BOSTON — If not for the existence of Blackhawks rookie center Connor Bedard, the No. 1 overall draft pick, defenseman Kevin Korchinski’s performances in his first two NHL games would have been heavily scrutinized.
He mostly flew under the radar against the Penguins and Bruins, although he didn’t make enough mistakes to stand out in a negative way, either — an encouraging sign he isn’t out of his depth defensively in the NHL.
The 19-year-old prospect actually leads Hawks defensemen with a 56.0% expected-goals ratio at five-on-five so far. He hasn’t yet recorded his first NHL point, but that can wait; scoring has never been an issue for him and isn’t going to become one now.
“It’s surreal being in the NHL, so you just want to stay as long as you can,” Korchinski said Tuesday. “At the same time, I don’t think it’s something I can control. [I’m] just playing my game and putting in the work every day.”
Hawks coach Luke Richardson and defense-oriented assistant Kevin Dean have continued working closely with Korchinski, as they did in the preseason, to help him improve in the defensive zone.
“[We want him] to have good positioning and let the play come to him instead of floating out of position and then scrambling back,” Richardson said.
“He does have the ability to do that because he’s quick and can use his stick. But we want him to have good position so, if we get the puck back, he can use his speed to get on the offense and help us drive that play. We just let him know, ‘Hey, be patient and take it when it’s there.’ ”
The first period Wednesday in Boston had plenty of examples — both good and bad — of Korchinski learning on the fly.
On his first shift, Richardson’s advice seemed fresh in his mind, and he planted himself in the left slot, ultimately fending off an attack by the Bruins’ David Pastrnak. He also nicely broke up an attack by Hampus Lindholm in the waning seconds of the period.
In between, he spent a couple of shifts matched up against grinder Trent Frederic, with mixed results. In one instance, an untimely turnover by Boris Katchouk gave Frederic the puck and a clear lane to cut into the crease. But Korchinski reacted quickly, caught up and poked the puck away to the far boards.
A minute later, however, Korchinski found himself too high in the neutral zone on a Bruins rush. He eventually maneuvered back into position, then lost awareness for a moment and failed to recognize he needed to box out Frederic from the crease; Frederic tipped in a point shot a second later.
The Hawks will accept that ratio of good vs. bad plays from a rookie defenseman, especially on the road against a tough opponent. Richardson sounded satisfied overall with Korchinski’s play, describing it as “pretty composed.”
Two games is also a tiny sample size, so the Hawks will keep waiting, watching and coaching Korchinski for at least a few more weeks before deciding whether to keep him on the roster all year or send him back to Canadian juniors.
If he plays in 10 NHL games, it will burn the first year of his three-year entry-level contract. That would cost the Hawks a year of Korchinski at an ultra-cheap salary-cap hit, but it also would get him to restricted free agency sooner, likely making his next contract more affordable than it otherwise could be.
The pros and cons largely cancel out, so general manager Kyle Davidson has insisted the 10-game threshold won’t affect anything.
“Whether that entry-level lasts three, four or five years . . . it doesn’t matter if [he] doesn’t develop into the player we want,” Davidson said Tuesday. “We’re going to make sure he’s in the best position to maximize his potential.”
