Photo courtesy of TheAHL.com

Fantasy Summary

Big and powerful forward who can play both center and wing. Decent offensive skills but lacks high-end talent.


Observations

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May 2023 – The odds of Thurkauf making the NHL at this point of his career are very limited. After playing the past two years in Switzerland with HC Lugano and putting up mediocre numbers, it looks like the leap to the NHL will be too big to overcome. For a former 7th round pick it’s not too surprising, but disappointing after a promising AHL season in 2017-18. Joshua Rosa

September 2020 – The Swiss-born winger has been loaned to EV Zug of the NLA for the beginning of the 2020-2021 campaign. Expect him to return to Cleveland when the AHL season begins. Dave Hall
February 2020 – Thurkauf recently suited up for his first NHL action following an emergency call-up to the Blue Jackets. While he only saw eight minutes of ice time during the game, the 22-year-old serves as yet another prospect to make the jump this season. His stay was short-lived, as the Jackets have sent him back to Cleveland (AHL) where he is enjoying a career year with 25 points (9G + 16A) through 47 games. The Swiss-born centreman is currently in the final year of his entry-level contract, so the timing of his production could not be more spot-on. While he still a couple of years away from putting up fantasy worthy numbers, his development continues to trend upward in the team’s depth chart. Dave Hall

November 2019 – Playing in his third season with the Monsters, Calvin Thurkauf is off to a respectable start. In 10 games played, the 6’2 centre has tallied two goals, five assists and a +4 rating. These numbers have him sitting fourth in team scoring and is doing so skating on the squad’s fourth line. The former Kelowna Rocket is in the final year of his entry level contract but has struggled to translate his junior production into the pro rankings. Perhaps an increase in minutes will help the seventh-round pick gain some confidence and chip in a little more on the score sheet. Until than, you can still consider him few years away from any sort of fantasy value, if any at all. Dave Hall

 

June 2019 – Thurkauf had a forgettable season, scoring just two points in 26 AHL games. The Swiss forward regressed mightily from his 24 points in 2017-18. A lack of production for a seventh-round draft pick is disastrous and can end an AHL career. Therkauf, he has one more year remaining on his contract. With that, he has one more/last chance to prove his worth to the Blue Jackets organization. There is no fantasy value to be had here. Frank Pellegrini

 

October 2018 – Thurkauf has begun his second campaign in the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters, and he is currently pointless through his first three games. While his stats to date may not be impressive, Thurkauf has the talent to remain a solid top-six AHL player. But he needs to play with more consistency if he is ever going to crack the Blue Jackets’ roster. If he ever does, his best case scenario is likely as a bottom-six center. Frank Pellegrini

January 2018 – Thurkauf’s early-year offensive roll has considerably slowed. Without a goal since mid-November, and only three assists in the same span, he’s having a tough time producing with Cleveland’s anemic offense that ranks last in the AHL with 80 goals in 36 contests. Thurkauf has upped his physical presence lately and gained experience centering the Monsters’ top line in the midst of frequent teammate call-ups to CBJ. Kevin Wickersham

November 2017 – Thurkauf has performed well at the start of his initial pro year. Tied with Tyler Motte for Cleveland’s club lead in goals with five, the 20-year-old Swiss forward has excelled in the offensive zone enjoying a sizeable proportion of sheltered minutes, His shot rate is probably unsustainable at 21.7% however. Employing his large frame, Thurkauf exerted a physical presence in juniors which may help as he continues to work on his defensive play while skating next to Sam Vigneault in a third-line role. Should he successfully hone his two-way game at the AHL level, Thurkauf’s road to the NHL might not take as long as that of most seventh-round selections. Kevin Wickersham

September 2017 – In two Traverse City Prospect Tournament games Thürkauf has proven a prolific distributor, tying St. Louis blueliner Jake Walman for tops in assists with four while lining up with top prospects Vitaly Abramov and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Thürkauf added 10 pounds of muscle in the offseason which should prove valuable in his first pro campaign, most likely starting at AHL Cleveland. Kevin Wickersham

