One Blackhawks player who MUST enjoy a red-hot second half of the 2024-25 season

The Chicago Blackhawks look like a team that will remain in the NHL’s doldrums for at least another year, but that doesn’t mean 2024-25 can’t wind up as a successful campaign. If the younger players on the team grow, fans can consider 2024-25 a job well done. But right now, only two of those players have shown any growth. 

Connor Bedard, despite the ultra-slow first half, looks like he’s picking up the pace with 31 points and nine goals in 36 games. Hawks fans have got to be breathing a sigh of relief right about now, given the hardships he’s faced earlier this year. 

If Bedard has finally snapped out of his predicament for good, that alone gives Hawks fans something to cheer for. But let’s not forget about Alex Vlasic, who looks like another player Hawks fans should see grow into a star. He’s got 16 points and two goals in 36 games and has shown some sheer talent in getting in front of and stealing pucks. 

But, the player I’m most anxious to see bust out of their season-long slump is Philipp Kurashev, who has been beyond miserable so far this season. It’s easy to argue nobody else in the NHL could use a stronger boost than Kurashev, who has just three goals and five points in 29 games, plus a brutal minus-27 rating.

Philipp Kurashev has got to pick it up for the Blackhawks in 2024-25

The last thing fans need is for 2023-24 to have been the high-water mark for who was once a promising Blackhawks player. If you remember it right, Kurashev impressed all of us with 18 goals and 54 points despite putting up a minus-44 rating. 

But much of the latter wasn’t his fault, considering how miserable the Hawks were without the puck and how inconsistent they were when they had the puck. He was also looking like a potential first-liner, given his 19:01 average total ice time per game, but that’s also gone to the wayside with three and a half minutes less time this season. 

What’s particularly alarming is that, not only is Kurashev’s offensive prowess nonexistent this season, his on-ice shooting percentage at even strength is a measly 3.0 percent. I’ve written roughly 1,200 articles of NHL-related content in 2024, and this is the first time I’ve come across a metric that’s this bad in that category. 

Overall, Kurashev has a ton of ground to make up if he plans on remaining a viable part of this Blackhawks team. But, if he turns it around and resembles the player he was last season, the Hawks might see quite a bit more success toward the back half of the year, knowing they could have a sound points-producer back.