Kevin Korchinski was back in the Blackhawks’ lineup Friday night in a 5-2 loss to the Canadiens, helping out the Hawks and possibly himself.
The rookie defenseman logged more than 20 minutes on the ice after missing the last six games after the death of his father, Larry, at age 59.
“He seemed to be smiling and happy to be back,” coach Luke Richardson said. “Sometimes [with] tough things in life, it really weighs on the mind and the body physically. Getting out with his teammates and focusing on his job and the game, it can give your mind a little bit of relief.”
Defenseman Jarred Tinordi also returned from a concussion. Wyatt Kaiser and Filip Roos were sent to Rockford in corresponding moves. Kaiser will get more AHL time to work on rebuilding his confidence.
Korchinski showed off his smooth stride on a few occasions but also made a mistake on a second-period shift, going to the same side of the ice as partner Nikita Zaitsev and leaving Canadiens forward Josh Anderson wide open for a back-door goal.
“[Kevin] had an excellent third period, and he did some things in the first couple periods just with his skating ability alone,” Richardson said. “Even during the six-on-five at the end, he had a nice shot.”
Anderson’s goal was one of five straight the Canadiens scored, quieting a season-best crowd of 20,340 at the United Center after the Hawks initially took a 2-0 lead.
Bedard, meet Wemby
Before the Spurs’ loss to the Bulls on Thursday night, the Hawks arranged for rookie forward Connor Bedard to meet Spurs rookie center Victor Wembanyama. Having the two much-hyped No. 1 overall picks from this past summer together was productive, with them taking part in a photoshoot and a sit-down interview together.
But Bedard also seemed genuinely interested in getting to know his 7-4 shot-blocking, dunking French counterpart.
“He’s going to be — or he already is — really special,” Bedard said. “[It was great] getting to talk to him a bit and hear his perspective [about] coming over from Europe and [being in] similar situations — him even more, just with how big the NBA is. It was good to get to talk to him.”
For the photoshoot, Wembanyama used 6-8 Hawks defenseman Louis Crevier’s stick because it was the longest the Hawks had to offer. It was still a bit too short for him.
Connor Bedard x Victor Wembanyama
— NHL (@NHL) December 21, 2023
No. 1s meet and greet. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/kFKgGD7UXy
Crevier learning on the fly
Speaking of Crevier, the 22-year-old Quebec City native faced his home-province team for the first time, earning his third career assist in his ninth career game on Jason Dickinson’s goal in the second period.
After the morning skate, Crevier was the most popular guy in the Hawks’ locker room, with a swarm of Montreal-based reporters immediately flocking to him.
That kind of spotlight is one of many things that have amazed Crevier about the NHL. The quality of play is another. The Avalanche’s second power-play goal Tuesday, in which Valeri Nichushkin boxed out Crevier in the crease and scored on his second attempt on Petr Mrazek, was a prime example.
“I feel like I was right there with Nichushkin,” Crevier said. “[Mikko] Rantanen was kind of looking and I’m like, ‘He’s not going to pass that.’ But he still made the play, and I was caught off guard. Because that’s a play I’ve seen before, but when I’m near the guy, they usually don’t try to make that pass. . . . But there’s no way of learning that, apart from playing against those guys. I love it.”
Along the way, Crevier is trying to continue to appreciate every day and not let the joy he felt after his surprising initial call-up fade away.
“I don’t want to be super anxious for every game,” he said. “But . . . I’m still really enjoying it. It’s super cool.”
