Calvin Thürkauf (born 27 June 1997) is a Swiss professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

who currently plays with

HC Lugano Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships. History The founding of HC Lugano took ...

in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL). Thurkauf was selected by the Blue Jackets in the seventh round (185th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Thürkauf as a youth played within the

EV Zug EV Zug is a professional men's ice hockey team from Zug, Switzerland. It is a member of the National League and plays its home games at the Bossard Arena. History EV Zug won its first championship in the 1997–98 season, and the second one in t ...

junior ranks. In spending 5 seasons within Zug's development program, Thürkauf made his professional debut in the 2014–15 playoffs, appearing in one game on loan to

SC Langenthal Schlittschuh Club Langenthal known as SC Langenthal is a Swiss ice hockey team that currently competes in the third tier, MyHockey League. They played in the Swiss League, the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland ...

of the then second tier

National League B The Swiss League, also known as the Sky Swiss League for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the National League (ice hockey), National League. The winners of the league each ...

(NLB). With NHL aspirations, Thürkauf was selected 59th overall in the 2015

CHL Import Draft The CHL Import Draft is an annual event in which every team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) may select the rights to eligible import players. An import is classified as a player who does not have residency status in either Canada or the Un ...

by the

Kelowna Rockets The Kelowna Rockets are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing their home games at Prospera Place. The Rockets a ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

(WHL). In his first major junior season in North America, Thürkauf displayed his offensive potential in contributing with 18 goals and 45 points in 61 games as a rookie. He was selected in his second year of eligibility in the seventh-round, 185th overall, by the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. On 31 December 2016, Thürkauf was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets. He placed second on team scoring in the 2016–17 season with the Rockets, establishing a career high 33 goals and 70 points in 60 regular season games. In the final year of his entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets in the 2019–20 season, while playing with AHL affiliate, the

Cleveland Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team based in Cleveland. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Monsters play home games at Rocket Mortgage F ...

, Thürkauf received his first recall to the NHL on an emergency basis on 21 February 2020. He made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets, appearing on the fourth-line, in a 4–3 shootout defeat to the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

on 22 February 2020. He was returned to the AHL with the Monsters the following day. As an impending restricted free agent and with the following 2020–21 North American season delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Thürkauf was signed to a temporary contract with hometown Swiss club,

of the NL, on 24 August 2020. On May 10, 2021, Thürkauf left the Blue Jackets organization and joined

on a three-year deal through the 2023–24 season.

International play

Thürkauf has represented the Swiss national junior team at multiple tournaments. The first time he was selected to play for the national junior team, was during the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. He later captained Switzerland at the 2017 World Junior Championships in Canada, posting 4 points in 4 games in a 7th-placed finish. He represented

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

at the

2024 IIHF World Championship The 2024 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Czechia from 10 to 26 May 2024. It was held in Prague and Ostrava, and organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. It was the most attended Hockey Championship in history with a total atte ...

and won a silver medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurkauf, Calvin 1997 births Living people Cleveland Monsters players Columbus Blue Jackets draft picks Columbus Blue Jackets players Kelowna Rockets players SC Langenthal players HC Lugano players Swiss expatriate ice hockey people Swiss expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Swiss ice hockey right wingers EV Zug players Sportspeople from Zug Ice hockey people from the canton of Zug