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| Kevin Korchinski in action for the Contacts last season. |
The 16-year-old from the Saskatoon Contacts under-18 hockey team
has come up thought the game as an offensive-defenceman. As a result of having
the skill set to play that role, Korchinski will be a sought after addition at
the highest levels of hockey.
After collecting 10 goals and 37 assists in 31 regular
season games with the Saskatoon Generals under-15 club in the 2018-19 campaign,
Korchinski found a WHL home being selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the
first round and 10th overall in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.
He proceeded to play his 15-year-old season with the
Contacts as a rookie in Saskatchewan’s under-18 AAA hockey league. Korchinski
posted seven goals and 19 assists for 26 points in 41 regular season games.
He helped the Contacts finish third overall in the
Saskatchewan under-18 AAA league with a 30-12-2 record. The Contacts swept the
Prince Albert Mintos in a best-of-five league quarter-final series 3-0.
Saskatoon proceeded to be swept by the Moose Jaw Warriors
3-0 in a best-of-five league semifinal series. The rest of the under-18 AAA
playoffs were cancelled nationally on March 13 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic.
Korchinski appeared in one WHL regular season game with the Thunderbirds in Seattle on Nov. 16, 2019.
Korchinski appeared in one WHL regular season game with the Thunderbirds in Seattle on Nov. 16, 2019.
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| Kevin Korchinski put up 26 points with the Contacts last season. |
On Wednesday, Korchinski, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs
154 pounds, found out he was one of 113 players named to Hockey Canada’s
virtual under-17 development camp, which runs July 19-25.
The players who are selected for this camp are on Hockey
Canada’s radar to be placed on one of the three teams the sport body sends to World
Under-17 Hockey Challenge. At the moment, the upcoming World Under-17 Hockey
Challenge is slated for Oct. 31 to Nov. 7 for Charlottetown and Summerside,
P.E.I., depending how the world situation unfolds related to COVID-19.
While Korchinski won’t get to compete in a live camp, the
fact he picked up this camp selection is a result of all the hard work he has
put in through this point in his career. He has gotten to this point with little
fanfare outside of folks in personnel departments from WHL teams.
With all that noted, Korchinski has the making to be one of
those players you hear about in the game for some time to come.
Overall, Korchinski was one of six Saskatchewan product invited to Hockey Canada’s virtual under-17 camp. Weyburn product Dylan Ernst, who is a Warriors under-18 goalie, will also take part in that virtual event.
Overall, Korchinski was one of six Saskatchewan product invited to Hockey Canada’s virtual under-17 camp. Weyburn product Dylan Ernst, who is a Warriors under-18 goalie, will also take part in that virtual event.
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| Kevin Korchinski will participate in a virtual Hockey Canada camp. |
Parker’s older sister, Mackenna, was a former member of Canada’s
under-18 women’s national team.
Regina product Kyren Gronick, who played for his hometown
Pat Canadians under-18 AAA team, and Delisle product Jhett Larson, who played
for the Notre Dame Hounds under-18 AAA team, cracked the virtual camp invite
list at forward.
Niall Crocker, who is prospect forward for the WHL’s Prince
Albert Raiders, and Brandon Lisowsky, who is a prospect forward for the WHL’s
Saskatoon Blades, earned virtual camp invites too.
For Korchinski and the rest of those young players, the
under-17 virtual camp invite by Hockey Canada is likely just the next step
towards making their biggest strides in the game.
Meaningful games mark real return for a
sport, other notes
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| Who knows when Cody Fajardo (#7) and the Roughriders will play again. |
That means the sport has to be engaged in regular season or
post-season action, where a championship is on the line.
At the moment in North America, that would mean the NASCAR
Cup Series, UFC and PGA can be officially returned to action during these
COVID-19 pandemic times.
The COVID-19 pandemic created massive shutdowns in the
sports world in North America starting on March 11, when the NBA paused its
season.
Besides the NASCAR Cup Series, UFC and PGA actually
getting into action, there have been a lot planning for other circuits to get
back into action. The NHL, NBA and MLB have cemented return to play plans that
are slated to be executed in late July or early August.
Until any of these leagues actually have teams participate
in a meaningful game, you can’t say those circuits are officially back in
action.
The same goes for any sports league in Canada. That goes for
the CFL, CHL, U Sports, CJFL or any minor sports.
As far as the CFL is concerned, you wonder if it will
return. On Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who are the flagship
franchise of the circuit, announced they have $7.6-million in reserves and a stabilization
fund, but all of that money is projected to be depleted by late fall.
