The Chicago Blackhawks called up defensemen Sam Rinzel and Kevin Korchinski on Wednesday morning. The move corresponds with the placement of defenseman Wyatt Kaiser on injured reserve.
Blackhawks have called up Sam Rinzel and Kevin Korchinski and placed Wyatt Kaiser on IR.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) February 18, 2026
Wyatt Kaiser was injured in the Blackhawks’ 4-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 4, their final game before the Olympic break. With Kaiser on injured reserve, that leaves a hole in the Hawks’ blueline. Even though his 5v5 underlying numbers are ugly (45.54 percent Corsi and a 42.87 percent expected goals share), Kaiser was partnered with Artyom Levshunov and provided steady defense despite his partner’s chaotic tendencies.
Sam Rinzel was demoted to the Rockford IceHogs back in December following a disappointing start to the season. As was covered in the AHL prospect update article, Rinzel took on more responsibilities in Rockford, which isn’t reflected in his 14 points in 23 games. Rinzel was briefly called up before the break, played three games, scored a goal, and looked much more confident than he did to start the season.
GOAL: Sam Rinzel gets on the board with a rocket shot to add another! pic.twitter.com/dxdaVfq7X4
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) February 3, 2026
Kevin Korchinski is the other defenseman the Blackhawks called up, which is interesting because of both Rinzel’s and Korchinski’s offensive upside. Korchinski was briefly called up for two games in January and recorded an assist. His 45 games with Rockford have been a mixed bag. Korchinski has 23 points with three points in his last 10 games. Granted, Korchinski has been playing on his off-hand in Rockford.
Korchinski could be a trade chip in the near future, depending on where Kyle Davidson sees his development. Although this is Davidson’s first actual draft pick, going seventh overall in 2022, Korchinski’s name has been thrown in as a possible trade target for the Vancouver Canucks in an article by Thomas Drance of The Athletic. The other name mentioned in that article is Ethan Del Mastro.
While Rinzel will have to prove that he can consistently perform as he did in his recent three games, I am much more interested in how Korchinski responds to this call-up. The Blackhawks return to action on Feb. 26 against the Nashville Predators.