With one of the three picks from the Alex DeBrincat trade, the Chicago Blackhawks selected defenseman Kevin Korchinski No. 7 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft.
HI KEVIN❣️ pic.twitter.com/gyaPn7R9oI
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) July 8, 2022
Korchinski is more of an offensive-oriented blue-liner, with Habs Eyes on the Prize billing him as a “high-risk, high-reward” defenseman in their deep dive on the prospect. Korchinski stands 6-foot-2 and weights 185 pounds, giving him decent size to navigate the blue line in the WHL with the Seattle Thunderbirds. Last season, we played in 67 games with Seattle, scoring four goals with an eye-popping 61 assists.
It can be viewed as a bit of a reach, with Korchinski sitting outside of the top 10 of virtually every prospect ranking available. Still, the Blackhawks appeared quite enamored with Korchinski, based on an interview with general manager Kyle Davidson soon after the draft, when Davidson told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, “We got our guy.”
But the Blackhawks weren’t the only ones who were high on Korchinski’s game:
#Blackhawks select Kevin Korchinski 7th overall. I ranked him 8th overall.
Korchinski is a large, talented defenseman who scored at a very strong rate in the WHL this year. Based on his impressive profile, he deserves to be selected right around where he was. pic.twitter.com/2KzhK4gNZY
— Patrick Bacon (@TopDownHockey) July 8, 2022
Here’s some information from Scott Wheeler of The Athletic:
“The upside with this kid is unparalleled to the guys I’ve seen.”
Kevin Korchinski is just scratching the surface. My look at one of the #2022NHLDraft’s top defencemen — and most exciting prospects, period. https://t.co/7sEvpHhvtA pic.twitter.com/TWU42O3kaS
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) June 23, 2022
And here’s a highlight reel:
More to come on Korchinski.