Kevin Korchinski & Nick Lardis Talk FUTURE and Growth within the Chicago Blackhawks Organization

Joining us now on CHGO Blackhawks are A.H.L. Allsar's Kevin Kurchinsky and Nick Lardis. Thanks for being with us, fellas.

Thank you for having us.

Yeah, thanks.

How's the week been? I know the skills competition last night looked like a lot of fun. How's it been?

Yeah, it's been fun just hanging around with obviously scenes and already meeting new guys and seeing some familiar faces.

So it's been fun and fun to have it at home in front of the hometown fans.

Yeah, like I said, it's been special to kind of experience this, especially for me my first year.

But not just to experience and also again, but kind of here in Rockford 2 and alongside Kevin Brett 2.

So it's been special.

Yeah, have any time to connect with any guys that are here you might have played before, known before over the last few days?

Yeah, a little bit. Obviously guys playing them in junior in the OHL, cool to catch up with them, see how they're doing with their teams.

And cool to meet some guys too, some fellow rivals, whether it's guys in Milwaukee or Chicago or so.

Yeah, that's been fun.

I can imagine after that Milwaukee game the other day, was there was there any awkwardness or just kind of let it go?

Not really, I think just out here trying to have fun and obviously when we play them again, it's going to be the same kind of intensity.

But I think just for this week, just enjoy it, meeting new guys and what you said, have fun.

The crowds have definitely played into the rivalry, booing the wolves and the animals guys last night.

How much have you guys kind of just fed from the crowd last night and the community the last few days having this event here?

Yeah, it's been unbelievable.

I mean, we've known since I've been here and I could probably speak for Kev2 that the fans support the whole year.

It's been unbelievable every single game they show up every single night.

So we're lucky to have them.

For the people around the league that don't really get to play here that much, I think they got a little taste that last night.

So that was all special.

I want to talk about some of your answers.

I was going to say the fans are going to make it a special play here.

So every night they show up, give great intensity and make us want to win even more.

Well, it's been, you know, we got to see both of you guys up in Chicago this year and Nick will start with you.

You know, kind of a maybe a little sooner than you expected with some injuries happening and you came up and made your impression right away.

What's your takeaways from your first stint in the league?

Yeah, it was, it was great.

I thought the experience was awesome.

Kind of my first little taste in the league there.

I've said it before.

I'm sure I've talked to you guys about it a little bit too, but just the first couple of games too.

How they enrolled with playing Patty Kane at the UC and then playing against Elise in my hometown.

Had a lot of family there.

So it was, it was special for sure and learned a lot about the league of kind of how to, you know, hopefully say at that level one day.

Was it, I guess the question would be, was it what you expected when you put like what I'm sure your whole life you dream of your first NHL game.

What about it was what you expected and what about it was different?

Yeah, I feel like I was talking to some of the other guys.

I feel like you kind of have like a little vision or like a fever dream almost of like what it's going to kind of be like your first game.

But yeah, that first game just kind of doesn't feel real.

I'm sure it might be that like that for kind of two, but I'm just, yeah, it just feels real.

You're just kind of going out there for the soul app with your, you know, no bucket on.

It's just, it's kind of this block out for the whole game, but it's definitely a memory.

I'll have for sure for the rest of my life.

Did you, how do you feel that the NHL game came to you?

Did you feel you picked up pretty quick?

Yeah, it's obviously a different league for sure.

It's the best league in the world.

The speed, the strength of the game.

It's definitely a different, different beast up there.

But I think just making sure you're you dialed in, making sure you know the systems the way we play in Chicago.

I think that helps a lot.

So I thought the first couple of games it was, I don't want to say a little harder, but definitely more challenging.

Just not knowing the systems kind of adapting to that.

But I think once you start learning the systems more, you kind of start flowing more than thinking throughout the game, which helps a lot.

Kevin, do you find yourself now that you've had some time in Rockford and been with some of the guys that have taken that first step.

Like you did a few years ago.

Have you found yourself kind of giving them a little bit of a lay of the land?

And even though you're still very much a young player, kind of giving them a little bit of that lesson there?

Yeah, I wouldn't say so.

I think all the guys have made that jump.

And whether they're playing here and NHL, I think they have their own path.

And they know they don't play hockey even under the whole life.

So they don't need me telling them what to do.

They got a lot of people doing that coaches, staff, all that.

So yeah, I think we got a lot of a lot of young, bright, soon to be stars in the NHL and the organization.

Whether they're playing here, whether they're playing already with the hawks.

I think it's a really bright future.

And there's a lot of guys that are going to make an impact in the future.

How do you feel about your season as it's played out back to back years, you're going to all start games.

Obviously, you would have a pretty good season.

But as you progressed from the start of your career a few years ago in the NHL to now, how do you feel like your year has been going?

