The Chicago Blackhawks are going to have a very different look this season as the group is much older, deeper and more experienced. While general manager Kyle Davidson and coach Luke Richardson gave many young players opportunities last season, only two — defenseman Alex Vlasic and forward Philipp Kurashev — had real breakout years.
In 2024-25, the Blackhawks will be better, but the young players and prospects will have to really prove themselves to earn jobs. We will see fewer opportunities for breakouts by players on the Blackhawks this season because of it, but realistically it should create better competition and more drive for the players to earn spots.
Last season the Blackhawks showcased Connor Bedard, and the rookie came in swinging. While that shouldn’t be seen as a breakout since it was his first season in the NHL, Kurashev’s and Vlasic’s performances were.
Who has the potential to break out in 2024-25 for the Blackhawks? Defenseman Kevin Korchinski and center Lukas Reichel.
Kevin Korchinski
Korchinski was thrown into a less than ideal situation last season as a 19-year-old rookie. A year in the AHL would’ve done him well, but his age forced the Blackhawks to decide between sending him back to Seattle of the WHL for another season after dominating or putting him on Chicago in the NHL. He wouldn’t have gotten much more development in junior and he might have been better off if the Blackhawks didn’t need him to play top-4 minutes right off the bat.
The Blackhawks depth on defense was not great and injuries only made it worse. Korchinski, paired with Connor Murphy, would have been fine in his rookie season had Murphy not missed 36 games.
The Blackhawks weren’t able to shelter Korchinski in his first season where he could have learned behind some more established defensemen. This was because Vlasic was young, other prospects were given a chance to play (Wyatt Kaiser, Louis Crevier, Isaak Phillips), and the veterans below Korchinski on the depth chart included Jaycob Megna, Jarred Tinordi, and Nikita Zaitsev, two of whom don’t even have NHL contracts this season.
Korchinski averaged 19:17 of ice time last season and scored five goals and 15 points in 75 games, but was also a -39. He started over 60% of the faceoffs at even strength in the offensive zone, so Richardson saw the potential and offensive ability. One big problem is that the Blackhawks were very bad offensively, scoring just 178 goals which ranked last in the league.
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A number of things have to stay true this season in order for Korchinski to have much greater success. If he gets more consistency with Murphy or one experienced partner all season, starts a lot of draws in the offensive zone as he had in his rookie season, naturally develops from a year of experience in the NHL, and the Blackhawks prove to be as good offensively as they look on paper, Korchinski’s 15 points should easily jump up to over 30.
It may not be a massive breakout and turn him into a top offensive defenseman just yet, but it will be a start for the 20-year-old who has many years of dominating ahead of him.
Lukas Reichel
Davidson placed confidence in Reichel at the end of last season when he was signed to a two-year, $1.2 million AAV deal. His 2023-24 season didn’t go the way he or the Blackhawks had hoped. The 22-year-old didn’t seize the second line center role after it was his to lose and split time between the NHL and the AHL.
After the Blackhawks’ season had ended, Reichel seemingly found his confidence and game. He skated in the playoffs with the AHL Rockford IceHogs, scoring two goals and four points in four games. Then Reichel joined the Team Germany in the World Championship where he scored three goals and seven points in six games against much better and more experienced competition.
Reichel has the ability to produce at the NHL level as he showed in 2022-23. His sort of trial run saw him score seven goals and 15 points in 23 games. That is why it was disappointing that he only scored five goals and 16 points in 65 games last season.
More so than Korchinski, Reichel has already shown the ability to produce at a high level and should be heading into the Blackhawks’ training camp feeling very confident. He will likely land in a third line role, which isn’t restricting, but also isn’t with the best players on the team. Don’t be surprised if he starts strong and is then given some looks as the second line center again. If that turns out to be the case, a bounce-back/breakout is in order.
The success and the growth of Korchinski and Reichel will have a sizable impact on the Blackhawks this season, but at the same time, won’t make or break the team’s season. At the very least, both should be better in 2024-25 than they were last season.
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