Blackhawks Notebook: Moore & Rinzel Make NHL Debuts, Coaching & Defensive Depth

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The Chicago Blackhawks have won just a single game in their last 11, flirting with last place in the league. To nobody’s surprise, the team was officially eliminated from the playoffs on Mar. 20 with a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. But despite this, there’s been some excitement in other ways for this rebuilding team.

The organization has been integrating a plethora of prospects (especially defensemen) into the lineup of late, so they can get some valuable NHL experience under their belts. This is the positive in an otherwise unsuccessful season. It’s no secret the Blackhawks are anxious to put this long and grueling 2024-25 campaign behind them. That includes the likely end of this current coaching regime. Let’s empty out the notebook with some thoughts and updates as the month of March comes an end.

Levshunov Looks Legit

We’ll start with the first new defensive prospect to come onto the scene this month. The Blackhawks’ 2024 second overall draft pick, Artyom Levshunov, was called up from the Rockford IceHogs on Mar. 9.  

His very first game was against the fast and high-power Colorado Avalanche, yet Levshunov fared extremely well in his NHL debut. He registered three shots on goal and two blocked shots in 20:55 minutes of ice time, was responsible defensively, and gained more offensive confidence as the game went on.

Artyom Levshunov Chicago Blackhawks
Artyom Levshunov had a tough assignment in his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks, but he passed with flying colors. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)

The 19-year-old earned his first NHL point in his third contest (a primary assist on a Wyatt Kaiser goal) and his second point in his fourth game (a primary assist on a Connor Bedard power play goal). Yes, Levshunov graduated to quarterbacking the top power play unit in just his second game in the big leagues.

The Belarus native recorded his third and fourth career assists against the New Jersey Devils on Mar. 26, his eighth NHL game. The most notable was his diving keep-in that led to a power play goal by Tyler Bertuzzi. This goal doesn’t happen without Levshunov.

The young blueliner earned his fifth assist on Mar. 30th versus the Utah Hockey Club, providing a beautiful pass to Joe Veleno for the Blackhawks’ first goal of the game. Five assists (three of them primary) in his first 10 games is certainly nothing to scoff at. Now just to notch that first goal! 10 games also means the Blackhawks have officially burned the first year of Levshunov’s entry-level contract.

Sure, Levshunov has made his mistakes, and he’s still very unpredictable. But his raw talent is undeniable, especially so soon and with him being so young. He’s moves the puck with poise, and it’s usually quick off his stick for an accurate pass up the ice. He’s also handling a pretty heavy workload, averaging 20:59 minutes of ice time and slotting in on both the first and third defensive pairing.

Related – Blackhawks’ Artyom Levshunov Adjusting on the Fly in 1st NHL Games

Some fine tuning will be needed. But for the most part the Blackhawks should be extremely pleased with what they see. Levshunov looks like the real deal, which is exciting to see so early in his career.

Korchinski Recalled From IceHogs

While Levshunov is brand new to the league, the Blackhawks welcomed back an “old” friend in blueliner Kevin Korchinski on Mar. 28 when they hosted the Vegas Golden Knights. Due to Canadian Hockey League rules, Korchinski wasn’t eligible for the American Hockey League when he was drafted seventh overall in the 2022 draft as a 19-year-old. So the Blackhawks bit the bullet and played the young blueliner in 76 games last season, instead of sending him back to his junior club. The results were mixed; Korchinski contributed five goal and 15 points, but he was also a minus-39 in plus/minus rating.

Now 20 years old, Korchinski was eligible for the AHL. He started the 2024-25 season with the IceHogs, where he was able to focus on fine-tuning his craft. In a short nine-game stint with the Blackhawks in December, Korchinski looked more confident and much-improved. His last nine games with the IceHogs saw Korchinski register a goal and five assists, and he had a plus-9 rating. He was due to join the Blackhawks once again.

Kevin Korchinski Chicago Blackhawks
Kevin Korchinski was recalled from the Rockford IceHogs on Mar. 28. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

In two games played, Korchinski has been slotted onto the third defensive pairing and quarterbacking the second power play unit, while averaging 19:18 minutes of ice time. He’s registered four shots on goal, six shot attempts, one hit and three blocked shots.

He also was credited with two giveaways, and was on the ice for two goals against versus the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday (Mar. 30). To be fair, it was a tough two games for all the Blackhawks (giving up 10 combined goals). When asked about Korchinski, head coach Anders Sorensen’s assessment was mostly positive. He spoke of his positioning being better defensively, and his offensive awareness being improved as well. Here was his response to Korchinski’s rough second game.

