The Blackhawks announced Wednesday that they’ve recalled defense prospects Kevin Korchinski and Sam Rinzel from AHL Rockford. Defenseman Wyatt Kaiser was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 4 in the corresponding move.
Chicago doesn’t have any defensemen in Italy suiting up at the Olympics, so it’s likely these recalls will result in actual playing time for the two youngsters. Korchinski, the seventh overall pick in the 2022 draft, especially stands to benefit as a lefty, more directly replacing Kaiser’s slot on the depth chart. Since recording 15 points in 76 games for the Hawks as a rookie in 2023-24, Chicago has been much more restrictive with his development, leaving him mostly in the AHL to work on developing his all-around game.
His minor-league stats indicate the Hawks are still working to undo any damage they may have done by rushing him into the NHL lineup as a 19-year-old two years ago. He’s posted a respectable 5-45–50 scoring line in 101 games for Rockford over the last two years but that’s come with a -39 rating, including a team-worst -22 mark this year. He nonetheless leads Rockford in scoring from the blue line with 23 points in 45 games. For a Chicago blue line that’s struggled to get offense from anyone not named Artyom Levshunov this year, he could be of benefit to their 26th-ranked offense until Kaiser is ready to get back into the fold.
Rinzel, taken several spots after Korchinski in the first round in 2022, broke camp with the Hawks after a strong finish last season that saw him record five assists in his first nine NHL games after wrapping up his sophomore year at the University of Minnesota. Ice time was harder to latch onto as a full-timer, though, averaging 17:09 per game through the first two months of this year after getting top-pairing deployment down the stretch in 2024-25.
After Rinzel had an even rating and nine points in 31 games, Chicago opted to send Rinzel to Rockford in early December for additional development. The well-rounded righty has looked solid there, rattling off 14 points in 23 games with a -8 rating on a team with an ugly -30 goal differential.
He’s now one of four righties on the Hawks’ active roster, so the path to playing time is murkier than what Korchinski has at the moment. Head coach Jeff Blashill has opted to dress seven defensemen frequently this season, though, so he should have a decent shot at getting in the lineup, even if his ice time isn’t extensive.
Kaiser sustained a lower-body injury in Chicago’s final game before the Olympic break. Head coach Jeff Blashill said yesterday that he’ll miss a couple of games on the other side but will be back at some point down the stretch.