Yeah, I think just working on being more complete, working on the little things defending, playing inside the DAW.

It's just stuff like that that maybe at this level, you won't get take advantage of as much.

But working on those things, so that when you play at the next level in the NHL, those things are just built apart.

Like Larry said, if you can take the thinking out of playing, knowing all the systems, knowing what you've got to do, you can play your best game.

So just taking the thinking out of it and just working on my game down here.

Earlier today, we got to talk to Mark Bernard and he really praised you, Kevin, for your commitment down here and your patience.

Sort of the idea that you've already had your NHL time, you've got a lot of games under your belt.

And maybe some other guys would be a little pissy about it for lack of a better word.

And he really praised your patience and your commitment to the approach and to growing your game.

When you look back on your first year, coming into the league at 19, because it was either Western or NHL for you, what was that you're like for you?

And I know you went through a personal loss as well, lost your father, lost my father this summer, so sorry for that for you.

But that first year, looking back on it now with some space, what was it like for you, how did you handle it?

Yeah, I think it was a whirlwind. I think just like obviously the schedule, you play 82 games against the best players in the world.

So like every night you have to bring your best. And I think just that overall, just like playing back to backs, playing, you don't really get a break.

So you can't really let your game skyrocket in a negative direction. You just got to, I think from that, I learned that you can't, like if you have a bad game, you got to flush it the next day.

You kind of let it linger. You can't think about it too much because end of the day, you got to be your best the next day.

It doesn't matter if you have a good game, bad game, you just got to be as good as you can be for the next game.

So I think just, it was a lot obviously at 19, just learning to leave playing, being a defenseman. It's hardly to be a defenseman.

But just learning from it. And I think seeing the flaws I had that year and trying to build them down here.

Like you said, working on the defending, working on playing inside out, being harder to play against. Just little things like that.

The coaching staff here have really helped me work on and made me a better player.

Because we've obviously kept a close eye on Artem Leshinov this year. And over the last, you know, right before the Olympic break, he said a couple games and Jeff Lashel said, yeah, there's a couple things we want to sort of reset, work on some technique, work on some fundamentals for him.

And I think you worry about a player that young, when something like that happens, if it's a big blow to the confidence.

Yeah, obviously it's a league that you need confidence. And like I said, best league in the world. So if you don't have confidence, you're not going to thrive.

So I think here, playing down here, it's helped me build confidence. And not just the offense of having the puck. I think it's just building that confidence defensively, knowing that down here, playing a lot of minutes, playing a lot of offensive minutes, defensive minutes, five on five, five on four, all that.

Then when you take that next step, you're familiar with killing penalties, playing six on five, five on six, all that. So just rounding out your games, it helps build confidence and makes you better player.

Over the last couple of years, since Cal Davis and took over as GM, I think we've all kind of paid more attention to the ice hogs and how they're being used with the black hawks. And it seems like he's gone with the idea of trying to get you guys and your teammates kind of grow together, grow up together.

And you know, really started with, you know, your draft class and then, you know, you were the next year under, under Davidson.

How have you guys kind of jelled together doing the, the off ice summer training prospects camp and being able to play with those guys in Rockford and grow those bonds as you kind of all come up together? What's that atmosphere like for you guys?

Yeah. I think for me personally, I think it started in development camp.

I can't remember if it was my first year when we started to do the off ice with no skating, but I think that was super important, just building connections off the ice with not just the players with the staff and the whole organization.

So that carried into the rookie camp my first year and then training camp and then obviously this year into my first professional career.

So it's been awesome. I think it's just helps with, you know, building chemistry, not just off the, on the ice, but even off the ice too. So it's like I said, it's been a lot of fun and definitely wouldn't want it any other way the way they're doing it.

So, yeah.

You know, we look at, we were talking with Mark Bernard earlier as well and, and just kind of talking about how the team, the ice dogs have kind of mirrored a little bit of when he started with the organization, which was around 2008.

And that was a team with future Stanley Cup champions and stuff. When you kind of take a step back and think about like the path that the Black Hawks are currently on and what they went through a number of years.

Do you guys kind of ever look at it and kind of say, oh, there's maybe a little bit of similarity here with how they want things to kind of progress and get back to that level where you get to the NHL and you get to being contenders and you're all doing it as a group.

Yeah, I think the thought of that super exciting, like you're, like I said, playing the best league in the world and competing against the best guys for the Stanley Cup, there's nothing better than that.

So I think having that picture in mind and that future in mind that I think it excites all of us whether we're prospects on the team, staff, all that, like that's, that's the end goal.