July 2017 – Thürkauf, Columbus’ final 2016 Entry Draft selection as an overage prospect, shot up the rankings during last year’s 33-goal, 37-assist WHL Kelowna campaign, topped off with eight goals and 13 assists in the Rockets’ postseason run to the Western Conference Finals. Captaining the 2017 Swiss U20 WJC squad featuring Nico Hischier certainly drew greater attention to his growing offensive game. He inked a three-year entry level deal with the Blue Jackets during the tournament and will likely open 2017-18 with AHL Cleveland. Prior to last year, Thürkauf did not profile as a scoring dynamo though he did land 18 goals and 27 assists in 2015-16 while exerting a physical presence on Kelowna’s checking lines and making his points mainly by plowing past and though opponents towards the net. As he makes the jump to stronger competition in the pros, we’ll see if his game diminishes or if his playmaking skills and smarts help him adjust. Kevin Wickersham

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 5.0
NHL Certainty 4.0
Country SUI
Position C
Roster Type Minors
Shoot/Glove Left
Date of Birth June 27, 1997
Height 6‘2”
Weight 205 lbs
Drafted 2016 Round 7; Overall: 185

Stats

 Season Team League GP G A TP PIM      Playoffs GP G A TP PIM 
 2009-2010 Zug II U15U15-Top3 5 27 0|        
  Swiss Eastern Selects QC Int PW2 0 00 0|        
 2010-2011 Zug U15U15-Elit29 18 1836 38|        
  Zug II U17U17-A2 2 24 2|        
 2011-2012 Zug U15U15-Elit23 32 2355 97|        
  Zug U17U17-Elit1 0 00 0|        
  Zug II U17U17-A1 2 13 2|        
 2012-2013 Zug U17U17-Elit27 21 1738 70|Playoffs10 8 513 10 
  Zug U20U20-Elit4 1 01 2|Playoffs2 0 00
  Switzerland U16 (all)International-Jr13 3 47 22|        
 2013-2014 Zug U17U17-Elit4 3 47 16|Playoffs4 1 34 35 
  Zug U20U20-Elit8 1 12 6|Playoffs2 0 00
  Switzerland U17 (all)International-Jr7 3 14 14|        
 2014-2015 Zug U20U20-Elit38 11 1021 54|Playoffs12 1 12 20 
  LangenthalSL0 0 00 0|Playoffs1 0 00
  Switzerland U18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup4 0 11 38|        
  Switzerland U19WJAC-194 0 33 4|        
  Switzerland U18WJC-187 1 23 12|        
  Switzerland U18 (all)International-Jr25 3 710 68|        
 2015-2016 Kelowna RocketsWHL61 18 2745 54|Playoffs18 2 68 16 
  Switzerland U20WJC-205 1 12 2|        
  Switzerland U20 (all)International-Jr14 2 24 31|        
 2016-2017 Kelowna RocketsWHL60 33 3770 87|Playoffs17 8 1321 24 
  Switzerland U20WJC-204 2 24 16|        
  Switzerland U20 (all)International-Jr10 3 912 20|        
 2017-2018 Cleveland MonstersAHL75 11 1324 40|        
  Switzerland (all)International4 0 11 0|        
 2018-2019 Cleveland MonstersAHL26 2 02 24|        
 2019-2020 Columbus Blue JacketsNHL3 0 00 0|        
  Cleveland MonstersAHL53 9 1726 37|        
 2020-2021 ZugNL22 3 25 26|        
  ZugSwiss Cup2 0 22 0|        
 2021-2022 LuganoNL50 16 1935 65|Playoffs6 1 34
  LuganoChampions HL6 4 37 8|        
  Switzerland Deutschland Cup2 0 00 25|        
  Switzerland EHT3 0 11 4|        
  Switzerland OG5 0 22 0|        
  SwitzerlandWC6 2 02 0|        
  Switzerland (all)International22 6 39 29|        
 2022-2023 LuganoNL52 11 819 61|Playoffs8 3 47 12 
  Switzerland EHT12 2 24 10|        
  SwitzerlandWC2 1 12 0|        
  Switzerland (all)International17 5 49 17|        
 2023-2024 LuganoNL52 28 3260 34|Playoffs9 1 78
  Switzerland (all)International6 4 15 6|        
  Switzerland EHT6 4 15 6|        

Highlights