Chicago Blackhawks’ Defense Corps: Quality or Quantity?

The Chicago Blackhawks have been building up their defensive corps for the last five years, starting out by taking Nolan Allan 32nd overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The Blackhawks continued to gather defensive prospects and had so many come up to the NHL that Allan was traded to the San Jose Sharks, simply because there was no room for him in Chicago. It’s worth noting that Allan was also on a somewhat slow development trail.

After the 2025-26 season, the defensive corps has taken a huge hit, and questioning of the pieces has started. They received constant criticism (and it was deserved) in every area, but their main problem the whole season was getting the puck out of their own zone. At the end of the season, the Blackhawks were 27th in the NHL in time spent in their own defensive zone, with 42.5% of the game being played there. In turn, they finished 31st in offensive zone time at 39.5% and came in last with 2,016 total shots on goal, nearly 300 off the league average — that’s no coincidence — it’s due to poor defensive play every game.

The good news is that Chicago’s defense corps is young; there isn’t a single player right now above the age of 25. Alex Vlasic just turned 25 and is at that threshold. There’s still a lot of growing to be done, but the question is: is that quantity linked to quality, or should there be panic in the front office? 

Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, and Vlasic 

Vlasic could (and should) have a case for already rising above expectations and being one of, if not the best, defenders on the team. Vlasic, a second-round pick all the way back in 2019, took a long time to get his bearings; however, it was well worth the wait. He had 21 points in 81 games, averaged a leading 21:04 in ice time among all defensemen, and finished with a minus-16. Unfortunately, he hasn’t reached his 2023-24 self again and has lost some of that top-pairing luster, but the overall lack of team success contributes. He’ll be in the Windy City for the next few years, and at a $4.6 million average annual value (AAV) price tag, Chicago should be happy to have him. 

Sam Rinzel was taken in the 2022 Draft at 25th overall, the same year Connor Bedard and Oliver Moore were drafted. Rinzel was selected based on his offensive abilities and continued to show it off, having two stellar seasons with the University of Minnesota before making his NHL debut. This season, Rinzel, now 21 years old, bounced around from the Blackhawks to start the season, got sent down to Rockford in December, and then was called back up in February.

After a rough start to the season, Rinzel went down to Rockford, gained his confidence back, and then showed it off towards the end of the campaign. He had 14 points in 54 NHL games, so he didn’t quite live up to the offensive production expected of him, but he improved a lot in his own end. 

Artyom Levshunov, the second overall pick back in 2024, was the main topic of discussion in the Windy City, and not for good reason. The 20-year-old defender struggled a lot in his own end. He was often out of position or a second behind the play in his thinking, and it led to goals against. He also left you, more times than not, scratching your head and asking, ‘What in the world was he doing?’ when he had the puck on his stick. However, he’s shown spurts of being a top-tier defenseman in the league and is an amazing teammate, putting their accomplishments over his own. He will continue to quarterback the power play and be productive on offense. 

The Blackhawks need these three to pan out. If they don’t, this whole rebuild is a flop, no matter how good the forward core turns out to be; Stanley Cup-winning teams have great defense. There needs to be massive strides made in the offseason.

Wyatt Kaiser, Louis Crevier, Kevin Korchinski 

Wyatt Kaiser, 23 years old, was a third-round pick back in 2020. He took massive strides this season and quickly became one of the team’s best defenders. He was tasked with trying to acclimate Levshunov into the NHL, and he did that job to near perfection. Just surpassing the 100-game mark, he took a veteran role after being paired with Levshunov, taking most of the weight off his shoulders and commanding the pair. When Kaiser was out of the lineup, Levshunov’s performance dropped significantly. He had 17 points in 77 games played this past season, which is a career high for him. If he keeps this trajectory, maybe he stuns and becomes a top guy on the blue line. 

Kevin Korchinski has been an odd topic ever since his rookie campaign with the Blackhawks back in the 2022-23 season. Korchinski, at 18 years old, was thrown to the wolves because the organization had no other choice: he was too good for the Western Hockey League (WHL) and too young for the American Hockey League (AHL). He never found his place, but didn’t have any help around him, and that’s not ideal for a young defender. The Blackhawks sent Korchinski down to Rockford, and he’s been up and down ever since, but in his last stint with Chicago, it looks like he’s found his confidence again and looked solid. There’s still something there. 

Louis Crevier was the biggest surprise on the backend. He was a seventh-round pick back in the 2020 Draft. He was all over the place the entire season, and with his big 6-foot-8, 228-pound frame, he created quite the presence out on the ice. His 100-plus MPH shot and his mentality to just fire it from anywhere helped him finish with the most points of any defenseman with 25. He proved that he can be a consistent piece on the bottom pair when the Blackhawks are competing again. 

Overall, there’s no need to freak out about the defense corps yet. All three pairings are filled with young players who will improve with time and more experience. While there is a “surplus,” there is a lot of potential in this group, and general manager Kyle Davidson saying that he wants to add a veteran is going to balance a lot of things out; it won’t be full of kids, and they’ll develop better. The Blackhawks should still be enthusiastically encouraged about the future of the blue line.