Blackhawks sign prospect Philipp Kurashev to entry-level contract

The Blackhawks have signed forward prospect Philipp Kurashev to a three-year entry-level contract, the team announced Tuesday.

The deal includes a $925,000 cap hit, the maximum amount a player can receive on his ELC, and will start with the 2019-20 season. He’ll finish out the current season in juniors.

Kurashev, a 2018 fourth-round pick out of Switzerland, turned heads at the 2019 World Juniors by leading the tournament in goals. He scored six goals in seven games with the Swiss team, including a pair of scores in a loss to Canada.

At the junior level, where Kurashev is in his third season with the QMJHL’s Quebec Ramparts, he’s also been productive with 28 goals and 34 assists in 57 games this season. His numbers have steadily ticked upwards each season, with his points-per-game average jumping from 0.83 to 1.02 to 1.09.

Those performances were enough for Kurashev to earn his first NHL contract, which makes him the third member of the Blackhawks’ 2018 draft class to sign after first-round picks Adam Boqvist and Nicolas Beaudin. Other forward prospects already under contract for next season include Alexandre Fortin, MacKenzie Entwistle, Matthew Highmore and Brandon Hagel.