A REAL YEARN TO LEARN
‘D’ partner says Korchinski growing from struggles
Unlike the Blackhawks’ other veteran defensemen, who had heard all about the top prospect on the way for the last 18 months, Jaycob Megna joined the Hawks in January barely having heard of Kevin Korchinski.
The first thing Megna was surprised to learn was Korchinski’s age: ‘‘It’s unbelievable that he’s 19 years old.’’
Megna, 31, and his teenage partner have gotten to know each other well this winter, spending the majority of their ice time together as the Hawks’ locked-in second pairing.
They’ve endured plenty of highs and lows — both realistically are unqualified for second-pairing minutes in the NHL (for different reasons) — but that pretty much can be said for everyone on the roster.
Among the handful of journeymen the Hawks picked up this season, Megna has proved to be the best fit, providing some much-needed trickle-down depth and mostly holding his own.
Korchinski, meanwhile, has learned as many lessons by fire as the Hawks’ front office and coaching staff expected, but they think it’ll benefit his development in the long term. And Megna thinks he already is seeing the fruits of that starting to ripen.
‘‘He’s an unbelievable skater, but — more important — he really wants to get better and he wants to learn,’’ Megna said of Korchinski. ‘‘His ceiling is pretty much unlimited, so this experience is so valuable for him, just picking things up on a day-to-day basis. You just get so much better playing in this league and practicing every day against NHL players.’’
Perhaps Korchinski’s most noticeable in-season improvement involves his plays with possession at the offensive blue line. He’s perfecting a shimmy move in which he dekes past opposing forwards pressuring him, cuts down the boards and often finds an open teammate in the slot or on the far side.
But his February has been chaotic. On one hand, he’s the only Hawks defenseman who hasn’t been outscored during five-on-five play this month (goals are 6-6) and his 43.4% scoring-chance ratio this month is just a hair below that of Seth Jones for best among Hawks defensemen.
On the other, he has endured disastrous games against the Senators, against whom he was benched for much of the second period, and the Jets, against whom he turned into a turnover machine.
Korchinski’s decision-making hasn’t quite adapted to this level yet. Sometimes he’s not aggressive enough, holding on to a puck for so long that the passing or shooting lane closes up, he runs out of time and space and he turns the puck over. Sometimes he’s too aggressive, skating himself out of position because of tunnel vision (as coach Luke Richardson describes it) or trying ill-advised passes that also result in turnovers.
He also stops moving his feet at times, which is odd because his speed and agility are such elite skills.
‘‘When you’re standing still and trying to pass pucks through people in this league, they get knocked down,’’ Richardson said after the game Friday against the Jets. ‘‘Especially as a defenseman — because you’re in your own zone, usually trying to exit — that happens quite a bit. He’s frustrated with himself, Kevin [is]. But I think he kind of reset, started moving his feet and made way simpler plays in the third [period].’’
Korchinski was fine Sunday against the Red Wings, and it’s worth repeating the Hawks always expected him to have issues, even if they didn’t know exactly what they would be. By encountering and solving them now, he’ll know better when the Hawks begin ascending.
Megna’s advice for Korchinski aligns perfectly with that perspective.
‘‘There’s details you have to work on every night, but playing with confidence and trusting yourself is the biggest thing in this league,’’ Megna said. ‘‘Just believe you belong here and . . . make the plays that are out there for you.’’