The Roughriders are projecting a loss of $10-million for
2020-21 fiscal year if the 2020 CFL regular season and playoffs for that year
are indeed wiped out. The club posted a loss of $210,064 for the 2019-20 fiscal
year, which included the club contributing just over $670,000 to the CFL for
the management of the Montreal Alouettes.
In Saskatchewan, minor baseball and softball games are planned for July. Until they play meaningful regular season games, those sports can’t be considered returned.
In Saskatchewan, minor baseball and softball games are planned for July. Until they play meaningful regular season games, those sports can’t be considered returned.
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| The return of Nolan Maier and the Saskatoon Blades is uncertain. |
Still, there are no certainties on how sports will progress
in Canada and North America. Over the past two weeks, it seems there have been
a constant barraged of reports coming out of the United States of athletes
testing positive for COVID-19.
On Friday, the United States confirmed a record daily high
for new COVID-19 cases at about 45,300. On Saturday, the state of Florida
recorded a record of 9,585 new COVID-19 cases, which is a record for the state
in a 24-hour period.
Florida’s old record of 8,942 new COVID-19 cases was
actually set one day earlier on Friday.
Even the most powerful professional league in North America
in the NFL showed cracks in its defiance of COVID-19 this week. NFL officials
had given the impression the circuit would play a regular season that is close
to normal.
On Thursday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame cancelled the
Hall of Fame Game set for Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio, that was to feature the NFL’s
Dallas Cowboys taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony set for Aug. 8 has
been postponed until August of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That might foreshadow a sign of things to come for the NFL.
The COVID-19 case spikes in the United States offers further
confirmation how contagious the virus can be.
In Canada where there has been a total of just over 103,000 COVID-19
cases so far this year, there seems to be a more general feeling that Canadian
government and medical health officials are doing a better job of handling the
pandemic than officials in the United States are.
In Saskatchewan, Premier Scott Moe and Dr. Saqib Shahab, who
is Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer, should be praised for their
work. As of Saturday, there were just 103 active cases of COVID-19 in
Saskatchewan.
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| Will Rylan Kleiter, left, and the Saskatoon Hilltops play in 2020? |
In comparison to the United States, Saskatchewan’s response
to the COVID-19 pandemic has been at an all-star level as events have unfolded.
If there were doubts about this in early June, they have likely been erased
now.
Still looking at what is happening in the United States, you
can expect that will cause more caution to be used regarding when various sports
teams, leagues and minor sports bodies will return to play in Canada.
At the moment, it appears caution is definitely the best
course of action.
- On Tuesday, the Government of Saskatchewan announced contact sports were allowed in the province and spectators are allowed at sports games as long as they following physical distancing measures. Only outdoor sports facilities are permitted to be in action at the current time.
- On Wednesday, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced its 2020 class of inductees. They include players Jarome Iginla, Marian Hossa, Kevin Lowe, Kim St-Pierre and Doug Wilson. Ken Holland, who is a long time NHL executive and current Edmonton Oilers general manager, is going in as a builder.
- Theoren Fleury wasn’t elected to the Hall of Fame on Wednesday. Here is hoping the retired star right-winger from the NHL’s Calgary Flames will crack into the Hall, because he has a lengthy list of accomplishments in the game and his journey of perseverance on the mental health front has been incredible.
- Gregg Drinnan has been tracking the fallout from the lawsuit filed by Daniel Carcillo and Garrett Taylor against the CHL alleging various forms of abuse during their major junior careers. They are hoping to have the lawsuit certified as class-action. Drinnan rounded up various developments on that front in his Taking Note blog that can be found right here.
- The 2020 Canadian Final Rodeo slated for Nov. 3 to 8 in Red Deer, Alta., has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- On Friday, the Medicine Hat Cubs junior B hockey team announced it will not play in the 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic and diminishing sponsorship revenues. The Cubs play out of the Heritage Junior Hockey League in Alberta.
- On Friday, the Saskatoon Blades hired Jeff Harvey as their new goaltending coach. The 37-year-old played goal in the WHL with the Kootenay Ice, Swift Current Broncos and Everett Silvertips from 2000 to 2004. Harvey suited up for five seasons in the U Sports ranks with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team from 2005 to 2010. Harvey replaces retired NHL goalie in 52-year-old Tim Cheveldae as the Blades goaltending coach.
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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