Korchinski hits the right notes during rise up NHL draft lists

SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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Kevin Korchinski is a man in demand. National Hockey League teams have been lining up to talk to the draft-eligible defenceman since the Seattle Thunderbirds were eliminated in the Western Hockey League final. 

"Doing a lot of Zoom calls with a lot of teams," said the 18-year-old from Saskatoon. "I wasn't at the combine and teams want to get their draft lists set relatively soon. They don't want to do it at the last minute. So, this week and next week is full of Zooms ... Each day I get a new Zoom request." 

Korchinski fields a lot of similar questions during the interviews. 

"It's not too hard just answering the questions and being truthful because it's not hard to tell the truth," he said. "But when they hit you with a question that's not to do with hockey, a random question, it kind of throws you off a bit."

For example? 

"A team asked what my [hidden] talent was and I said, 'I play the piano,'" Korchinski said. "They asked me to play piano for them, but I hadn't played in 10 months because we don't have one at my billet house. I said, 'Not going to happen. I don't want to do myself like that!' That would've been tricky, because I haven't played in a while." 

Instead, Korchinski has been busy playing a big role on a surprising Seattle team that came back to win series against the Portland Winterhawks and Kamloops Blazers before bowing out against the Edmonton Oil Kings. Korchinski has hit a lot of the right notes while racking up 65 points in 67 regular season games and then adding 19 more over 25 playoff games. 

Korchinski started the season as a 'B' rated prospect on the players to watch list published by NHL Central Scouting, which means he was considered a candidate to be