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Blackhawks CHL Prospect Update, 6/5: Korchinski, Dach, Allan reach Memorial Cup Final

Posted on by Dave Melton
Source: Seattle Thunderbirds (Brian Liesse)

The CHL’s Memorial Cup ended on Sunday night, which means it’s time for one last prospect report. A trio of Blackhawks prospects helped the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds take their season as far is it could go before losing 5-0 to the Quebec Remparts in Sunday’s Memorial Cup Final. Once again, we’ll start with that Seattle team, which advanced to the Memorial Cup after winning the WHL this season.

WHL

Kevin Korchinski, Seattle Thunderbirds

Regular Season Stats: 73 points (11 G, 62 A), 54 PIM, 139 SOG in 54 games played
Postseason Stats: 14 points (3 G, 11 A), 10 PIM, 44 SOG, in 19 games played
Memorial Cup Stats: 3 points (3 A), 0 PIM, 11 SOG in 9 games played

Korchinski played a lot of hockey during the 2022-23 season, which ended on Sunday night at the Memorial Cup Final:

As the numbers above indicate, Korchinski was also very good during all of those hockey games. He was an on-ice fixture for the Thunderbirds throughout the regular season and postseason. Although no ice time reports were available, pregame lineups posted on Twitter suggested Korchinski skated in the final on Seattle’s top D pairing alongside fellow NHL prospect Luke Prokop:

Korchinski also earned leaguewide recognition for his play this season:

Here’s a goal Korchinski scored during the WHL Final back on May 17, showcasing his exceptionally quick release:

These updates have been waxing poetic about Korchinski all season because the No. 7 overall pick – who’ll turn just 19 years old in a few weeks – has done just about everything which could be asked of a top-ten draft pick. He remains one of the team’s top prospects and he’ll make for an interesting storyline come September on whether or not Korchinski needs any more WHL time – he is not eligible for the AHL because of the terms of the CHL-NHL Transfer Agreement – or if it’s time to let Korchinski take his talents to the NHL.

But we can talk about that more when the time comes.

Nolan Allan, Seattle Thunderbirds

Regular Season Stats: 27 points (11 G, 16 A), 50 PIM, 94 SOG in 57 games played
Postseason Stats: 8 points (2 G, 6 A), 19 PIM, 25 SOG in 19 games played
Memorial Cup Stats: 2 points (2 G), 4 PIM, 11 SOG in 5 games played

Though Allan is not as offensively inclined as Korchinski, he did have a pair of goals during the Memorial Cup, including this late tally during a round-robin game against Quebec:

This was Allan’s other Memorial Cup goal:

Those two goals and Allan’s continued all-around play were reason enough for Allan to be named to the Memorial Cup’s All-Star team:

Allan was another reliable, consistent contributor for the Thunderbirds after arriving there in a trade from the Prince Albert Raiders. Based on his age – Allan turned 20 in April – and his CHL experience, Allan is now eligible for the AHL and seems destined for a roster spot with the Rockford IceHogs next season. There were no real stumbling blocks to report from Allan’s 2022-23 season, so the 2021 No. 32 overall pick has his stock trending upward with the transition to professional hockey awaiting.

Colton Dach, Seattle Thunderbirds

Regular Season Stats: 27 points (12 G, 15 A), 31 PIM, 81 SOG in 23 games played
Postseason Stats: 14 points (3 G, 11 A), 20 PIM, 51 SOG in 19 games played
Memorial Cup Stats: 2 points (2 G), 6 PIM, 24 SOG in 5 games played

Availability continued to be the best ability for Dach in the postseason, as he finished out the WHL Playoffs and the Memorial Cup as a consistent part of the Seattle lineup.

His prototype as a forward was on display throughout the Memorial Cup, including this big just 90 seconds into Sunday’s final:

Here’s a goal Dach scored in the semifinal against Peterborough:

A pretty easy one-timer into an open net, yeah, but the encouraging part of this play is that Dach saw what was happening and stopped upon recognition that he was in a prime scoring area instead of drifting out of position. Score one point in the “hockey IQ” column for Dach.

And here’s a goal Dach scored during the round-robin portion of the tournament with a strong drive to the net. And perhaps he’s taking advice from his brother on how to celebrate goals:

It was a good postseason for Dach overall, which should help offset any lingering disappointment from the injury-plagued regular season. The 2021 second-round pick has lived up to that billing so far but will need to do so again next season in the AHL to continue his progress towards an NHL future.

OHL

Ethan del Mastro, Sarnia Sting

Regular Season Stats: 59 points (7 G, 52 A), 82 PIM, 76 SOG in 52 games played
Postseason Stats: 10 points (10 A), 31 PIM, 30 SOG in 16 games played

Wrapping up del Mastro’s season, Sarnia was eliminated from the OHL playoffs in a 6-game series with the London Knights. Much as he’d done all season, del Mastro was a top-pairing defenseman during Sarnia’s postseason run:

As postseason honors rolled out last weekend, del Mastro was recognized as one of the best blue-liners in the entire OHL:

Like Allan, del Mastro’s next hockey step will almost certainly be in the AHL as the 2021 fourth-round pick who turned 20 in January continues his hockey journey.

QMJHL

Samuel Savoie, Gatineau Olympiques

Regular Season Stats: 59 points (26 G, 33 A), 90 PIM, 134 SOG in 54 games played
Postseason Stats: 8 points (2 G, 6 A), 14 PIM, 27 SOG in 13 games played

Our last prospect report mentioned that Gatineau was hosting Game 4 in a series against the same Quebec team that won the Memorial Cup on Sunday night. The Remparts won that game 3-1, ending the season for Savoie and the Olympiques.

Talking Points