I think for Kevin Korchinski his fate for this season is in his hands.

If he has matured enough physically and shows what he can do in camp (and potentially in that short window before he can go back to Jr) he could play with the Hawks starting this year. I just don't think there is an answer yet until we see how he plays and if anyone else just earns the spot over him.
- breadbag

Exactly what I believe.
I guess I don't see them demoting another kid who has outclassed him playwise in camp.
Nothing will be handed to him.
I am still watching the Memorial cup and he and he is one of the better puck transporters and he was careful at his excursion to the nett front and seems to always get back to defense.
In one of the first games he was close to a cross ice pass the Quebec put in the net, but he had no errors that lead to then plays creation (They were simply fast and dominant.)
He knows how to pick his spots to go to the open ice on the attack, or place pucks on the sticks of his teammates.
He skates as well as the best in major junior.
The poppycock of him being "demoted" on Seattle defense was horsefeathers.
You have to get Martin Hanzel (Seattle's other shooting defenseman.)his props as his game IS growing and I wanna say Nolan Allen is a piece of work with a nice completive side, that includes a cheap shot or two..
You simply don't know if the wavier wires will offer nhl ready help, b/c if he or any of the kids are thought to be in over their head it's Rockford or back to junior for those who cannot be assigned.

I don't think anyone is gonna lose sleep if KK is sent back, because he has to be strong enough to not end being a rag doll for the other teams players to cheap shot.

You figure that they will add Nazar after the collegiate hockey season, and we will see many a car ride from Rockford to Chicago and back during the year, as the young defenders get rewarded with look-sees, and the veteran Blackhawk bottom line-up guys get called back after being g regulars when the need exists.

Said it before and say it again....fans, teams, etc are all good with a rebuild until they are not. I don't see any logical reason to rush any of these kids if they show they are not ready. I also think if a kid shows he is ready, you bump him up to the show...see if he can handle himself and if he can.....let him build some confidence at the nHL level. IF not, you sit him down and show him tape of what he needs to work on and send back to wherever.

I don't get the vibe this management will rush anyone just to do so......
- SteveRain

I'm completely on board with this. If the coaching staff deems him qualified after a 10 game stint this year, do you consider that rushing him?

You didn't read. One list was NHL Beat writer Tracey Myers and the other was Zach here.
- breadbag

Tracy Myers who lost here job as the hawks in arena version of Charlie Roumeliotis, until she blabbed that Kevin Hayes was not signing with the hawks, and then...she was gone.

Tracy Myers who lost here job as the hawks in arena version of Charlie Roumeliotis, until she blabbed that Kevin Hayes was not signing with the hawks, and then...she was gone.
- wiz1901

She used to be in that press area and they had a far away camera when she was on the air

I am fully with you on that. I believe taking the extra year in juniors is the way to go. I think best play might be give him a game or two in the start of the season just to test the water then send him back to Seattle and revaluate when their season comes to an end.
- Zach Jarom

Has nothing left to prove in the minors, i am not 100% sold on him being an A defenseman

I'm completely on board with this. If the coaching staff deems him qualified after a 10 game stint this year, do you consider that rushing him?
- Chunk

Do you agree with what Kander said, Bedard is part of the plan not THE plan? Even if Bedard is generational the franchise must have the Ludwinski, Moore, Nazar, Lardis, Hayes, Greene, Kantserov, Savoie types to win anything. Yes, Bedard has the highest ceiling of all the forwards but without the proper development and then production at the NHL level the kind of guys listed above the organIzation goes nowhere.

Same for the Dmen. KK has the highest ceiling of the Dman pipeline and is part of the plan not THE plan. Without the proper development and then production at the NHL level of the Allen, Kaiser, Vlasic, Phillips, DelMastro, Rinzel types the squad goes nowhere.

