Yahoo Sports Blackhawks Confident Kurashev Will Turn Season Around
Philipp Kurashev has struggled all season and it has been an unfortunate turn of events for the Chicago Blackhawks. He was one of the bright spots for the team in 2023-24 and looked primed to continue to get better as well as be a core piece.
So far this season, he hasn't been able to find any production as the 25-year-old has three goals and five points in 26 games. It doesn't help that the entire team has struggled offensively and the lines have changed every game so nobody can get comfortable playing alongside each other.
When Anders Sorensen was asked about Kurashev, the head coach showed belief that the young forward will turn things around saying, "We've seen it in the past. We've seen it last year, he's still a young player and we've got to help him out here to find that rhythm. We'll take it one day at a time here, but we've saw some progress in some areas and some areas where we still gotta work on for sure."
Kurashev started last season off on a great note and immediately looked like he was finally breaking out. After 16 points, 21 points, and 25 points, recording 54 points in 2023-24 (75 games) would be considered a breakout season. So while he didn't struggle overall or at the start, he did need to turn his game around on multiple occasions.
Kurashev had an eight-game stretch where he recorded one goal and two points within the first quarter of the season. When Connor Bedard, his full-time linemate last season, got injured for 14 games, Kurashev again recorded just one goal and two points in 14 games. That means he recorded 50 points in the other 53 games.
Consistency is a bit of a problem as those splits show, but he has the potential and did prove he can turn his season around in a big way.
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When Sorensen also spoke on Kurashev's confidence issues, he said, "I think guys like that, when they're offensive players and they're not producing, I think it gets magnified of course, so we see some of that." The difference this season is that there are more potential offensive producers, though not many have made huge impacts thus far with the defensive game the Blackhawks have played for the majority of the season.
"I think his work off the puck has been better. His engagement off the puck has been better." Kurashev needs to find some consistency on a line or with certain teammates so that he can find consistency in his game and continue moving in the right direction.
Kurashev is playing on the penalty kill, but is completely off both power plays and has no points in his last seven games. He is a RFA after this season and typically players perform better in contract years. There's still lots of time for him to figure it out, but it needs to start getting there quicker.
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