When the Blackhawks drafted Kevin Korchinski a year ago, he was described as an elite offensive defenseman and an avid piano player.
Now Korchinski can be described as an elite offensive defenseman and an improving guitar player.
His status as one of the best prospects in the Hawks’ system — even in all of hockey — hasn’t changed, but he’s getting closer to being a one-man band in his free time, too.
‘‘I switched to guitar for something new,’’ Korchinski said. ‘‘I just went with it last year. A lot of the guys at the world junior [championships] played guitar and had guitars there, and I thought it was really cool how guys can play all these really detailed songs.’’
He paused, then added with a smirk: ‘‘And I read that it makes you smarter, learning all these instruments.’’
Korchinski, a 19-year-old native of Saskatchewan, didn’t bring his guitar to Chicago for training camp this month — he already was checking so much hockey gear for the flight, after all — but he did practice it frequently throughout the summer. And if he ends up sticking with the Hawks for good this season, he’ll get his parents to ship it.
To that point, Korchinski is arguably the most interesting player at Hawks camp in years, considering the genuine uncertainty about where he’ll end up and the degree to which his performance will determine that.
He could spend all season in Chicago. He could spend all season back on the Seattle Thunderbirds, his junior team. Or he could spend some of the season on one team and some on the other.
The Hawks have been blunt with Korchinski — because they know he can take it — about what he needs to do to prove his NHL readiness.
Entering camp last week, general manager Kyle Davidson stated two things he needed to see from Korchinski: Korchinski needed to demonstrate he’s ‘‘physically and mentally ready to handle defending NHL forwards’’ and to dial back his offensive risk-taking the right amount to avoid breakdowns without stifling the raw skills that make him an elite prospect.
‘‘Nothing’s off the table,’’ Davidson said. ‘‘We’re just going to do what we feel is best for him. We’re looking [at the] long term with Kevin. He’s a big piece.’’
Coach Luke Richardson and defense-focused assistant Kevin Dean have continued that messaging since. Korchinski has received more one-on-one feedback than anyone else at camp — on the ice after various drills and shifts, as well as in video-review sessions.
‘‘It’s good to be able to pull [a guy] back rather than to plug a guy forward,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘It’s hard to teach that. He has that naturally. He’s so quick and glides so well on his feet that sometimes he gets himself into trouble. . . . And sometimes it gets him out of trouble, which is a good quality.
‘‘Especially out of the ‘D’-zone, [it’s about] making sure the play comes to you. If you turn pucks over in the ‘D’-zone, it can be in your net very quickly. So he needs to play on the defensive side and let the puck come to him. He has the ability to beat someone one-on-one skating; he doesn’t need to take off every shift.’’
After one practice, Richardson mentioned how much he liked seeing Korchinski get to a loose puck in the defensive zone with three quick strides and an active stick.
That was a prime example of the advantage Korchinski’s athleticism and quickness provide. He has discovered those skills can more than make up for his disadvantages in the strength and weight categories against some of the NHL competition he’ll face — and he isn’t even too disadvantaged there, given he weighed in at a solid 194 pounds.
‘‘There’s a time and place when you’ve got to pin a guy, but I use my stick and skating to make them uncomfortable where they don’t have any room out there,’’ Korchinski said. ‘‘And then I anticipate whether they’re going to try to cut back [or] whether they’re going to drive wide.
‘‘If you have their stick, then they can’t really do anything, can they? Obviously, you have to be aware of the body. But [I’m good at] using my stick and hockey sense to get to the play before they do.’’
During another practice, however, Dean pulled Korchinski aside to tell him he can’t leave the defensive zone so quickly after making a breakout pass. Instead, he needs to hold back for a few seconds, just in case the forward who received the pass encounters a trap and needs to pass back to the defense.
The most encouraging thing is that Korchinski has embraced all the feedback, positive and negative.
‘‘I’m going to make mistakes, so when I do, I want them to let me know how I can do better and fix those mistakes,’’ he said. ‘‘They’re just being constructive with it, trying to make me a better player. And that’s why you want to play hockey: to be the best player you can be. Getting that criticism, it has been awesome. I’ve learned a lot, even these past two weeks.’’
In his third career NHL preseason game Thursday — he also played in two last fall — Korchinski contributed to the Hawks’ only regulation goal by taking a drop pass on a four-on-two rush near the offensive blue line, skating down near the faceoff dot and sending a shot toward the net. Connor Bedard tipped it, then Philipp Kurashev buried the rebound.
Korchinski ultimately logged 21 minutes, 7 seconds of ice time, mainly on a pairing with Connor Murphy but also while quarterbacking the second power-play unit. Richardson called him one of the standouts of the night.
‘‘He was up the ice quite a bit,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘[He’s] very confident to take that puck and go.’’
If Korchinski does end up making the Hawks’ opening-night roster, he could alternate between on-ice appearances and healthy scratches in the first few weeks. Richardson is a big believer in the value of young players watching some games from the vertical vantage point of the press box; he put defenseman Wyatt Kaiser through the same treatment last spring.
But that still would be better than going directly to Seattle. It at least would give Korchinski more opportunities to keep learning, keep developing and get his guitar shipped to town.
And even if he does wind up in the Pacific Northwest again at some point this season, he’s sure to have a positive attitude about it.
‘‘I’m just really happy to be here,’’ Korchinski said. ‘‘Every day I’m here, I’m trying to live it to the fullest and enjoy it as much as I can. Whatever happens, I’m going to be happy and enjoy it. It’s good to live your dream playing hockey.’’
