{"id":537452,"date":"2026-04-02T23:16:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T23:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/537452\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T23:16:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T23:16:19","slug":"ethan-del-mastro-kevin-korchinski-audition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/537452\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethan Del Mastro, Kevin Korchinski audition"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Blackhawks are going through a slight injury blurb as they play out the string. Oliver Moore\u2019s season is all but confirmed to be over, while new arrival Andrew Mangiapane<\/a> missed games recently.<\/p>\n

A pair of defensemen joined the list this week in 2024 No. 2 pick Artyom Levshunov and veteran Matthew Grzelcyk, both of whom are out for the season<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sucks, Grzelcyk has been awesome, unbelievable teammate, unbelievable leader in a quiet way but the leadership he provided for us, it sucks he can\u2019t play and continue to showcase his ability,\u201d Hawks coach Jeff Blashill said. \u201cThen with (Levshunov), it takes away some opportunities for his growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, it is what it is. That\u2019s part of life and so you just have to grind through it and hopefully he can learn by observing as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Injuries are never a good thing, but in this case they open the door for other defenseman to audition for next year. This season\u2019s for growth, after all.<\/p>\n

Ethan Del Mastro was recalled from Rockford on March 3, while Kevin Korchinski was elevated Sunday. In the wake of the other defensemen\u2019s injuries, they\u2019ve skated on the third pair.<\/p>\n

Blashill is still feeling out the rookie blueliners as he observes how they handle themselves on the ice. Del Mastro believes the coach is gaining more trust in the two.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s understanding more what my game is and the type of player I am,\u201d Del Mastro, 23, said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard (when) a new coach comes in (and) he hasn\u2019t seen you play a ton.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice for me to be able to display the kind of player I am and my game and continue to try to earn their trust and earn the ability to be put out there more and more. I feel like I\u2019m doing a good job of that so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a learning process, so the two hope to put up better numbers as their game logs lengthen. Del Mastro has a minus-6 rating since his recall, while Korchinski is even in two games this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying a different role, trying to get asked to play different styles in different scenarios and just being able to be more versatile \u2026 whatever they want me to do to help the team win, that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do,\u201d Korchinski said at the AHL All-Star Classic. \u201cIt\u2019s always a privilege getting called up and getting (the) opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BlackhawksBlackhawks defenseman Kevin Korchinski (55) takes a shot against the Sharks on Jan. 16, 2024, at the United Center. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Korchinski, 21, has been wanting to stay with the Hawks, but the 2022 No. 7 pick has been back and forth between the NHL and AHL. Blashill isn\u2019t looking at the mistakes but rather the growth from both.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen (Del Mastro) first got in, I think the first time we played seven (defensemen), it\u2019s a little bit more difficult,\u201d Blashill said. \u201cThen seeing him on the right compared the left, all those are good chances to see him, (while) it\u2019s also a chance for him to gain reps. He doesn\u2019t play afraid to make a mistake, I like that piece of it for sure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same as Del Mastro (for Korchinski). Especially on D, it\u2019s a position where reps help. It gives us a chance to see him, which is great. It\u2019s unfortunate for injuries, but from our perspective, there\u2019s positives to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the transition to the NHL can be overwhelming, having\u00a0Nick Lardis, Sam Rinzel and other Hawks who played alongside them in Rockford this season has helped Del Mastro and Korchinski adjust and feel more comfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you kind of get your foot in the door, it automatically is going to be easier and feel better,\u201d Del Mastro said. \u201cYou got all these young guys, some of your best friends and guys you\u2019ve been going through it (with) for a long time in this organization growing as players and people. Easier to be around them, be comfortable in the room, be yourself, it\u2019s definitely been nice.<\/p>\n

Time is running out on the Hawks this season \u2014 after their matchup Thursday night against the Oilers in Edmonton, Alberta, they have six games remaining. That\u2019s six more chances to make a lasting impression.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you want to continue to mature as a player and grow your game,\u201d Del Mastro said. \u201cTry to show that I can play in this league (so) coming in next year, I have the ability to play with this team and contribute to the process of us becoming better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chicago Blackhawks are going through a slight injury blurb as they play out the string. Oliver Moore\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":537453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5115],"tags":[521,37,96,5263,1494,1564,5,61674,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-537452","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-blackhawks","8":"tag-blackhawks","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","11":"tag-chicagoblackhawks","12":"tag-defensemen","13":"tag-del-mastro","14":"tag-hockey","15":"tag-korchinksi","16":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}