Kaedan Korczak

July 2023 – The confident 22-year-old Korczak will enter 2023-24 as a familiar face for Vegas fans, having suited up for his NHL debut back in 2021-22 and appearing in ten contests this past year. Putting up 60 PIMS in 50 games played with AHL Henderson, Korczak has become a harder player to play against since turning pro, which has helped him to make the jump to spot duty in the NHL. Expect to see Korczak get another year spent largely in Henderson given Vegas’s depth on the blueline, but he should again see call-up time as he has proven ready for a lower leverage NHL shutdown role. Taylor Davis

January 2022 – Following his silver medal performance with Team Canada in the World Junior Championships, and 11-game professional debut with Vegas’ AHL affiliate in Henderson during the 2020-21 campaign, 2021-22 has been less than stellar for Korczak. A few weeks short of his 21^st birthday and currently assigned Henderson, he hasn’t seen ice time for the Sliver Knights since mid-November. During a ten-game, early season span, the Yorkton, Saskatchewan native registered a goal and an assist on 13 shots, and earned a three-game call-up to Vegas without appearing in an NHL contest, but appears to currently be working on his game during practice instead of in AHL play. At his young age, Vegas’ 2019 second round draft selection (41^st overall) and still promising blue line prospect has plenty of time to develop, but it is a bit disconcerting that none of that time is coming during actual game play. Kevin Wickersham

March 2020 – Korczak has all the physical attributes to become a NHL defenseman, but it appears something is not clicking. He is a right-handed shot, who plays both sides. He is big, skates and moves well, but his decision making with and without the puck is suspect. He loses his coverage while defending the rush, often drifting towards the puck carrier while allowing the weak side forward to sneak behind him. Korczak has made some poor decisions with the puck, often throwing hope passes up the middle that are intercepted. He is counted on in all situations but his compete level needs to increase to warrant his usage. He just turned 19 in January, which gives the Vegas staff plenty of time to mold him into a NHL defenseman. Danny McGillicuddy 

June 2019 – Korczak was selected 41st overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He’s an intelligent two-way defender that provides quick transition to support teammates based on his excellent skating with a big frame. Although Korczak put up respectable numbers for a draft eligible defenseman playing for the Kelowna Rockets, he was regarded as one of the best one-on-one defenders heading into the draft. It’s this complimentary style of play that had him fly under the radar because his point potential wasn’t as high as some other prospects picked right before him in the draft. He won’t ever run a power play at the NHL level, but he’ll allow another defender to run rickshaw at even strength, and pick up points along the way. Mason Black