Sunday night did not work out as planned for Kevin Korchinski, Nolan Allan, Colton Dach and their Seattle Thunderbirds teammates. The Blackhawks’ three prospects playing in the championship game of the Memorial Cup suffered a 5-0 loss at the hands of the Québec Remparts, bringing their long seasons to an end.
All three of the Blackhawks’ prospects were in Chicago for work over the summer and during the preseason, played for junior team(s) — Allan and Dach were traded to Seattle mid-season after serving as captains of their previous teams — and represented Canada in the winter edition of the World Juniors. It was a long, but successful year for all three. All three have signed their entry-level contracts already and could make the move to the professional ranks next season full-time.
For Korchinski, a move pro full-time would mean he’s in the NHL. Last year’s seventh overall pick had an especially long year following his selection by the Blackhawks, and his numbers look really good.
Blackhawks top prospect Kevin Korchinski's season finally came to an end today. He played 88 games this season between the WHL regular season and playoffs, Memorial Cup, World Juniors and Blackhawks preseason. He finishes the year with 15 goals, 80 assists and 95 points.— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) June 5, 2023
Allan was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team at the conclusion of the tournament. After producing 16 points 41 games after he was traded to Seattle during the regular season, Allan put up 10 points in 19 postseason games.
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 5, 2023
The Stanley Cup Final continues on Monday night in Las Vegas. We’ll see if the Golden Knights can hold the house a second time, or if Florida can steal one on the road. The Panthers piled up penalty minutes in Game 1 and will need to stay out of the box.
The NHL Draft Combine rolls this week in Buffalo. Top prospects will be working out and hoping to make one last strong impression on front office execs and coaches. This doesn’t get nearly as much hype as the NFL’s combine, but it’s still an important time for players to get official measureables on paper and show what they can do in a vacuum. We already know who the No. 1 prospect is — and there’s a pretty good consensus on No. 2-5 — but after that this draft is up in the air, so lots of young players can improve their draft stock this week.
For those who pay attention to or care about history, June 5 is maybe the most significant date in the history of the NHL. On this date 56 years ago, the “Original Six” Era came to an end officially. The National Hockey League awarded franchises to the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Oakland Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues of the 1967-68 NHL season, doubling the size of the league.
The St. Louis Blues took Hall of Famer Glenn Hall away from the Blackhawks in their expansion draft. His most infamous moment in a Blues’ sweater was being on the wrong end of the legendary, flying Bobby Orr goal in the Stanley Cup Final.
Speaking of the Original Six, Montreal announced a massive extension for a player they consider part of their future. Cole Caufield received an eight-year deal that carries a $7.85 million cap hit on Monday morning.
The Canadiens have agreed to terms on an eight-year contract extension (2023-24 to 2030-31) with forward Cole Caufield.#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/BZ1gBIzndL
Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers over at The Athletic ran a second half of a mailbag on Monday morning. The first question fielded by Lazerus had to do with how Connor Bedard might impact Luke Richardson’s role as the head coach in Chicago. This has been asked of me about a thousand times — as a hypothetical during the past season and in more real terms since the Blackhawks won the draft lottery — and you might have noticed that I’m riding shotgun on the Richardson Bandwagon. He’s a great coach and terrific human who gets it. But I liked a couple things Laz said about him in his response.
Richardson was hired for this reason — to work with young players, to develop them into NHLers, and to build a positive, winning culture in Chicago. … Richardson might have been a hard-ass as a player, but he’s a very forward-thinking guy who sees himself as much as an educator as a coach. … Richardson is from a very different era, but he seems to really understand the modern young athlete, including their emotional needs — something coaches rarely took into consideration when he was a player.
Finally, rivalries are good for sports. Healthy competition is good for sports. And I am all for athletes showing their excitement on the field/court/ice/diamond when they perform well. When it’s done with respect? Even better. And we saw a couple examples of two guys playing at the top of their games showing out — and an appreciation for each other. I love love love Marcus Stroman’s vibe all the time and he’s been outstanding this season.
Tab is the Lead Blackhawks voice for BN. He is the author of two books about the Blackhawks, most recently "Chicago Blackhawks: An Illustrated Timeline" (Reedy Press, 2021). Find him on Twitter at @The1Tab
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