Kurashev: «Lugano’s push helped me in the NHL»
Switzerland-Russia tomorrow afternoon (3.15pm) is worth the first place in Group A of the World Cup. A special game. And even more for Philipp Kurashev, emerging talent of the Swiss national team and of the Chicago Blackhawks. Born and raised in St. Gallen to Russian parents, the 21-year-old has many relatives still in and around Moscow. «They will be glued to the television,« he told us from Riga.
From their apartment in St. Gallen, Konstantin and Elena Kurashev will enjoy every minute of the match. They always do. Whenever Philipp plays, Mom and Dad are invariably there, in front of the screen. Distant but close. « They haven’t missed a single game in my first season in the NHL,« the #23 forward tells us. «Over the past five months, they have stayed up some 50 nights to watch me work with the Blackhawks. So have all my relatives in Moscow. By now, my whole family lives on U.S. time. I do not know how my parents do it, by the end of the season they will be more tired than me. Regrettably, because of the pandemic they couldn’t come to see me live, but I felt them at my side».
Philipp will experience a personal challenge against Russia: «Beyond the flags, my relatives from St. Gallen and Moscow will have their eyes on me. This time they will be wide awake, considering the favorable schedule. It’s not the first time I’ll face Russia. It has happened before with the senior national team in 2019, at the World Cup in Bratislava. And also with the junior level. It’s a special emotion, I will never get used to it. I have both Swiss and Russian souls. It’s natural. But ever since I was a little boy, I’ve worn the Swiss jersey with joy and pride. I represent the country in which I was born and raised, where my friends live. It’s an amazing opportunity for which I’m very grateful.
Two years ago Philipp Kurashev took part in the World Cup as a semi-unknown rookie. Now he’s one of our four NHL gems: «Expectations are different, I realize that. In 2019 I was 19 years old and had only played three professional games in the AHL. Patrick Fischer trusted me and projected me onto a global stage right away. It was all new and beautiful to me, I was looking around like a kid in Disneyland. Three seasons into the Canadian youth leagues, I found myself sharing a locker room with the likes of Josi, Fiala and Niederreiter. The opposition included international superstars. People like Malkin, Ovechkin and Kovalchuk, to remain in Russia. Today, after an entire season in the NHL, I’m a bit used to it, but the Magic of the World Cup remains intact. What a pity for the surroundings, conditioned by the pandemic. In Bratislava I recall a great celebration, whereas here we have to observe strict health protocols. I just read that from Tuesday we will have 1,000 spectators. It’ s better than nothing, I’m happy.
After a season in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs, this year Chicago launched Philipp Kurashev into the world’s finest league. In 54 NHL games, the St. Gallen native has totaled eight goals and eight assists. «There are several things I need to improve. I want to become a more productive forward and I will work hard in the Summer to take the next step. That being said, I am very happy with my first experience with the Blackhawks. I was regularly deployed and I learned so much from watching teammates like Patrick Kane. I was also lucky enough to share the journey with another Swiss rookie, Pius Suter. We already knew each other well, plus I played in the GCK Lions’ Under 20 team with his brother Kaj. Pius and I helped and supported each other, especially off the ice, spending a lot of free time together».
Last fall, Philipp Kurashev started the season with Lugano: 13 games, 9 assists. «Those three months in HCL were very nice and helped me a lot to make the jump to the NHL. The teammates, the technical staff and the whole HCL organization helped me every day. I was able to come to the camp in Chicago in great shape, ready to play at high intensity. The Blackhawks’ coaches noticed it too and they immediately promoted me in the starting line-up. I am really grateful to the Blackhawks club. Thirteen games was not a lot, the quarantine slowed us down and deprived me of some matches, but I had fun and I keep good memories.»
In the 8-1 win over Slovakia, Philipp scored his first goal in this World Cup: « We displayed a good reaction after the crushing defeat two days before against Sweden. That was our goal: to shift gears from the beginning. We were solid and performing, both in defense and in attack. The true character of this team emerged. Now we have to continue on this path.
Normally lined up in the middle, the player played yesterday on the wing in line with Hischier and Ambühl: «They are two great champions, I had a lot of fun. I know Nico well, it was a return to my origins. In fact, when I was 15 years old, I was his winger in the Bern Novices.» It was the 2014-15 season: Hischier scored 61 points in 22 games, Kurashev 50 in 26.
What about Ambühl instead? «He is an exemplary professional with a unique energy. To see him so fast and dominant at 37 years old is fantastic. My father coached him in the elite juniors at Davos and that always makes me smile.»
About Bobrovsky
Now on to Russia, while on Sunday, again at 3.15 pm, it will be the turn of Belarus. Tomorrow, in the opponent’s goal, the Swiss won’t find Sergej Bobrovsky. The Florida Panthers’ goalkeeper, recently eliminated from the playoffs, will reach Riga only on Saturday. His name stirs indelible emotions in young Philipp. It was against the Panthers, last January 19th, that he scored his first goal in the National Hockey League. In that cold night in St. Gallen, Konstantin and Elena Kurashev woke up the whole building.