If one agrees then there is no rush to bring KK to the NHL as a 19 yr old. And if one agrees does KK deserve an NHL roster spot next yr ahead of Vlasic, Kaiser, DelMastro, Phillips or Allan? For their development is it better to have Kaiser and Vlasic in RKF next yr?

For me Vlasic, Kaiser and DelMastro are way ahead of KK as far as development and probably Phillips and Allen too. ..... If you were to bring up too many young/rookie Dmen up at once who takes the heavy and tough minutes/top line matchups?

I think KD will bring up Vlasic and Kaiser this yr, DelMastro next yr, KK and Phillips 2 yrs from now and Allen, who I'm very very high on, the wild card. Rinzel in 4ish yrs........ Of course this depends on many factors including injury or players revealing they aren't NHLers or even trade assets.

KK has the highest ceiling but without a few more Dmen developing then producing in the NHL they don't win in 2025 and IMO that development starts next yr with Vlasic and Kaiser playing 82 NHL games.

The poppycock of him being "demoted" on Seattle defense was horsefeathers.
You have to get Martin Hanzel (Seattle's other shooting defenseman.)his props as his game IS growing
.
- wiz1901

Haven't reads here, or anywhere, that KK was demoted at SEA other than some stints where Hanzal was running the #1 PP, not KK. But in the Memorial Cup Hanzal was the more dangerous and effective SEA Dman in the Ozone, not KK. He just was but as you're watching the Memorial Cup again you'll notice Hanzal got caught up ice a few times due to his average skating but KK did not.

Hanzal outscored and was more dangerous in the Ozone than KK in the Memorial Cup/CHL playoffs but KK was the better overall Dman.

Do you agree with what Kander said, Bedard is part of the plan not THE plan? Even if Bedard is generational the franchise must have the Ludwinski, Moore, Nazar, Lardis, Hayes, Greene, Kantserov, Savoie types to win anything. Yes, Bedard has the highest ceiling of all the forwards but without the proper development and then production at the NHL level the kind of guys listed above the organIzation goes nowhere.

Same for the Dmen. KK has the highest ceiling of the Dman pipeline and is part of the plan not THE plan. Without the proper development and then production at the NHL level of the Allen, Kaiser, Vlasic, Phillips, DelMastro, Rinzel types the squad goes nowhere.

If one agrees then there is no rush to bring KK to the NHL as a 19 yr old. And if one agrees does KK deserve an NHL roster spot next yr ahead of Vlasic, Kaiser, DelMastro, Phillips or Allan? For their development is it better to have Kaiser and Vlasic in RKF next yr?

For me Vlasic, Kaiser and DelMastro are way ahead of KK as far as development and probably Phillips and Allen too. ..... If you were to bring up too many young/rookie Dmen up at once who takes the heavy and tough minutes/top line matchups?

I think KD will bring up Vlasic and Kaiser this yr, DelMastro next yr, KK and Phillips 2 yrs from now and Allen, who I'm very very high on, the wild card. Rinzel in 4ish yrs........ Of course this depends on many factors including injury or players revealing they aren't NHLers or even trade assets.

KK has the highest ceiling but without a few more Dmen developing then producing in the NHL they don't win in 2025 and IMO that development starts next yr with Vlasic and Kaiser playing 82 NHL games.
- Mr Ricochet

1st bolded: Yes 100%

2nd bolded: Not rushing KK, and him being better than Vlasic/Kaiser/etc are two different things.

3rd bolded: No offense meant at all here, but I'm much more interested in what the team/coaches think of him vs you.

As I mentioned before, I think KK gets the 9 games to start the year unless the completely craps the bed in camp. If the coaches deem him better than all the others at that point, and worthy of a spot on the big club, do you still think he's not ready and being rushed?

Edit: no one thinks Bedard is being rushed as a just-turned-18 year old.

I don't think Reichel is a bust but going to take time to see how he handles full time NHL minutes.

It may be that he will top out as a 2nd line type talent rather than first line (on a good team) or that he will be good, but not great or elite. He hasn't really done anything wrong, but he hasn't really blown the lid off things either.