So having that like picture in mind, I think that fuels everybody whether it's in season off season training and just getting no guys and like Larry said, like it kind of starts in development camps, even starts before like I played with a lot of guys in the organization for them, junior and hockey can the stuff and just get to know them and building those bonds so that when when stuff gets tough in the playoffs, you could say like you can lean on each other, you got each other's backs and hopefully, hopefully make a playoff push.

Yeah, and goals when it's down the cup.

That picture is in front of you guys all the time because being down there in the locker room area, they got all those teams plastered up.

So it's got to be a constant reminder of like how going through this league and this team can lead to, you know, the next level and then what that path can be for you guys.

Yeah, absolutely. I think like you said, there's so many photos of Stanley cups from the past 10 years. It's it's cool because I was once a fan of the black ox, obviously my favorite team growing up.

So it's it's cool to kind of be in this organization now and see those those photos of the wall and try to, you know, be there one day.

I think maybe you guys got a little idea of how crazy of a sports down Chicago can be when they win with the bears this year.

When the Hawks were winning Stanley cups, it was the biggest game in town and the Hawks players own this town and I think there are a lot of people that are really excited for that to come back.

So you guys have such a massive opportunity to know both of you are very much in the plans of this organization to win that, you know, when they reach that peak of that mountain, they are both going to be a big part of it.

I hope you I hope you guys can feel that kind of bubbling under the surface from Hawks fans that are just just hungry for the Hawks to get back to where they were.

And I think the vast majority of them understand what's happening right now with the, you know, probably towards the end stage of the rebuild and we're starting to see the growth.

And they sense it and are really ready for it. So I hope you guys appreciate that and understand that too that the fans are ready to go crazy for the black ox again.

Yeah, definitely. I mean, it's, it was through the 2010s. It was, it was why I'll never forget the Grand Park Stanley Cup, where it was just you people as far as you could see.

And then they're, they're ready. They're ready for the Hawks to be great again. We all are of course, but you guys are going to be a big part of it for sure.

Well, the fan loves there for you guys. I mean, you were on the ice after the competition last night for, I don't know, almost an hour kind of felt like signing every autograph.

Like how, like how much does an event like this kind of allow you to have more of an opportunity to kind of connect with fans, especially obviously rockford fans, like where, you know, you're not getting the boards taken down and being able to sign everything for them after every night.

Like how much does an event like this kind of give you that chance to kind of give back to the, to the fans that you're young.

Yeah, I think it's like this event's really cool because really interacted with fans. Obviously, you mean, Larry, you got to go to elementary school and just play like floor hockey with kids and stuff like that. And that's, that's stuff you don't get the opportunity to too much in the season.

So doing stuff like that, interacting with fans here, like I said, they're the reason why we play and they bring them every night. So any, any chance we can do to kind of give back and just do what we can to make them happy. Obviously, it's a privilege.

And yeah, they brought the energy last night. Hopefully they do the same tonight.

You guys lay out any of the kids at the school. No, they laid us out.

All right. Well, but there's a famous video, Jonathan Dave, just annihilating it.

Oh, yeah. I remember that. Yeah. A lot of jerseys and hats last night that you guys had to sign was there anything that you was stuck in front of you that you might not have ever seen before or that kind of caught your eye of like, okay, I guess I'll sign this too.

Oh, I can't remember honestly. I thought I was actually going to send a baby at one point. Yeah, I almost kind of was going to sign the forehead, but I was like, oh, yeah, there's nothing honestly too crazy. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, just I got a sign of wolves jerseys. So I couldn't do that. Oh, yeah, yeah.

That's F you.

Yeah. Or just, you know, creative drawing instead.

Well, it's going to be a great night. Excited for you guys. You got to defend your title. Yeah, I'll try.

You got to. Hopefully we win. So that's the plan. All right.

Are you I was always kind of the big criticism of like the NHL all-star game was as a players aren't.

They're not really invested. They don't really seem to care. It has a different energy down here. It does feel like it matters to you guys a lot.

Yeah, I think we're just like, I think for us having fun is trying. You could say like we're playing during three with guys we've never played with.

And we're just trying trying stuff out there having fun. And when we're having fun, we're trying usually. So that's kind of what the vibes I get from it.

Yeah, yeah, I'd agree. I mean, obviously it's a hometown game for us. So it's like you want to you want to put on a show for the fans.

But you also want to kind of take the take the trophy home. So obviously not going to go out there and lay guys out.

Yeah, maybe not the. I was going to see me with the wolves guys.

Yeah, they're on our team. But yeah, maybe not passing the fuck.

No, I'm kidding. But yeah, no, it's it's going to be a lot of fun. Excited for it.

Well, we are too. Thanks for thanks for doing this. We appreciate it fellas. Have fun tonight.

And we'll see you back in Chicago real soon. Thanks for having us. Yeah, thanks. That's Kevin Kurchinsky and Nick Lardis.