“There’s been some good things and some things we’ve got to improve on. He’s had a really, overall, a good year of development…It’s not an easy environment. Obviously we’re not doing as well as a team as we’d like to, and then you come in as a young player and it’s tough.”

Korchinski is one to watch down the stretch, to see if he can end this season on a high note and then transfer that into the 2025-26 campaign.

Rinzel & Moore Make NHL Debuts

On Mar. 28, defenseman Sam Rinzel and forward Oliver Moore, both from the University of Minnesota, signed three-year-entry level contracts after their Golden Gophers were defeated by the University of Massachusetts in this year’s NCAA Semifinals. Both Rinzel and Moore made their NHL debuts with the Blackhawks just two days later against Utah.

Related – Blackhawks Sign Oliver Moore & Same Rinzel to Entry-Level Contracts

Moore, a 2023 first round pick (19th overall) had a solid debut, posting two shots on goal in 15:03 minutes of ice time. He slotted onto the third line alongside Joe Veleno and captain Nick Foligno. He also logged 36 seconds on the power play. After the game, Moore encapsulated why we should all be excited about the future for the Blackhawks.

Rinzel, a 2022 first round pick (25th overall) had the standout game. He was deployed on the second defensive pairing with Kaiser, and was credited with four shots on goal, six shot attempts and two hits in a healthy 20:15 minutes of ice time. He was strong in “attacking of the blue line and advancing pucks with his feet” as Sorensen put it. Here’s a sample of Rinzel’s aggressive play (No. 6 below):

These two 20-year-olds will add a different dynamic and some much-needed energy to the last eight games of the season for the Blackhawks. It should be fun to watch.

Is Sorensen Doing Right by His Players?

Finally, with the 2024-25 campaign coming to an end, I wanted to touch on a recent coaching dilemma that’s come to light. Sorensen has been the interim head coach of the Blackhawks since Dec. 6, after former head coach Luke Richardson was relieved of his duties. In this time, we’ve learned that the former IceHogs’ head coach is very quiet and reserved in his demeanor. But has this become a detriment to his players?

In mid-March young superstar Connor Bedard received two 10-minute misconducts in back-to-back games. While not taking any blame away from Bedard, it did raise some eyebrows when Sorensen just accepted these penalties, seemingly without asking for more of an explanation. The first misconduct was for something Bedard said after he was frustrated about a very blatant uncalled tripping penalty against him. Why didn’t his coach argue his case for him?

Anders Sorensen Chicago Blackhawks
Is interim head coach Anders Sorensen too passive in his coaching style? (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images)

Fast forward to the recent contest against the New Jersey Devils on Mar. 26. In the third period, Bedard was shoved numerous times by Devil’s Simon Nemec after falling to the ice. Sorensen explained afterwards that the officials told him no call was made because Bedard was holding Nemec’s stick.

But fellow teammate Landon Slaggert didn’t see it that way. He came over to defend Bedard, and then he was the only one slapped with a roughing penalty. On the TNT broadcast, color commentator and Blackhawks’ legend Eddie Olczyk even said that if he was the coach, he’d be “absolutely livid” and would be trying to get somebody’s attention about this situation. Here’s the play in question.

When pressed by the media, Coach Sorensen said he didn’t know what they could gain by arguing the call; that the decision was already made and he’d rather maintain a good relationship with the referees.

Ok, I guess that’s fair and reasonable enough. But then, in this writer’s opinion, Sorensen went too far. At the end of the below clip, the interim bench boss talked about Slaggert’s response to the play.

“Slaggert got a little over-excited?!”

Does that really need to be said?! Hockey players are encouraged to stick up for their teammates. To have each other’s backs, so to speak. It certainly seems like Sorensen is throwing Slaggert under the bus, saying he didn’t want Slaggert to stick up for his teammate.  

Does that mean the next time it happens, nobody will be there to back up Bedard? If other teams see the Blackhawks not jumping in to defend their teammates, will they then start taking liberties with the Hawks’ players?

It certainly seems like Sorensen is being too passive, and not standing behind his players. Sure, NHL coaches have to pick their battles. But at least they should choose some battles. Based on Sorensen’s 13-28-7 record (as of Mar. 30) as interim head coach, and the team not improving much all-around, it’s safe to say Sorensen will NOT be a candidate for the head coaching position after this season.

Related – Blackhawks Prospect Report: Thompson, Greene, Rinzel & More

The Blackhawks have eight more games to get some wins, but that’s not what the end of this 2024-25 season is all about. Instead, it’s about giving the prospects a chance to get acclimated to the NHL, and to build some positive momentum. For that reason, it should be fun to watch.

Then back to the drawing board for the offseason and the 2025-26 campaign. In more ways than one, it should be a very different team, and coaching staff, come October.

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