MONTREAL –As the Blackhawks progress slowly through their rebuild, Kevin Korchinski and Frank Nazar are two names that’ll be mentioned a lot.
The Hawks chose Korchinski and Nazar with the seventh and 13th overall picks, respectively, of the 2022 NHL Draft on Thursday, shortly after trading away Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach for packages headlined by those two picks.
Korchinski is an offensive defenseman who tallied 65 points in 67 games for the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds last season.
Standing a sturdy 6-2, 185 pounds at age 18, the Saskatchewan native said he models his game after Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore but grew up a Hawks fan because of his dad.
Nazar is an elusive forward who tallied 70 points in 56 games for the U.S. National Team Development Program last season.
On the small side at 5-10, 181 pounds, he perfectly fits the priorities the Hawks seemed to prioritize entering Thursday: fast, strong-skating forwards with offensive upside.
This story will be updated.
