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Korchinski is ranked too high on everyone’s list. That is a draft position choice IMO. Vanacker will be a riser after this season. He was able to train this off-season as opposed to rehabbing like he had to last off-season.
Interesting that everyone has Lardis so far down the list. AKA rpeters01.
Glad to see you made it over.
I think Ellis and I are higher on Lardis than most — we’ve got him at 7 and 6. He had a really strong season last year, and for me he’s definitely a prospect to keep an eye on heading into this season. Appreciate your comment today!
I believe this is your first comment, so welcome to the Hockey Hot Stove family! Thanks for jumping in.
About Korchinski — I actually have him slotted behind Rinzel and Levshunov, but ahead of Del Maestro and Allan. For me, that feels like the right spot right now.
On Vanacker, you’re absolutely right. With a full off-season of training instead of rehabbing, he’s definitely a prospect to watch. Don’t be surprised if he climbs even higher on the pipeline list this year.
Hey Rico, Dots, Dan Maloney, Tony-O and others,
I created a forum with the topic “Blackhawks 2025-2026 General Comments” that could be used for discussion throughout the season. Here’s the link:
Coach Frenchy is doing a wonderful job providing us with almost daily Hawks content that provides us an opportunity to discuss his subject matter. Needless to say, after no fresh Blackhawks content for almost a year at the other site, Frenchy’s writings are a godsend.
But, I thought a more general forum would be good to discuss other things that we want to talk about. I’m envisioning links to articles containing Hawks news, prospect news, lineup construction, game day chat, trades, signings, rumors and the like.
P.S. Hope you don’t mind Frenchy.
I believe this is your first comment, so welcome to the Hockey Hot Stove family! Thanks for jumping in.
About Korchinski — I actually have him slotted behind Rinzel and Levshunov, but ahead of Del Maestro and Allan. For me, that feels like the right spot right now.
On Vanacker, you’re absolutely right. With a full off-season of training instead of rehabbing, he’s definitely a prospect to watch. Don’t be surprised if he climbs even higher on the pipeline list this year.
i have a couple of previous comments but now that others are filtering over, i will be around to annoy. ????
I am also higher on Greene than most. I watched him a lot at BU. He is not flashy by any means but thinks the game very well. i can see him hanging around the league. I think his floor is a tyler motte type career.
You’ll never annoy me — I love talking hockey! I like the way you compared Greene to Tyler Motte, that’s a really good take. On top of that, Greene brings leadership — he was captain at BU last season — and now he’s a player to watch with the IceHogs. He plays a solid 200-foot game and, if he develops properly, I see him becoming a reliable 4th-line NHL player.
I don’t have strong feelings on specific rankings between players.
Some guys have a higher likelihood of securing an NHL job, but less likely to become very good.
Some are the opposite– they will either be really good or complete busts.I do have a strong thought on Kevin Korchinski:
Picked 7th overall, his progress to this point is disappointing.
However, I am not of the opinion that they should “trade him while they can still get *something* for him”.
I think they should keep trying him until he cannot be retained anymore.
The Hawks gave up on Gustav Forsling days after he turned 23.
The Canes (known for developing D-men) gave up on him 18 months later. We know how that turned out.I’m not saying KK is the next Forsling. KK was picked 120 spots higher, and should show more progress, sooner than a 5th round guy like Forsling.
I’m saying that, even though he was such a high pick, he might just need a lot of time to develop.Thanks for your comment. I really like how you compared Korchinski to Forsling — that’s a smart way to look at it.
Maybe the Blackhawks rushed him a bit by keeping him in the NHL at 19 instead of giving him one more year in the WHL. Defensemen usually take longer to develop, and whether you’re drafted 7th overall or 23rd, the process isn’t a straight line. Prospects go through ups and downs before they figure it out.
When Korchinski was drafted in 2022, the scouting reports were clear: excellent skater, strong on offense, but his defensive play needed work. He put up 65 points in 67 games that year, which showed his talent. In his rookie NHL season, 15 points wasn’t bad, but his defensive struggles stood out. On top of that, he still needs to play with more physicality and win more one-on-one battles.
He actually reminds me a lot of Justin Barron — flashes of skill, but inconsistencies because of the lack of physical edge. That’s why I wouldn’t trade Korchinski at all. Give him two more years inside the Blackhawks system, let him grow into his game, and then we’ll know what he really is.
Lardis has a huge challenge of transitioning to AHL and its physicality. He has not done well in physical games like vs London for example and will have a bullseye on his back for that reason until he overcomes it. Many skilled guys do not overcome it though hence why he’s further down the list given his stats vs OHL boys or labeled a “wild card”.
I will say I’m a bit surprised to see Korchinski so high on the prospect rankings. He’s not really moved the needle and should be relegated back to Rockford again this season along with Arty.
Thanks for your comment and solid input. I don’t really disagree with your take on Lardis. Like a lot of players coming out of the CHL, the jump to the AHL takes time — the speed, the physical grind, and playing against grown men is a big adjustment. He’s going to have to figure it out if he wants to stick. Until he proves he can handle that part of the game, he’ll have that “target on his back,” like you said.
As for Korchinski, I see your point. Defensemen take longer to develop, and maybe the Hawks rushed him by putting him in the NHL at 19. Another year in junior or more time in Rockford could have helped. He reminds me a bit of Cole Sillinger in Columbus — strong rookie year, but struggled badly as a sophomore and ended up in the AHL. That’s the risk when you keep a young guy in the NHL too early. With Korchinski, the key is improving his physical play and tightening up his defensive-zone coverage. Patience is needed here.
On Arty, I lean the other way from you. The way Davidson approached the summer — no big UFA signings, no splash trades — shows he wants his young core to get real NHL minutes. That’s why I believe Arty will be on the roster. And honestly, if you remove both Korchinski and Arty like you suggest, the blue line looks pretty thin: Vlasic, Murphy, Rinzel, Crevier, Kaiser, Nolan, and Del Mastro. Training camp will sort it out, but my gut says at least one, if not both, of KK and Arty will be in the top seven defensemen to start the year.
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