The Henderson Silver Knights haven't produced much talent for the Vegas Golden Knights in recent years. Aside from Pavel Dorofeyev and Kaedan Korczak, the AHL team hasn't produced players with staying power within their big brother's organization. However, the latter has proven himself worthy to stick around.
In fact, the 24-year-old has done well with the spotlight on him. He's already gotten a roster promotion by playing alongside Noah Hanifin before Monday's game against the Florida Panthers.
VGK lines at morning skate
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) November 10, 2025
Barbashev-Eichel-Marner⁰Saad-Hertl-Dorofeyev⁰Smith-(Howden)-Kolesar⁰Reinhardt-Sissons-Holtz
McNabb-Theodore⁰Hanifin-Korczak⁰Lauzon-Whitecloud
*Howden is working on the other rink with the skills guy while the rest of the team is at morning…
It's with good reason that the defenseman earned this promotion. He has two goals and an assist in 14 games, making him one of the more underrated defensemen on the Golden Knights. He also has 22 blocked shots and 26 hits in that span, marking an emergence for the Saskatchewan native.
Korczak's start shows he's come a long way from being a Golden Knights' second-round pick (41st overall). He's gotten involved in every play and carries the necessary size (6'3", 206 lbs.) needed to fill in on the blue line. Golden Knights fans can't forget that the group is missing bigger guys like Alex Pietrangelo and Nicolas Hague, who were noteworthy losses to start the season.
So, where does Korczak go from here? Obviously, he must go up like the movie. However, there's more to his game than simply building off the recent promotion. It involves learning from an established defenseman on what it takes to truly stick around.
What Kaedan Korczak must do to stick around after his recent promotion on the Vegas Golden Knights
First, Korczak isn't one to generate too many takeaways. He only had one entering Monday's game against the Florida Panthers, with his career high being seven in 2024-25. Therefore, the objective is simple: generate more takeaways.
The good news is that Korczak plays like a literal bulldog. He gets involved in the play, especially in puck battles. The 24-year-old does whatever it takes to make life harder for incoming attackers by being persistent on the forecheck. Having an ability to stick onto your covered guys is something that not many defenders have, making Korczak even better.
As for the offensive part, the defenseman does great at playing in a facilitating role. The former second-round pick thrives on the rush and skates extremely well. It's part of why he had 10 assists in 40 games last season. He felt comfortable in transition and feeding his teammates on the rush.
Of course, getting more experience under his belt is a must. After all, it's what comes with doing anything in life, whether it's working at a new job or trying out any new activity. That will also be the case with Korczak, who's in the same boat as fellow youngster Pavel Dorofeyev (25 years old).
If he continues developing into a noteworthy defenseman, it'll mean another solid promotion in the future. Korczak has shown he can be a top-four defenseman in the NHL, adjusting to the game and stepping up his play. You know what they say about guys like him.