Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev hasn’t shied away from anything — jellyfish included — this season.
Six games since returning from a left wrist injury suffered in the preseason opener, Kurashev was swimming in the ocean Friday outside the Hawks’ hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when a jellyfish stung his left wrist.
He downplayed the pain after practice Saturday, calling it “just a little burn,” and it didn’t affect his availability Sunday for the Hawks’ loss to the Panthers.
But if he possesses some special sea-creature powers now, he won’t complain. This season presents an important opportunity — given that he’s 24, four years into his NHL career and making $2.25 million — to prove he can be a consistent offensive weapon for the Hawks long-term, and he has repeatedly recognized that reality.
Dynamic, eye-opening, productive stretches followed by lethargic, invisible, unproductive stretches have been a recurring pattern throughout Kurashev’s first three seasons, so any small-sample success must be taken with a grain of salt.
He has experienced some success the last few weeks, though, since coach Luke Richardson put him on the first line next to Connor Bedard and Nick Foligno.
On one hand, it’s easy to assume that Bedard is the true driver of that success and that Kurashev is just the lucky recipient. On the other hand, Kurashev’s placement on Bedard’s line has coincided with Bedard catching fire, and that phenomenon — Kurashev making line-mates better — is something the Hawks have occasionally witnessed before.
At the moment, Bedard seems to have stronger chemistry with Kurashev than with any other Hawks forward, and that’s an exciting development for the latter’s quest to exceed his mediocre 2022-23 stat line of 25 points in 70 games. With six points in his first seven games of 2023-24, he’s on pace to do so handily.
“[Our line is] starting to get used to each other and [know] where each other likes to be on the ice,” Kurashev said. “You can read off each other like that. It has been working, and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Bedard has raved about Kurashev several times recently.
“He’s really smart,” Bedard said. “He sees the ice so well. He’s willing to go get the puck, and, out of the corner, [he’s] making the quick play and just seeing where guys are. It’s really impressive to see that.
‘‘He’s been a lot of fun to play with, and we talk on the bench about plays we think we could do. That adds on to the chemistry.”
Richardson has urged Kurashev — along with most other Hawks — to start shooting more often because Kurashev’s shot rates have declined significantly. He has only had two shots on goal (on 10 attempts) during five-on-five play.
That might not be a huge issue, however, when Bedard — who will never be accused of not shooting enough — is next to him. Kurashev has seemingly focused on being more of a puck retriever and setup guy for Bedard, and he has thrived in that role.
On Thursday at the Lightning, Kurashev assisted on both of Bedard’s goals, including an assertive cut to the net before the first one.
And on Sunday, before Bedard stripped Kevin Stenlund for his highlight-reel snipe, it was Kurashev who forced Stenlund to turn back toward his goal line by cutting off his potential zone-exit route along the boards.
Richardson noticed that play, too, mentioning Monday that Kurashev was “all in on that goal” despite not officially earning an assist.
“He’s not afraid to go in the hard areas, and I think that really bodes well for him,” Foligno said recently. “He’s still a guy trying to figure out who he is. And I think he’s realizing that there are certain things that he does really well.”
