BLACKHAWKS BANTER 5

 

Late Monday evening the Blackhawks released a statement regarding a player swap with their AHL affiliate of the Rockford Icehogs. Philipp Kurashev will spend some time in Rockford while Josiah Slavin will likely make his NHL debut with the Blackhawks in their upcoming road trip.  In 19 games this season, Kurashev has five assists but has not been able to find the back of the net so far.  The Switzerland native skated in his first game with Chicago at the beginning of the previous season, making his league debut on January 15, 2021, and scoring his first goal in the following game.  Although Kurashev played a big role within the lineup in his rookie season, the Hawks have gained more experienced forwards including the return of Captain Jonathan Toews, and fellow center-man Kirby Dach. Under former head coach Jeremey Colliton the Swiss-Russian player got a significant amount of playing time at the beginning of the 2021-2022 campaign but was visibly going through what’s referred to as the sophomore slump.  A change behind the bench lead to switches on the ice. Former Icehogs head coach Derek King created some winning chances for the Chicago team while Kurashev only spent seven minutes on the ice in theirt against Vancouver last week, and was named a healthy scratch in a loss to Calgary.  His three shots on goal during Sunday night’s game weren’t enough to secure his spot with the main squad.  Kurashev will play for the IceHogs in their trip to Milwaukee tonight, and likely see some time time with them before reclaiming his spot in the lineup