Sunday morning, the Chicago Blackhawks announced that the team had recalled defenseman Wyatt Kaiser and returned defenseman Kevin Korchinski to the Rockford IceHogs.

Korchinski, 20, was expected to spend most of the season in Rockford, so his demotion doesn’t come as a surprise. While Korchinski failed to record a point in his nine games in Chicago, he showed obvious improvement in all areas of his game.

“He settled down defensively,” interim head coach Anders Sorensen said ahead of his season debut. “He’s steadier back there. He plays the position much better now. We drafted him as an offensive defenseman. We want to use his strength in those areas, and we’ve seen progress in those areas.”  After the game, he called Korchinski’s performance “unbelievable.”

Kaiser had played in 28 games this season before getting sent to Rockford for a reset. “Get down, play a lot of minutes, and be ready to go,” Sorensen said when asked what the message was to Kaiser. “Focus on finding your game again.”

In his four games in Rockford, Kaiser recorded an assist and finished with a +5 rating.

The Blackhawks face the Dallas Stars tonight at the United Center. Expect Kaiser to be in the lineup.