The Chicago Blackhawks are set to do battle with the Arizona Coyotes on Monday, October 30. With the 9:00 p.m. CT puck drop, the Blackhawks will look to continue their winning ways in the desert following the win on Friday over the Vegas Golden Knights. That said, there is some fun news for fans to digest before the battle.
According to head coach Luke Richardson on Monday, the safe belief is that 19-year-old defenseman Kevin Korchinski will remain with the team beyond the ten-game maximum associated with the entry-level contract slide. If a player plays ten games in a given season then their entry-level contract locks in and begins it's three-year term. If a player that qualifies plays less than the 10 games, then the entry-level contract can slide another year. CapFriendly keeps track of these players and provides excellent detail here.
Korchinski was expected to start the season with the team, but skeptics including myself, pegged the young defenseman to head back to the WHL sooner than later.
Technicalities aside, Korchinski isn't off to an outer-worldly start, but has been solid. The 19-year-old has played in the top 4 all season long and has racked up 2 assists in the team's eight games thus far. That said, his ice time has ticked up over the last five games, showing the trust for the young defenseman by the coaching staff. Playing as a 19-year-old in the NHL is hard, playing as a defenseman is even harder. A 'solid' start is quite admirable for the teenager.
Korchinski will once again be on the top pairing for the Blackhawks on Monday night. Going forward, fans will start seeing more of the young defenseman as he continues to develop at the NHL level.
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