PITTSBURGH — In defenseman Kevin Korchinski’s two brief stints with the Blackhawks this season, one thing has been made clear: Gaining strength needs to be his No. 1 priority this summer.
Korchinski, 20, has improved his decision-making to become more responsible defensively, but his lack of strength compared to older NHL competition has prevented him from improving more in that regard. At times, he has been pushed around.
That’s no secret to Korchinski, either, and he’s motivated to do something about it.
‘‘I said last year that I was going to put on more muscle than I did,’’ Korchinski said before the Hawks’ 5-0 loss Tuesday against the Penguins. ‘‘I’m a kid who just wants to be on the ice, you could say. So it’s hard finding that happy medium where you take time off the ice just because you’ve got to let your body . . . not heal, but you don’t want to burn so many calories that you can’t put on any muscle. [I’ve] just got to take some time off from the ice . . . and come in next year looking a lot bigger.’’
Last April, when the Hawks’ season ended and Korchinski went home to Saskatchewan, many of his friends in junior hockey weren’t done with their seasons yet.
That made him feel guilty about not being on the ice himself — ‘‘You could be working on things,’’ his subconscious told him — so he didn’t spend as much time solely in the gym as he should have. This year, he knows not to make that mistake again.
Plus, it should help that Korchinski is a food lover. For some players with high metabolism, gaining weight can require eating so much that it becomes annoying or uncomfortable. But Korchinski doesn’t fall into that category. And when he wants to splurge, there’s always his mom’s home-cooked pierogi.
‘‘I’m Ukrainian, so . . . ,’’ he said, grinning. ‘‘Those you maybe shouldn’t have every day. But to pack meat on your body, they’re awesome.”
Smarter decisions
Korchinski’s smarter decision-making boils down to judging when to take risks — by pinching into the offensive zone to pursue a loose puck, by leaving the slot in the defensive zone to pin an opposing forward along the boards, etc. — and when not to.
Last season, he was a rabbit staring down a carrot in those situations. This season, he’s willing to hold back sometimes, such when the Hawks were protecting a lead in the third period Sunday.
‘‘You’ve just got to be mature and know what the score is and the risk-reward ratio,’’ he said. ‘‘If I pinch, are we going to get a scoring chance or just keep the puck in? If I pinch and they beat me to it, will it be a two-on-one [rush]? [It’s about] playing on your toes but not playing dumb on your toes.’’
Better awareness doesn’t guarantee better results, however. He still endures messy, drawn-out shifts sometimes. Tuesday was an especially bad night for him, too. He took two penalties in the first period, got swamped in the defensive zone during some long second-period shifts and then took a terrible route defending one of Kevin Hayes’ third-period goals.
Something else the Hawks haven’t seen translate to the NHL yet is Korchinski’s offensive skill. He is without a point in 14 games this season.
Veteran plans
Veteran forward Pat Maroon was a healthy scratch for a second consecutive game, but interim coach Anders Sorensen said there’s a plan to get him into a few more games before he retires next week.
The same is true for veteran defenseman Alec Martinez, although his situation is more complicated because he also is dealing with an injury and hasn’t announced any career plans beyond this season.