I think he will have the next 2-3 seasons to find his role and establish himself.
- breadbag

I was rotted by the Reichel pick at the time, and even more-so now. I was shocked when Mercer somehow fell and was available.....and totally floored when the Hawks didn't grab him.
A Heck of a player at both ends of the ice, and a nice scoring touch. Mercer with Bedard going forward would have been sweet to watch. Now, just gotta hope Reichel turns into something worth the reach....time will tell I guess. But, still wish we drafted Mercer!

Heheheh Charlie, Tracy, that guy that I think used to write for the Sun Times and is over at the Athletic - is that really a terribly high bar to clear? Meaning to write something more cogent than?

Yasso, it's struth I am not writing about prospects (nor have I for this offseason I don't think -or at least remember). I guess for me, it is like -what's the point -someone hit the fast-forward button and let's get to camp already. Just owning it is all.


I did see though, some idiot's click bait talking about Toews - and while I like not to talk much about guys no longer on the team - this write up was fascinating .. the writer was gobsmacked because no one has signed or traded for Toews yet.

Traded? Look -if you can find a taker to trade you for the rights to a UFA - I guess you do it. Yeh ok, don't go there ...

I was rotted by the Reichel pick at the time, and even more-so now. I was shocked when Mercer somehow fell and was available.....and totally floored when the Hawks didn't grab him.
A Heck of a player at both ends of the ice, and a nice scoring touch. Mercer with Bedard going forward would have been sweet to watch. Now, just gotta hope Reichel turns into something worth the reach....time will tell I guess. But, still wish we drafted Mercer!
- hawk35

The main difference between Mercer and Reichel at this point is opportunity. In his draft year, Reichel went back and performed very well in the German league while Mercer went back to the QMJHL. The next year Mercer graduated to the NHL and put up 0.5ppg and a -25 on a bad team. Reichel tore up the AHL, and had an 11 game stint. Last year, Mercer put up 0.68ppg and +22 on a much better team, and Reichel put up 0.65ppg and a -8 on a team designed to be complete garbage.

I think they will both end up being very good players. Heck, if the Hawks had drafted Mercer, KD likely would have traded him already.

I was rotted by the Reichel pick at the time, and even more-so now. I was shocked when Mercer somehow fell and was available.....and totally floored when the Hawks didn't grab him.
A Heck of a player at both ends of the ice, and a nice scoring touch. Mercer with Bedard going forward would have been sweet to watch. Now, just gotta hope Reichel turns into something worth the reach....time will tell I guess. But, still wish we drafted Mercer!
- hawk35

My preference would have been to draft the Newfoundlander too. However, I don't think it will make too much of a difference in hindsight. Both guys will max out at around the same point total.

If we have any tip of the hand by KD how he will handle prospects and when to brig them up it was Reichel. He could have easily, and possibly justifiable, brought him up to the NHL last yr and didn't.

And as far as KK we'll go thru this into next season. KK was the 3rd or 4th best Dman in his own age group on the CAN WJC roster, did not dominate the WHL last yr, split some time with Hanzal as his WHL team's #1 PP option..... By most measures he did not show he's ready for the NHL.

But, this is a new yr and I'm sure he'll get a long look in camp, preseason and a good handful of NHL games to start the yr. My guess is KK would have to knock people's socks of and even themn KD will send him down.

Besides, it's probable 2 much more deserving rookies, Vlasic and Kaiser, start with the Hawks with Phillips being close. Bad idea to go with 3 pure rookie Dmen on an NHL roster. ...... Loads of reasons to let KK go back to the WHL and be the man, be the man at the WJC, hopefully gets a deep run in the CHL playoffs then up with RKF and a playoff run there.
- Mr Ricochet

Well said.

