It’s not surprising that rookie center Connor Bedard leads the Blackhawks in scoring. It’s more notable that fellow forward Philipp Kurashev ranks second.
With 17 points — six goals and 11 assists — in 24 games, Kurashev has largely maintained a hot start to his fourth NHL season, establishing himself as one of the Hawks’ few reliable offensive contributors.
Two months into another bleak season, as it becomes clear the Hawks might be even worse than they were in 2022-23, Kurashev, forward Jason Dickinson and goalie Petr Mrazek are the only common denominators who seem to have improved significantly, unlike the team overall. Fortunately for the Hawks’ long-term plans, Bedard and a host of other rookies have been exciting, encouraging bright spots. But outside the kids, Kurashev might be the next brightest.
Dickinson and Mrazek are too old to be long-term factors, despite how solid they have been this fall. But Kurashev, having just turned 24 in October, is still young enough to evolve into a longer-term building block.
The Hawks missed him Tuesday against the Avalanche, as he was a late scratch because of an illness. But if he stays generally healthy the rest of the season, he’s on pace to finish with more than 50 points, shattering his career high of 25 last season.
“I’ve just been feeling way better this year,” Kurashev said Tuesday morning. “When you work hard, plays open up, and that’s how it has been going.”
Playing almost exclusively with Bedard has certainly helped. Kurashev has spent 87% of his five-on-five ice time with the 18-year-old phenom. Last season, his most frequent linemate was Taylor Raddysh (47%).
Not only does Bedard’s immense talent — and opponents’ hyper-focus on him — create more space and play-making opportunities for Kurashev, but their consistency and familiarity together makes plays more instinctual.
“[In] the years before, I was always switching lines and positions and all that,” Kurashev said. “It doesn’t matter — I’ll play wherever the coach puts me. But it has been awesome just to build that chemistry and read off each other. It makes it a lot easier on the ice. You don’t have to think as much. You’re just used to it already.”
Alongside Bedard, Kurashev has discovered his niche as a set-up guy. He’s shooting less frequently than before, yet passing better. His rate of primary shot assists — passes that lead directly to teammates’ shots — per 60 minutes has increased from 4.2 and 4.8 the last two seasons to 8.5 this season, according to data from All Three Zones. That’s well above the NHL average and second among healthy Hawks, behind only Bedard.
Kurashev said his growing comfort level in the NHL with 215 games under his belt means he has a better sense of which plays work and which don’t. He’s also feeling more comfortable showing his true personality. He’s naturally a quiet, introverted person, and that hasn’t changed, but coach Luke Richardson has noticed him acting “more confident” and embracing the importance of in-game communication.
One example came Sunday during the Hawks’ loss to the Canucks.
“[I was] barking at him on the bench one play where he didn’t get the puck deep, and he answered back,” Richardson said. “He doesn’t just go into a shell and not say anything. He actually talks back [like], ‘Yeah, I know I have to have that.’ He’s taking ownership of it and feeling more confident as a person to express that.
“It’s a step for him, and he brings people along with him. [Lukas] Reichel is another quiet guy, and they’re best buddies. Hopefully that’ll bring more personality to Reichel on the ice, too.”
