Kevin Korchinski

Not much flash to his game, but flash in his balance, skating, decision-making, stick and maneuverability. Plays a much larger than he is. He does have a long core, and is able to eat up ice with excellent range, with under-rated decision-making. Has a strong snap shot, but so far has not strayed from playing a more safeguard defensive position, less willing to try to go in for the kill.Has an excellent knee bend to shorten his strides to create outstanding footwork in small areas. Displays an active stick and will reach in and steal pucks from opposing forwards. Perfectly times his pinches, with quick jumps up & in, and then back out. Has excellent four way footwork. Always plays until the end, staying with plays until the whistle. Regularly drops into the high slot as a option to forwards looking to get rid of passes quicker than they thought they would need to. Finished second among Dub defenders in assists. The knock is that many are third assists, and he defers shooting a lot and playing conservatively as an attacker at this point, but he has all the details of his position in place. Is a terrific on stop/start, and wastes no movement and is a guy with great timing on his puck grabs, passes, and gap closings. Some think he has all the things in his NHL toolkit to run a power play and attack, but are waiting for more physicality. I think he can save that for the bigs, because he will be there sooner than later.

--Bill Placzek--