I'm completely on board with this. If the coaching staff deems him qualified after a 10 game stint this year, do you consider that rushing him?
- Chunk

I don't......if the coaching staff and organization feels any kid is ready....who are we to question it? Especially if said prospect is passing the eye test. They have a few veteran place holders but would love to see some kids push those guys to the press box.

What I am curious to see is if said prospect does earn a longer look at the NHL level, how does he stand up to the physical grind? That physical maturity of a teen vs a grown man can't be negated.

Has nothing left to prove in the minors, i am not 100% sold on him being an A defenseman
- LFS

Nobody knows until a kid gets to the NHL and proves himself. People can forecast where he likely slots in, but it's just that....talk.

Again, there is no rush here. Some posters will be aggravated when they aren't in playoff contention, etc....but a rebuild is just that. A slow burn to allow these kids a chance to be ready and then have the right support staff (coaching) in place to help the navigate the mental grind when they have a bad game and to help eliminate when mistakes become a pattern vs a rare occurrence.

I think they'll be better than last year, and a tough out night after night under LR, but I don't see them contending for a playoff spot. Just have the kids grow and start see signs of who could be your next "core" to build around.

Nobody knows until a kid gets to the NHL and proves himself. People can forecast where he likely slots in, but it's just that....talk.

Again, there is no rush here. Some posters will be aggravated when they aren't in playoff contention, etc....but a rebuild is just that. A slow burn to allow these kids a chance to be ready and then have the right support staff (coaching) in place to help the navigate the mental grind when they have a bad game and to help eliminate when mistakes become a pattern vs a rare occurrence.

I think they'll be better than last year, and a tough out night after night under LR, but I don't see them contending for a playoff spot. Just have the kids grow and start see signs of who could be your next "core" to build around.
- SteveRain

Has nothing left to prove in the minors, i am not 100% sold on him being an A defenseman
- LFS

He's 19, and you're a dumbass

Haven't reads here, or anywhere, that KK was demoted at SEA other than some stints where Hanzal was running the #1 PP, not KK. But in the Memorial Cup Hanzal was the more dangerous and effective SEA Dman in the Ozone, not KK. He just was but as you're watching the Memorial Cup again you'll notice Hanzal got caught up ice a few times due to his average skating but KK did not.

Hanzal outscored and was more dangerous in the Ozone than KK in the Memorial Cup/CHL playoffs but KK was the better overall Dman.
- Mr Ricochet

I mentioned Hanzel in my post because there was clear improvement from when he was drafted, and yes, he was given equal minutes.
Korchinski played a strong all around game and was the mailman, not Hanzel.

Tracy Myers who lost here job as the hawks in arena version of Charlie Roumeliotis, until she blabbed that Kevin Hayes was not signing with the hawks, and then...she was gone.
- wiz1901

I am not a fan of all the "you said this so you have to go" kind of stuff, but in her and Laz's cases I will make an exception. D bags both of them.

[quote=LFS]

blank......

Has nothing left to prove in the minors, i am not 100% sold on him being an A defenseman
- LFS

I am not trying to pile on.
I think the large concern with bringing in young defenseman is their muscles, strength, endurance are suddenly thrust into the world's greatest big league where veteran defenseman and the likes of Tinordi, can take a piece of your confidence with a strong punishing hit, or a in-close board battle.

I know it had happened with me in many sports competitions, where I realized the guys I am playing against are simply bigger stronger and more able than me.

We don't want Korchinski, or any of the young defenseman to embrace the fact that they are in over their heads....you want them to have the speed and quickness in game time to handle contact, and if you don't have the muscle mass, you basically are being thrown to the wolves.

The Hawks could use Korchinski's ability to carry puck and set up the attack, but each match is supposed to add more confidence, help see where they have to get better, etc.

I am not sure the return to the dub improves his game, but right now, that is the only option until the rules let you draft and and send your kids to the AHL, or other pro leagues.
(The other part, imo, allowing North American junior players to have quick exits from their junior organizations seem a slap in the afce of Junior hockey...it's stability and attendance. If I owned one, I would want my better players to stay with my organization.)

