Blackhawks' Kevin Korchinski hopes Chicago summer prepares him for full-time NHL play

Every summer of offseason training has been important for young Blackhawks defenseman Kevin Korchinski, but the upcoming one will be the most important yet.

That's because the AHL fallback option no longer exists for Korchinski and the Hawks. He will lose his waiver exemption next season, and since there's no way the 2022 No. 7 overall pick would go unclaimed on waivers, the Hawks won't consider it.

So that means it's NHL-or-bust now. He simply must figure out how to be a competent defenseman at this level, even if he's still a couple years away from reaching his peak.

He has a new plan for this summer, though, that might help him take a bigger developmental step forward during it than he has in previous summers, which he has spent at home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The new plan? Stay in Chicago.

"I haven't really experienced the full city of Chicago in the summer, and it's quite nice," Korchinski said Monday. "But I think it would be good just to work on more game-type stuff in Chicago and work with coaches closely. They've seen me play the past three years. They know what I need to work on and keep improving, and what my strengths are and how to keep pumping those strengths up."

Korchinski and other Hawks players aren't allowed to work with Jeff Blashill and the Hawks' official coaching staff during the offseason, but they can work with skills coach Brian Keane and strength coach Juan Gonzalez at Blackhawks Ice Center with approval from the league.

Alex Vlasic has done that for years, and Wyatt Kaiser did that for the last five or six weeks of last summer. Korchinski has seen their NHL success and hopes to follow the same path.

Kaiser thinks Korchinski might find the experience even more beneficial emotionally than physically.

"It's definitely a positive [to work with coaches], but it's more about making [Chicago] feel like home," Kaiser said. "On the road and during the season, you're all over the place, and it's stressful. You don't really get time.

"Being able to have a good month where you're training but you're [also] going around, getting food with the fiancée, I found I enjoyed it."

Blashill also thinks it's a good idea, although he isn't allowed to push that on anyone.

"For any of our players that want really focused attention, we have unreal resources in Chicago," Blashill said. "There's a lot of good skating and skills and strength coaches [out there], but we have a narrowed focus on what we want each guy to be better at."

Gaining strength without getting slower needs to be priority No. 1 for Korchinski. But it's encouraging he seems to be learning how to defend better with his body type.

He is a beautiful skater, and he's using that speed and acceleration to get to pucks first in the defensive zone and move them out of danger before taking contact. His passing created numerous rush chances for the Hawks against the Kraken and Sharks, too.

"[I'm] trying to use my feet in a smart way and be confident with my breakout passes, my gaps and killing plays in the 'D'-zone," Korchinski said. "Doing the simple things helps you play more in the 'O'-zone...[so you] don't have to spend as much time in the D-zone.

"In the past, I've definitely been too active where I'm skating myself away from plays, away from good ice. Being in good ice, that defensively prevents [opponents from] getting in those spots."

Over the last five NHL games since his latest call-up, Korchinski leads Hawks defensemen with a 49.0% scoring-chance ratio and has only been on the ice for one goal against, albeit in relatively sheltered minutes.

If he can consistently play like this next season, there will be no problem whatsoever.