The Vegas Golden Knights signed 2019 second-round pick, defenseman Kaedan Korczak, to a three-year entry-level contract, the club announced Saturday.
Korczak was selected with the No. 41 pick in this past summer’s draft, a selection that Vegas moved up seven spots in order to select the 6-foot-2 defenseman from Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
The 18-year-old Korczak is the second-leading scorer on Kelowna of the WHL with 28 points (five goals, 23 assists). The Rockets trail Kamloops by six points in the B.C. Division as of Saturday. Korczak had 33 points all of last season, appearing to be well on his way to surpass that mark.
Korczak was considered a stay-at-home defenseman when the Golden Knights drafted him. He skates well for his size and does the little things well; think of a lite version of Brayden McNabb. This scoring uptick he’s on is a good sign for Korczak’s development, should he stay on this trajectory.
The signing of Korczak means the Golden Knights have locked up their top-two draft picks from this past summer. First-round pick Peyton Krebs signed his ELC on Nov. 16.
Fellow 2019 draftees Isaiah Saville, Layton Ahac and Ryder Donovan are not eligible to sign ELCs due to NCAA rules. There’s no timetable on Pavel Dorofeyev or Mason Primeau’s entry-level deals at this time; Dorofeyev is in Russia with Metallurg of the KHL, and Primeau has 13 points in 27 games with North Bay of the OHL.