Have the Blackhawks’ Young Defensemen Truly Taken Steps Forward This Season?

One of the bright spots for the Chicago Blackhawks’ future is the defensemen they have in the NHL and in the system. There have been strong high draft picks as well as prospects that have outperformed expectations through their development so far. But from last season to this season, have the young defensemen actually improved as a whole?

First off, let’s start with the newest defensemen added through the draft that wasn’t with the Blackhawks last season, Artyom Levshunov. Chicago is of course better off having a second overall pick who projects to be very good in the system rather than not. He has been solid for a 19-year-old first time pro playing in the AHL.

The young d-men who have absolutely taken a step forward are Alex Vlasic and Nolan Allan. Vlasic is showing signs that he can be a number one defenseman, but will likely settle in just fine as a second or third on the Blackhawks if all goes according to plan.

Allan has gone from playing in the AHL all of last season to being mostly a full-time NHLer with 38 games played this season. That is more than Wyatt Kaiser, Louis Crevier, and Isaak Phillips all played last season.

Speaking of those three, Phillips was traded as he just wasn’t going to get much of a chance in the NHL in Chicago, Kaiser was just sent down to the AHL again, and Crevier, a Blackhawks seventh round pick, has played 18 games. It’s safe to say to this point that none of them have exactly taken big enough steps in the right direction, but Phillips is also not the Blackhawks’ concern any longer.

Kevin Korchinski is an interesting case. It was the right decision to keep him in the NHL last season instead of being returned to junior and it also made sense for him to get some time in the AHL in 2024-25 because the NHL was just a step above what he should’ve been playing last season. The Blackhawks brought in a couple of veteran defensemen and have utilized a number of young defensemen in the NHL over Korchinski while he develops.

He isn’t exactly dominating in the AHL and improving as quickly as the Blackhawks had hoped he would. He did get the call to the NHL, but that lasted nine games and he recorded no points after five goals and 15 points in 76 games last season. As of now, he’s about the same and needs longer to become the defenseman Chicago was expecting to have already. But remember, he is only a second year pro and 20 years old. For the most part, defensemen take longer to develop.

Ethan Del Mastro is the last defensemen we are going to discuss here from the NHL or AHL. I believe he has taken steps forward. It took an entire 2023-24 season of playing well on the top pairing in the AHL for him to get a two game trial at the end of the season. As he was just recalled from playing in the AHL all of this season, it shows improvements and that he may be ready for more games at the highest level. We’ll see how long he lasts, but it would make sense for the 31st ranked Blackhawks to play their young players to see what they have.

I didn’t want to forget about Sam Rinzel here, but as he’s still playing in the NCAA, it is a bit different to understand how he’s progressing. While he has taken his game to the next level, he isn’t signed or in the Blackhawks organization playing pro yet. The 20-year-old has nine goals and 24 points in 26 games and projects to be a top-4 defenseman in Chicago for years to come.

Overall, I think the young defenseman who haven’t taken a step forward are offset by the d-men who have. The Blackhawks would definitely like more to have stepped their games up, but it is a process and the team is still rebuilding. Chicago is going to need more of their highly drafted or highly touted defensemen to take steps like Vlasic or even Allan sooner than later if they are to break through anytime soon.

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