defensively. He’s been making some really nice breakout passes, holding on to the puck, making some good poise plays with it. So yeah, really happy for him. He seems like he’s feeling a lot more comfortable.”

Korchinski’s strengths are clear. The 21-year-old is very talented on the offensive side of the puck and he is a great skater, but the defensive side is what he mentioned he was working on in Rockord, and it was noticeable.

Korchinski said in exit interviews about what he is working on this summer, “I think just strengthen some things. Obviously just little things. Whether it’s working on gaps, whether it’s working on breaking the puck out under pressure. Obviously, knowing where your guys are, and just maybe little things that you don’t really think are important, but are, and that can just make and break some small plays on the ice that can end up in the back of the net, or end up in their net. So, just simplify it. Be more (confident) with the puck, and make plays when they’re there.”

Quotable Quote

In his exit interviews, Korchinski was encouraged by his play, and general manager Kyle Davidson was impressed with him, too.

He said about Korchinski at the trade deadline in March, in part,

“I think we need to get Kevin minutes and keep getting him minutes because we have seen some really nice strides, and we want to keep that positive momentum going into the offseason. But we’re big fans of Kevin. He’s got a ton of upside, a ton of ability. He’s still raw. He’s still getting into the pro game and learning through that process and that development process, but he’s someone that we really like, we have a lot of time for…”

Korchinski’s Final Grade: C

Overall, Korchinski was better than he was last season, and that is what you hope to see with development.

RFA’s can be unpredictable, but I see the Blackhawks re-signing him this summer since Davidson noted they want to keep building on his momentum. His skill set alone can make him a big asset on defense. If he re-signs, it would be ideal if they could unlock him next season. Futuristically, I don’t think his ceiling is anywhere close to a third-pair defenseman.

A lot of questions should be answered further about Korchinski’s potential next season, but he continues to build on it.