2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25: Kevin Korchinski shifts to No. 10

The 2026 version of Second City Hockey’s Top 25 Under 25 rankings moves on to our Top 10, which will contain a lengthier breakdown of each individual who made it into that group.

Kevin Korchinski

Position: Defense

Age: 22 (June 21, 2004)

Acquired via: First-round pick (7th overall) in 2022 NHL Draft

2025-26 team : Rockford IceHogs (AHL) | Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)

2025-26 AHL stats: 26 points (2 G, 24 A) in 53 games

2025-26 NHL stats: 2 points (2 A) in 13 games

Size: 6-foot-1, 185 pounds

Contract: Two years, $1,325,000 AAV

Rankings: 8 (Eric), 10 (SCH), 11 (Dave, LBR)

Last T25U25 ranking: No. 9, down one spot

It\'s almost like we planned it: Korchinski checks in at No. 10 on our 2026 offseason version of Top 25 Under 25 rankings a little under 24 hours after signing a new two-year deal that\'ll keep Korchinski around for a couple more seasons.

Or, at least: that\'s the hope.

The history on Korchinski doesn\'t need an in-depth retelling here, but it\'s been an overall ... strange journey for the former top-10 pick. After spending the entire 2023-24 season at the NHL level, he\'s only had brief stints since, playing in just 29 games across two seasons after appearing in 76 as a rookie. His primary residency has been in Rockford, where he skated in 56 games during the 2024-25 season and 53 more last season. Around this time last year, there was plenty of talk about Korchinski looking significantly improved in the AHL, suggesting he may be ready for a return to Chicago. Note the date on the tweet below:

Went back and watched last night's IceHogs' game, might put together a story after the series. But I thought Kevin Korchinski stood out in GM 1. He played a game-high 23:43 & just used his skating more consistently.

Here's one example to set up a scoring chance: pic.twitter.com/vZZNCwWIPB

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) May 2, 2025

And then Korchinski spent another season mostly in the AHL while other prospects like Wyatt Kaiser, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, Louis Crevier and Ethan Del Mastro all skated in more games with a higher average ice times than Korchinski last season. Yes, some of those players are older than Korchinski and one was drafted higher, but that does paint a bit of the picture with Korchinski, who sometimes feels like the forgotten face among the Blackhawks\' blue-line prospects.

Right now, six defensemen likely have spots in Chicago next season: Kaiser, Levshunov, Rinzel, Bowen Byram, Alex Vlasic and Ian Cole. That No. 7 spot seems up for grabs for Korchinski, and his primary competition would appear to be the aforementioned Del Mastro, assuming the current restricted free agent has a deal in place come training camp. Based on last season, Korchinski would seem to be the favorite there, since Korchinski again drew strong reviews from those in the organization regarding his play in Rockford, which included time on the right side due to a shortage of right-handed defenseman on the IceHogs. Here\'s what Rockford coach Jared Nightingale said about Korchinski back in February, as reported by Gail Kauchak of The Hockey Writers :

We’re really proud of Korch, his game away from the puck and the defending. He’s taking some big steps. With him and Sam (Rinzel), when they’re playing like that, it helps our team tremendously.”

As mentioned on Sunday, Korchinski did end the season in Chicago, skating in nine games over the final few weeks of the season. He tallied a lone assist in those games, with his ice time starting at 12:09 and peaking at 17:20, all for an average of 14:30 -- still well behind his career mark of 18:29. The ice time wasn\'t as sheltered as in other seasons, though, with Korchinski -- and Del Mastro, his typical partner during that time -- smack in the middle of offensive zone starts among Chicago blue-line pairings behind the duo of Kaiser and Rinzel but above the shutdown-oriented duo of Vlasic and Crevier. From those middle-of-the-road starts, Korchinski had the best 5-on-5 shares of expected goals (52.10 percent), scoring chances (46.74 percent) and high-danger chances (51.35 percent) among Chicago defensemen over the final nine games of the season.

But that\'s also a nine-game sample at the tail end of a season during which Chicago had just two victories. And we\'ve been burned before by pinning too many hopes on positive signs from a young player at the end of the regular season (see: Reichel, Lukas). It doesn\'t mean that Korchinski hasn\'t turned a corner, of course: it just means that we\'ll need to see similar results in October and November before we\'re convinced this gold isn\'t actually that of a fool.

As mentioned in yesterday\'s Korchinski-centric article, the next two seasons seem like they\'ll be the final opportunities for Korchinski to prove he has a long-term spot with this team. Given the way the numbers game shakes out at the moment, Korchinski may not have ever had a better chance of making the NHL roster than he does this year, keeping in mind that his initial season in Chicago was an unexpected development. Taking this opportunity and running with it after a few seasons of AHL seasoning would instill a belief in Korchinski\'s long-term standing here that has been on shaky ground since his more-down-than-up rookie season.

2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25 list (so far): Nos. 11-15: Greene, Nestrasil, Villeneuve, Commesso, Vanacker Nos. 16-20: Boisvert, Behm, Roobroeck, West, Mustard Nos. 21-25: Del Mastro, Gajan, Spellacy, Slaggert, Alalauri Honorable Mention: Samuel Savoie

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