The Blackhawks have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their Saturday night game against St. Louis. The team announced that it has recalled blueliner Isaak Phillips from AHL Rockford. To make room for him on the roster, Chicago has moved defenseman Kevin Korchinski to the non-roster list.
Phillips has been up a couple of times with the Blackhawks already this season, getting into nine games where he had three assists while logging just under 16 minutes per contest. He has put up similar numbers with the IceHogs, collecting a goal and two helpers in 10 appearances with them. Chicago had just sent the 22-year-old down last Saturday but it turned out to be a short-lived stint.
As for Korchinski, the 19-year-old has done a nice job locking down a regular spot in Chicago’s lineup so far. He has played in all 25 games, picking up two goals and five assists along with 30 blocked shots while averaging 19:31 per night. That puts him fifth among all NHL rookies; his teammate Connor Bedard is sixth in NHL rookie ATOI.
The non-roster designation is a bit curious without a more detailed explanation. Teams can use this for players who are leaving the team to attend to a personal matter, while it also can be used in conjunction with a waiver placement (which clearly isn’t the case here). It can also be used if a team is loaning a player for the World Juniors which Korchinski is eligible to participate in. That would be somewhat of a surprising loan given Korchinski’s prominent role on the team already, but it would buy them some more evaluation time if they’re not sure that they want him to accrue a full season of service time toward free agency, a mark he’d reach once he’s on the roster for 40 games. We’ll likely soon find out if he is indeed being loaned or if this is instead just a short-term placement.
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