Have the Blackhawks butchered Kevin Korchinski's development?

I will admit, I may have reacted a bit too hard on the lack of Kevin Korchinski's development with the Chicago Blackhawks, but I have started to realize that it really isn't all on him. Yes, he is not a dependable defenseman in the NHL yet, but the decision to essentially stifle what makes him good wasn't the best decision.

What I am getting at here is that Jeff Blashill is not doing a great job in enhancing the strengths of the young roster. With the guys they have, scoring should never be an issue, and lose games closer to 5-4 than 5-2. Does it make sense to teach the young guns how to play a complete game? Yes, however, it clearly wasn't worth it given how much their offensive skills were stifled within that system.

Let's face it, the Blackhawks are a run-and-gun team, and if the players are too concerned with the backcheck, they aren't focused enough on scoring. That is one of many things I noticed this past season that have to be addressed. The team was way too stiff as a group, and this lands on Blashill's shoulders. The burnout late into the season could be attributed to his tough training camp, but I won't make that claim.

Kevin Korchinski was rushed

Back to Korchinski. Let's go over what made Mike Doneghey circle him as a "must-have" and made Alex Debrincat available. First, it is his skating ability, second, it is his ability to drive play in the offensive zone, and third, it was the puck handling into the neutral zone. He would fake out the forecheckers to make the smart long-breakout pass. He could be trusted to carry the play from the back with his speed and puck-handling abilities. All of these skills seemingly disappeared upon his arrival in his sophomore season in the NHL.

Clearly, Korchinski was rushed in his development. The NHL is too unforgiving a league for someone like Korchinski who the management had concerns about dealing with the physicality of the AHL, and writers shared this mentality. He clearly would benefit more from the pace of the NHL rather than getting hit by career fourth-liners, right? Wrong.

Playing in the NHL too early made Korchinski lose his confidence. He no longer has that swagger or displays the noticeable smooth skating that made him go seventh overall. Instead, he is too much in his own head and overthinks when his strength lies in skills that are more instinctive. The same can be said for Artyom Levshunov.

To further aid his development, it would be a good idea to acquire a veteran right-handed defenseman to pair him with, giving him the confidence to hone his natural talents without having to worry too much about what happens behind him. The main goal last season was supposed to be to help prospects identify their strengths and hone them this offseason, not to stifle development and force everyone into the same blueprint.

Like I already said, a complete player is obviously the goal, but it shouldn't be done in the time the prospect should be fine-tuning their strengths. Blashill dropped the bar on this one, and Korchinski is one of many prospects who suffered from it. An example is Connor Bedard, who is not supposed to end with a decent plus-minus and barely 80 points; he's supposed to compete for Hart Trophies year after year. Alex Vlasic is not supposed to be passive with his massive size; he's supposed to use his frame physically, along with his stick checking, and Nick Lardis is not supposed to be a 20-goal scorer when his shot is meant more for 40 goals.

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