Nolan Allen had to stay that extra year and CAN play in Rockford now. KK has a bit more pressure to make it or go play with a weaker competition in the Dub, but that is the situation...

Thought Kaner had a solid post in the last thread with some really good responses about the prospect pool. Also likes that Kaner posted Bedard is part of the rebuild plan not THE plan. Indeed........ A copy and paste.




I don't see the Hawks making the same mistakes as the Oilers. The Hawks have invested in every facet of the game, from scouting (pro and amateur), data analytics, nutrition, off-ice player development, facilities just to name a few.

KD has a plan to bring the Hawks back into contention. Bedard is part of the plan, he is not the plan. Bedard will obviously play the biggest role in the Hawks resurgence, but KD is focused on building a quality team with depth. The prospect pool is as deep as I can remember.

Grade A Prospects
- Bedard
- Reichel
- Korchinski
- Nazar
- Moore

Grade B Prospects
- Soderblom
- Commesso
- Vlasic
- Del Mastro
- Kaiser
- Gajan
- Rinzel

Grade C Prospects
- Kantserov
- Greene
- Dach
- Phillips
- Hayes
- Allan
- Ludwinski
- Savoie
- Marcel (although it was tempting to put him with the Grade As based on name alone)
- DarthKane
- Mr Ricochet

This Darth guy really knows his stuff!

Nobody knows until a kid gets to the NHL and proves himself. People can forecast where he likely slots in, but it's just that....talk.

Again, there is no rush here. Some posters will be aggravated when they aren't in playoff contention, etc....but a rebuild is just that. A slow burn to allow these kids a chance to be ready and then have the right support staff (coaching) in place to help the navigate the mental grind when they have a bad game and to help eliminate when mistakes become a pattern vs a rare occurrence.

I think they'll be better than last year, and a tough out night after night under LR, but I don't see them contending for a playoff spot. Just have the kids grow and start see signs of who could be your next "core" to build around.
- SteveRain

Preach. I have no idea whether KK has the chops to make it in the league now or not. I just don't have any issue at all if the coaches see it fit that he stays. It's not without precedent. Hanifin came in the year he was drafted as an 18 year old. Dobson played a year in the Q then made the jump the following year as a 19 year old. Hanifin is a little bigger, but Dobson is about the same size.

Let the kid show you he's ready then let him go.

I am not trying to pile on.
I think the large concern with bringing in young defenseman is their muscles, strength, endurance are suddenly thrust into the world's greatest big league where veteran defenseman and the likes of Tinordi, can take a piece of your confidence with a strong punishing hit, or a in-close board battle.

I know it had happened with me in many sports competitions, where I realized the guys I am playing against are simply bigger stronger and more able than me.

We don't want Korchinski, or any of the young defenseman to embrace the fact that they are in over their heads....you want them to have the speed and quickness in game time to handle contact, and if you don't have the muscle mass, you basically are being thrown to the wolves.

The Hawks could use Korchinski's ability to carry puck and set up the attack, but each match is supposed to add more confidence, help see where they have to get better, etc.

I am not sure the return to the dub improves his game, but right now, that is the only option until the rules let you draft and and send your kids to the AHL, or other pro leagues.
(The other part, imo, allowing North American junior players to have quick exits from their junior organizations seem a slap in the afce of Junior hockey...it's stability and attendance. If I owned one, I would want my better players to stay with my organization.)

Nolan Allen had to stay that extra year and CAN play in Rockford now. KK has a bit more pressure to make it or go play with a weaker competition in the Dub, but that is the situation...
- wiz1901

I have no idea why, but I have this feeling that Allan is going to end up being a really good pro. Maybe just because he is considered an afterthought right now, but I just like his game and progression thus far.

This Darth guy really knows his stuff!
- DarthKane

Not so fast. I don't see Crevier or Harding anywhere on those lists...