Ethan Del Mastro and Kevin Korchinski are benefiting from their friendship and partnership on Blackhawks

Every player fights for their spot on the NHL roster every day.

Throughout the season, plenty of guys rotate in the lineup for different looks and results, especially on defense.

Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro both made the Chicago Blackhawks roster out of training camp, but they aren't playing every night. It's unconventional.

But they are making the most of it together.

Del Mastro and Korchinski's friendship and journey

Del Mastro and Korchinski both impressed during the preseason, and with a few seasons of development with the Rockford IceHogs (Del Mastro: 3 seasons; Korchinski: 2 seasons) and new contract extensions in tow, they deserved more of an NHL look.

The predicament was the lack of spots.

However, head coach Jeff Blashill has liked carrying seven defensemen, and general manager Kyle Davidson noted earlier in training camp that they wouldn't have a problem carrying eight defensemen.

And that is what they decided to do.

But Blashill noted there wouldn't be a defense rotation, nor would they start with the 11/7 lineup they utilized often last season. So, that means Korchinski and Del Mastro have mostly been outside of the rotation.

Blashill said on Sept. 30 about the two of them having each other, "Yeah, I'm sure it's good to have somebody that's sharing kind of the same experience. And listen, everybody wants to play more. But everybody would rather be in the NHL than the American League. So, they just got to make sure they're ready when their opportunity comes. I don't know when that'll be. But they got to make sure they're ready. But I do think having a chance to kind of go through that shared experience is a positive thing."

They got their opportunity in the third game of the season against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 3 when Bowen Byram missed the game due to the birth of his twin girls, and Sam Rinzel was made a healthy scratch. Korchinski and Del Mastro were the third pairing in the team's 4-3 loss.

I spoke with Del Mastro and Korchinski at practice on Oct. 5. Del Mastro said about going through this experience with Korchinski:

"It's nice. I think a lot of the times it is usually two forwards and like one D, so you end up doing a lot more forward drills and stuff when you're not playing. But it is nice to have another D to kind of work on stuff and be able to kind of work as a pair out there. Sometimes when we're working on extra stuff, when you know it's a scratch (game) or anything like that, I think that's obviously helpful to be able to, like, bounce off each other a little bit and work on certain things that we want to. But yeah, it's been nice. Obviously, similar in age, too. So we're able to kind of hang out because you do end up spending a lot of time with them if you're not playing together. So yeah, it's been good."

Korchinski noted, "Me and Del are super close. We played [at the] World Juniors together. We've played in Rockford, played here together. So, we've been friends and teammates for a while now. So he's a guy that you can tell anything to. We're close. We hang out outside the rink, so it's just nice to have people that you can, like, lean on, depend on. Obviously, we played a lot together, so having a guy that you can talk to after a game and stuff, it's awesome. So yeah, it's been a great experience."

Before the Buffalo game, Blashill talked about what he wanted to see from them: "Ultimately, I think they both got to do what they do well, and so I think in both cases, like Delly, I think does a pretty good job of... he's a bit of a gamer. And I thought last game we didn't have enough gamers. We didn't have enough guys to kind of take the bull by the horns. I think when Korch is at his best, he's skating to defend, and he's breaking the puck out well. So those kind of both play within themselves, but do what they do, and do it well."

Those are traits to keep in mind when they re-enter the lineup.

Del Mastro and Korchinski are staying prepared

Even though the crowded defense complicates things, Korchinski and Del Mastro are 22 and 23 years old. You want to see young players play on a nightly basis because it's hard for them to prove themselves unless they play.

Especially after the Buffalo game, because after a loss, players are wired to go back out and remedy things.

But Del Mastro and Korchinski are staying ready. When I asked Del Mastro about making the team, he said, "Yeah, obviously, nice. You know, that's where you wanted to be. So, obviously, you're happy you're there, and then it's just keep on working and keep on trying to take steps to be able to get in the lineup and stuff. So just being ready, being able to be a good teammate, and just be ready for when you do get called to be in the lineup."

Korchinski said about what worked for him this preseason, "I think preseason was good. Obviously, I came in confident. I think I put in a lot of work this summer and just came in confident, played my game, and tried to use my feet. So obviously, kind of disappointed myself last game [against Buffalo]. I think I didn't play with that same confidence, you could say. Obviously, whether it's preseason or NHL [games], you got to play the same way. So I think, just got to learn from it, move on, and be prepared for the next one."

They have their eyes on the prize for their next opportunity. In the meantime, the two friends being able to work together the way they do benefits them both.

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