The 2025/26 season is set to be another dire year for Blackhawks fans, but one area of the ice they may look forward to is the blue line, stacked to the brim with beaming young talents, what new head coach Jeff Blashill decides to do will be very interesting for Chicago next year. With arguably one of the youngest and brightest defensive cores in the NHL right now, the possibilities are endless, but here are some of the various routes the new coaching staff could take to lock down their defense for opening night.
In the back end of last season, we saw a number of different pairings on the Blackhawks blue line, notably some young first round picks who joined the team, Sam Rinzel and Artyom Levshunov who shined during their short stint in the NHL last year. But, it wasn't just short, 20 game stints for the Hawks young defensive talents this year, as Wyatt Kaiser, Louis Crevier, Nolan Allan, Ethan Del Mastro, and Alex Vlasic all played their fair share of games last season. And even though their defensive prospects have shown lots of talent, there are only so many spots available, and some sacrifices may be made.
The Hawks late first round pick back in 2022 saw Minnesota’s Sam Rinzel head to Chicago, and two years later, some exceptional college development skyrocketed his potential, and began to jump into conversations with some of the best defensive prospects in the NHL. On the other hand, their 7th overall pick that year Kevin Korchinski hasn't exactly shown any top 10 pick attributes as of yet. Jumping between Rockford and Chicago for the last two years, Korchinski has shown potential, and glimpses of potentially being a bottom four d-man for Chicago, but for a top 10 pick, his potential, will likely not live up to expectations. In reality, Rinzel and Korchinski’s draft order would be completely changed around, but they both still have lots to give. After a grade A start to his NHL career at the back end of last season, Rinzel is likely to make the Blackhawks team for opening night, and will likely shy away from Rockford unless something drastic happens, Korchinski on the other hand may have a different outcome. Korchinski has shown improvement after his demotion to the AHL on numerous occasions, but making the opening night roster among some solid competition is going to be a big fight for him.
Korchinski will have to battle with two or three very promising young defenseman, the main target being Wyatt Kaiser. Kaiser, a former third round pick has been a solid part of the Blackhawks setup for some seasons now, and as a currently unsigned restricted free agent, the Blackhawks will give him the opportunity to earn himself another short term deal, and looks the prime suspect as a second pair, left defenseman next season. Given Kaiser’s play, he isn't the only player Korchinski will have to battle with. Ethan Del Mastro and Louis Crevier are two guys who have impressed at the NHL level already, and although both seem to line up as bottom pair d-men, Del Mastro looks like he fits the billing, and Crevier looks even more perfect as a seventh d-man. The Korchinski Del Mastro battle could be one to look out for in training camp, but a three to four man battle will be strong for the Blackhawks.
Having a plethora of talented young defensemen is a good problem to have, but it gets to a point where they may have too many. Having spoken about Kaiser, Korchinski, Del Mastro, and Crevier so far, Nolan Allan, and Artyom Levshunov are still in contention, but given the Blackhawks current roster state, where do they find their spot. It is sure that a good training camp performance will allow Levshunov to earn his spot at right defense behind Rinzel, and with Connor Murphy a certainty, someone like Allan who can play both sides is the odd one out, meaning two of their youngsters are AHL bound. This leaves the question whether Korchinski or Allan get packaged, or even Del Mastro and Kaiser, but their overflowing core may overwhelm the staff. Like I said, it is a great problem to have, and with no rushed development, sending two back to the minors isn't a massive problem, but this year for the Blackhawks, the defensive pairings will be changed more than ever, and a 30 to 40 game each spread is likely, with each player getting their individual chances. It is setting up to be a very interesting year for Chicago, and the blue line will be the area to watch this season.
Comments