Mar 30, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Kevin Korchinski (14) shoots against the Utah Hockey Club during the first period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Young Blackhawks Defenseman Sent to AHL in Roster Cuts

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Tyler Miller | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 7:00 AM ET

With NHL training camps and each team's preseason games winding down, it is just about time for some difficult decisions to be made. Final roster decisions need to be made by Sunday as teams need to place players on waivers and have that be done by Monday. The regular season gets underway for a few teams on Tuesday, so it is just about that time to make those cuts and trim rosters down for Opening Night . And recently, general manager Kyle Davidson and the Chicago Blackhawks had to make a tough roster decision of their own. They decided to cut Kevin Korchinski and send him down to their AHL team the Rockford Ice Hogs.

roster update

we have assigned Kevin Korchinski to the @goicehogs.

➡︎ https://t.co/Td8AnFif2n pic.twitter.com/XyYtZJl5DR
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) September 30, 2025

Korchinski was the number seven overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Blackhawks and actually has quite a bit of NHL games under his belt. He logged 76 games in the 2023 season tallying 5 goals and 10 assists. In the 2024 season, he logged 16 games with the Blackhawks and tallied 1 goal and 1 assist. But he also appeared in 56 games for the Ice Hogs in 2024 and tallied 3 goals and 24 assists in those games.

For Korchinski, it seems to be that he is not ready for a full-time role in the NHL. It seems like the Blackhawks want him to continue to develop in the AHL, and then call him back up later in the season. It should be nothing more than that, as the Blackhawks have been rebuilding for quite some time and will need Korchinski as a key piece of the future on their blue line.

Korchinski is still only 21 years old and has not had a lot of time to truly develop his game, especially in the AHL. For the Blackhawks, they should be calling him back up to the NHL after he plays a bit in the AHL and really finds his footing again. Rookies like him seem to have a tough time their first go of it in the NHL and that was the case for Korchinski.

Nonetheless, Korchinski is a huge part of this Blackhawks team for years to come. The news of starting him in the AHL should be seriously good for his development and nothing more than that.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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