Blackhawks Stock Index: ‘He’s a Stud’

It’ll be a youth movement on the top power play unit and well, it’ll be a nice pre-Thanksgiving treat for Blackhawks fans to see Kevin Korchinski on the top unit with Connor Bedard.

To borrow from the great band Nirvana, smells like teen spirit, perhaps? 19-year-old Korchinski and 18-year-old Bedard will be spearheading the efforts to get the power play a little more, er, power.

“Yeah, obviously it’s a privilege,” Korchinski said. ” It means that they trust me, which is awesome. And yeah, it’s an opportunity.”

Opportunity indeed. This edition of the stock index will focus primarily on the new look power play and how the sky’s the limit with it being driven by the Blackhawks’ two teenagers.

Bedard on Korchinski: ‘He’s a Stud’

Getting bumped up to the top power play line is one thing. Getting an endorsement from a teammate, and a generational one is a whole other.

“He’s a stud,” Bedard said of Korchinski.  “Obviously got to play with him a little in World Juniors. Never got to play against him in the Dub (Western Hockey League), which is unfortunate. But seeing what he’s done first games here it’s been a lot of fun to watch and excited to get some looks. Whether it’s him or Seth, they’re both great. But Kev’s a great player. His skill is remarkable.”

And Korchinski talking about Bedard?

“Obviously he’s a guy that wants the puck,” Korchinski said.  “So just getting him the puck and letting him kind of do his thing on that half wall, whether it’s coming down low or coming up high–just support him. Kind of being on a string where I have an out for him if he’s under pressure and just kind of knowing where he wants to be, where he wants the puck.”

So now with a power play efficiency of 11.3% and potting just six goals on 53 attempts, it’s going to the “kids” to look for a new wrinkle to get things going. It goes beyond the teenagers, too. The top unit in practice consisted of the top line with Philipp Kurashev and Lukas Reichel.

Blackhawks Handing it to the Kids….and Corey Perry

They looked good at even strength–why not generate some of that buzz on the man advantage, too? The elder statesman and net front presence? Corey Perry. He’s already got one marker this season on the power play and has been great for the Blackhawks both on and off the ice.

But the Blackhawks have been chasing games close enough where even just one goal could change the conversation of a contest. Capitalizing on the power play is one of the ways to get that goal.

This season of the rebuild is getting the young core situated for what is hopefully a long period of contention. Handing over such responsibility is one way to accomplish it. After all, the new look first line has shown its worth already.

Now let’s see if translates to the power play.