Blackhawks Prospects of the Week: Korchinski, Nestrasil, Mustard

The Chicago Blackhawks continue to be one of the early-season surprises of the National Hockey League. Connor Bedard’s hat trick in their 7-3 win over the Ottawa Senators last night has the hockey world abuzz. We’re going to zoom out a bit and take a look at three prospects who had big weeks, as the Blackhawks’ deep prospect pool continues to excel across all levels of the game.

Kevin Korchinski Dishes Them Out

The Blackhawks have an ideal situation going with their young defensemen. Jeff Blashill’s use of seven defensemen has gotten the young corps at the NHL level playing well, as he puts them in a position to succeed. This allows the organization to take its time developing other young defenders, such as Kevin Korchinski. The 2022 first-round pick doubled his offensive production with three assists last week, all coming at 5-on-5. He had a primary assist in Saturday’s 4-0 win over the Colorado Eagles before picking up two more helpers in Tuesday’s 6-1 blowout of the Chicago Wolves.

He’s a plus-6 on the season and has only been a minus in one of his seven games to start the season. While averaging nearly an assist per game is fantastic, he has only four shots on goal. Korchinski was drafted seventh overall to be an offensive force on the blue line, so while his vision is improving, you’d still like to see him be more aggressive with his shot. The Rockford IceHogs return home on Saturday night for a Dia de los Muertos game against the Grand Rapids Griffins. The two teams meet again in Michigan on Sunday afternoon.

Vaclav Nestrasil Continues Freshman Surge

The Blackhawks keyed in on Vasclav Nestrasil while he blossomed for the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the United States Hockey League last season. He was not projected to be a first-rounder at the start of the season, but rose on general manager Kyle Davidson’s draft board and was selected with the 25th overall pick. His mix of size, playmaking skill, physicality, and a two-way style of play was too much to pass up on.

Nestrasil is off to a great start at UMass, as he’s made a smooth transition into the college game. He picked up a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The loss was only the second one of the season for the Minutemen.

The 6’6 forward has three multi-point efforts in his first seven NCAA games. He tied for the team lead with six goals and is second on the team in scoring with nine points.

John Mustard Has a Big Weekend

Staying on campus, John Mustard is not having a sophomore slump at Providence College. After scoring seven goals and 20 points in 37 games during his freshman season, he’s averaging over a point per game in his second year. He had two goals and an assist over the weekend in a two-game series with the University of St. Thomas.

Mustard has four goals and six points in five games this season. He could be playing himself into consideration for the World Junior Championship, but is still a dark horse at best right now. Davidson has shown that he can find some gems in the third round of the draft. Mustard is part of a group of recent third-rounders that includes Nathan Behm, AJ Spellacy, Jack Pridham, Nick Lardis, Aidan Thompson, and Samuel Savoie. Not too shabby!