Blackhawks training camp storylines: Kevin Korchinski among prospects competing for NHL jobs

The Blackhawks‘ 53-man training camp roster, announced Tuesday, included one unexpected name: defenseman Matt Grzelcyk.

Grzelcyk, a 31-year-old boasting eight years of NHL experience with the Bruins and Penguins, will join the Hawks’ ultra-young defensive corps on a professional tryout agreement for camp.

He’ll be there for physicals Wednesday and the first on-ice session Thursday at Fifth Third Arena — the first of five consecutive practice days before the preseason opener next Tuesday at the Red Wings.

He actually ranked second among Penguins defensemen last season with 40 points, so it was somewhat surprising he didn’t draw more free-agent interest. But 39 of those were assists, and his analytics have been poor the last couple years — particularly in the defensive zone, where his smallness (5-10, 180 pounds) is a weakness.

Grzelcyk’s performance during camp will determine if he ends up getting an NHL contract, and it’s very possible he won’t; plenty of PTOs around the league turn into nothing every year. For now, he’s just a depth option in the Hawks’ back pocket.

Another notable name on the camp roster, albeit followed by an equally notable asterisk indicating “injured,” was goaltender Laurent Brossoit, who missed all of last season due to two meniscus surgeries.

Tuesday’s announcement confirmed Brossoit remains out for the time being, and it’s safe to assume he isn’t close to returning. General manager Kyle Davidson might shed more light on that situation Thursday.

Those are two storylines worth following during camp. Here are five more:

Will Wyatt Kaiser hold out?

Young defenseman Wyatt Kaiser still hasn’t signed a contract, and he won’t be able to participate in camp until he does.

He’s one of six remaining restricted free agents around the league, with Devils defenseman Luke Hughes and Ducks forward Mason McTavish being the highest-profile ones.

Coming off an entry-level contract that carried a meager $916,000 salary-cap hit, Kaiser and the Hawks haven’t agreed on financial terms. This all stems from the fact he didn’t have arbitration rights this summer, meaning waiting was his only source of leverage from the start.

Both sides seemingly feel confident they’ll reach an agreement soon, but if they don’t, this could become a holdout situation.

Will Kevin Korchinski make the team?

Grzelcyk’s PTO spurred more discourse Tuesday about the future of former seventh overall pick Kevin Korchinski, since Korchinski, Kaiser, Grzelcyk, Ethan Del Mastro and Nolan Allan are set to compete for the left-handed defensemen slots beneath Alex Vlasic.

The right-handed defensemen hierarchy is slightly more — although not entirely — set in stone: Connor Murphy, Sam Rinzel, Artyom Levshunov and Louis Crevier.

Korchinski, now 21, entered the summer knowing he needed to add weight and strength, because his lack thereof seriously held him back in his first two pro seasons. It’ll be interesting to see if he arrives “looking a lot bigger” like he promised.

Another autumn in Rockford wouldn’t be disastrous, but it wouldn’t be a great sign, either. Only seven of the 10 aforementioned defensemen will make the 23-man opening roster, and the Hawks will eventually need to make some tough decisions about whom to keep long-term and whom to trade.

That pressure applies to everyone, though, and there are question marks all around. Will Rinzel, for example, maintain his momentum from rookie camp? Will Del Mastro carry over his momentum from late last season? Will Allan, who surprisingly made the roster out of camp last year, get his development back on track?

Will Oliver Moore make the team?

The competition for forward spots won’t be quite as heated, but it won’t be drama-free, either.

Perhaps the most interesting bubble forward is former 19th overall pick Oliver Moore, whose speed is already elite — even by NHL standards — but who might need some refining around the edges.

Assuming Lukas Reichel’s trade rumors don’t come to fruition before opening night, there are realistically 10 NHL locks among the forwards: Reichel, Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Ryan Donato, Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson, Ilya Mikheyev and Andre Burakovsky (the team’s only notable offseason acquisition).

That leaves youngsters Moore, Ryan Greene, Landon Slaggert and Colton Dach — and to a lesser extent Samuel Savoie, Nick Lardis and AJ Spellacy, although they’ll likely end up back in the AHL/juniors — to battle each other and veteran Sam Lafferty for three remaining spots.

Based on rookie camp, Moore seems to have an early leg up on Greene. Meanwhile, this feels like the year Dach needs to break through, and a checking-line role is available for him to earn.

How much faster will Connor Bedard be?

Connor Bedard talked up his offseason training focused on increasing his speed, which was a weakness last season. In informal skates last week, he did look faster, but it’s hard to be certain when nobody is going 100%.

Bedard is gunning for a third-year explosion to cement himself as an NHL star, and if he succeeds in doing so, it would boost the Hawks’ offense immensely. He’ll be the main attraction at camp as usual.

What impact will Jeff Blashill make?

New coach Jeff Blashill’s go-getter personality suggests he’s a morning person, and he indeed seems to be. Camp will start at 8:30 a.m. every day, with the first of two NHL-relevant practice groups hitting the ice at 9:30 — considerably earlier than in past years.

Even more important will be the systems Blashill implements. He said in August the first one will involve backchecking — encouraging forwards to skate back hard so defensemen can gap up aggressively. He said he’ll also emphasize transition offense, having a shoot-first mentality and other “winning habits” — his favorite phrase.

Six preseason games will provide an early indication of how effective Blashill’s approach will be. Former coach Luke Richardson went 4-11-3 in preseason games during his three years, so the bar is set low.