In addition to Connor Bedard getting activated off injured reserve, the Chicago Blackhawks made another pair of roster moves ahead of Friday’s game against the Washington Capitals.
Defenseman Kevin Korchinski and goaltender Drew Commesso were both recalled from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.
During Friday’s morning skate, several players, plus head coach Jeff Blashill, were unavailable due to illness. Apparently, there’s a pretty nasty flu/bug going through the locker room right now, and it’s impacted Nick Foligno, Ilya Mikheyev, and Arvid Soderblom, and possibly more.
With Soderblom’s status uncertain, the Blackhawks elected to recall Commesso in case he’s needed as Spencer Knight’s backup versus Washington. With the team playing two games in as many nights this weekend, there’s also a chance that Commesso makes his first NHL start of the season on Saturday against the Nashville Predators. The 2020 second-round pick is 6-11-3 with a 2.72 goals-against average, .909 save percentage, and one shutout in 19 AHL games for the IceHogs in 2025-26.
Korchinski’s call-up is certainly the more interesting of the two. With Alex Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser, and Matt Grzelcyk — the three left-handed defensemen on the NHL roster — all rolling well right now, it’s hard to see any of them drawing out in favor of Korchinski for a significant stretch.
However, the 2022 No. 7 overall selection has yet to appear in an NHL game for Chicago this year, and he’s been knocking on the door for an opportunity. In 32 games down in the minor leagues, Korchinski has amassed two goals and 17 assists for 19 points. Still only 21 years old, Korchinski has been the IceHogs’ most productive blueliner and has been making strides defensively.
It’s worth mentioning that before Bedard got injured on Dec. 12, Blashill was regularly rolling out a lineup with only 11 forwards and seven defensemen. But once Bedard went down, he decided to shift away from that lineup strategy.
Well, now that Bedard is back to full health, perhaps Blashill wants to go back to that. Korchinski has joined the Blackhawks as the seventh defenseman on the roster, and there’s a chance he immediately gets thrown into sheltered minutes as the extra on the back end.
The Blackhawks currently have 14 forwards on the roster, but both Foligno and Mikheyev are questionable for Friday’s game. That leaves Blashill with 12 healthy skaters up front, which could still fill out a standard lineup sheet. Although, Blashill could still dress just 11 and scratch veteran Sam Lafferty. That would allow for Korchinski to play without any of the other six defensemen drawing out.
We’ll know more following Friday’s game about whether Korchinski was recalled on an emergency basis, just like Commesso, or if he’s finally receiving a legitimate NHL opportunity for the first time this season.
For more Blackhawks news, visit Chicago Hockey Now and like our Facebook Page.
Follow us on X: