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From Dublin to Ufa: Sean Kuraly & Connor Murphy Are Chasing Gold

January 2, 2013, 11:58 AM ET [1 Comments]
Julie Robenhymer
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Nine-year-old Connor Murphy had heard about Sean Kuraly ever since he and his family moved from Atlanta to Dublin, Ohio when his father Gord became an assistant coach for the new expansion team in Columbus. A bright-eyed kid with dreams of following in his father's footsteps and playing in the NHL someday, his first goal was to be the best hockey player in his town.

"I always heard about him and what a great player he was, but we were on different teams because of our districts and never played against each other," explained Murphy. "I also remember he played soccer and I had heard that he was better at soccer and thought he should just quit hockey and go do that so I didn't have to hear how good he was."

Three years later, their paths finally crossed when they tried out for the same travel team, the Columbus Cardinals.

"I remember he walked in the locker room and I thought, 'Who is this guy?'," said Kuraly.

"I thought he was a bit of a tool and I just knew that if I could meet him and become buddies with him I could maybe help him out and turn his character around," Murphy joked.

"I just wanted to be better than him. That was the bottomline," said Kuraly.

"We were going up against each other pretty hard in tryouts and practice before we realized that we had a lot in common and started to hit it off and then realized we lived five minutes away from each other," said Murphy.

"We were always competing against each other because we wanted to be the best so there was a little rivalry there - as much as there could be between a forward and a defenseman," explained Kuraly. "It wasn't until we started playing in games and we'd win and be able to do stuff afterward when I realized he was a pretty cool kid. So, I guess things changed when we realized we could join forces to beat up on other people instead of each other."

"It was easy to be friends because our families came from similar backgrounds, with both of our parents coming from Canada, and our hobbies and, of course, hockey kept us together. Growing up near Columbus there weren't many kids who played at the level we did, at least at the time, so it was nice to have him around," said Murphy.

They eventually joined the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets and started traveling to tournaments across North America in an effort to continue their development.

"It was always in my mind that I wanted it to be serious, even when I was real young, but I guess right when we started playing travel hockey. We'd always get smoked by the Detroit teams and that really fueled the fire and I realized that I wanted to try and be the best player I could and would do whatever I could to improve," explained Murphy.

"It became serious when we started traveling and hockey started taking up all our time and traveling on the weekends and our parents would have to come with us and get hotel rooms…it was a serious investment in our development," said Kuraly.

Even their Dads' got in on the action. Rick Kuraly had played for Miami University notching 126 points in 104 games while Gord Murphy spent 14 years in the NHL. Both coached their sons' teams in varying capacities and were instrumental in their development both on and off the ice.

"They're characters," said Murphy. "Coach Rick coached the D back when we started playing AAA in Columbus and he helped me a lot and even my dad would come out when he had days off to come help our team. They were both great role models for us."

"Coach Gord…I always talk about this one time in practice he got on me pretty good about how I needed to be a better practice player and made me skate a lap in front of the whole team," said Kuraly. "He was really tough on me, but in the best possible way. He knew I could be better."

"They approach the game the same way, which has led to a respect level for each other that grew into a close friendship," explained Ed Gingher, Program Coordinator for the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets. "Every time they hit the ice, they had a purpose to get better. They have both been exposed to the game at higher levels because of their dads and it has rubbed off on both. Their preparation, seriousness, competitiveness and work ethic have pushed each other to be better."

Marty Laroche, their U16 coach said, "As a coach, you really had to make sure you knew what the score was at all times during the practice games because Sean and Connor would always be keeping track. It just showed early on that they take things seriously and like to turn everything into a competition. They want to win and if they were opposite each other, they wanted to beat the other for bragging rights."

They were members of some of the most successful Ohio AAA Blue Jackets teams before moving on in different directions. Murphy patrolling the blueline with the US National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor Michigan, which plays in the USHL, and now the Sarnia Sting of the OHL and Kuraly with the Indiana Ice of the USHL and now a two-way forward for Miami University of the CCHA, like his father, but they have always stayed in touch.

"I'd keep tabs on him through the stats. If he hadn't scored in a couple games, I'd send him a text to chirp him." Kuraly said.

"It was easy to find him on the scratch list for most of the games his team played so I couldn't really chirp him too badly because I felt sorry for him," joked Murphy. "If our relationship were to be Facebook official I think it'd have to be "it's complicated" for me, but we're working on it."

Although they never played against each other - "He's lucky…" chirped Kuraly - their competitive nature carried over into the off season and their training.

"We're workout buddies…It's great to have someone on the same level as you. We push each other, but we also push ourselves. We see how hard the other is working to get better and it makes you want to work even harder," said Kuraly. "It's competitive, but it's the good kind of competitive."

"It's really motivating when we talk about the teams we want to be on - like this one - and what guys are doing what and what we need to do to be successful moving forward and just having someone to chat with about that stuff who knows what's going on is just so helpful," explained Murphy.

In June 2011, they were able to share a lifelong dream together in Minnesota at the NHL Draft as Murphy was drafted 20th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes and Kuraly in the fifth round by the San Jose Sharks.

"I remember being upstairs for the first night of the draft and we had heard Phoenix had interest in him so when I saw they were coming up I tried to get downstairs, but by the time I got there he had already been called up, but I was still happy to be with his family and enjoy that moment with them," Kuraly said.

"It was nice to catch up with him - I saw him in the suites after - and I knew there was no doubt that he was going to be picked the next day and should have gone a lot higher than he did - like many people are saying now - but it was a great two days for us," said Murphy.

They are also well aware of what their success means to youth hockey players in the Columbus area.

"They are both great kids and are huge role models for our program," said Gingher. "After they were both drafted, they stopped into our training camp and took time to talk with each of our younger teams about working hard and being good kids. They understand what they mean to youth hockey in Columbus and they are helping create a better path for Columbus area players. We could not be more proud of them."

This week they have been presented with another unique opportunity as they have earned the right to play for a medal at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia representing the United States.

"Kuraly brings the speed factor. He plays well at both ends of the ice. He's very responsible. He can disperse the puck well, that's what I like about Sean's game. I'm not afraid to throw him over the boards at any time in the game," said US head coach, and US Hockey Hall of Famer, Phil Housley. "Connor Murphy has kind of been our steady eddy back there. He's reliable. He plays a lot of minutes killing penalties and going up against other teams' better forwards and he does a terrific job for us in that area."

"It's a dream come true to be on a team like this in the first place, but to be able to do it with someone you grew up with…it's awesome," said Kuraly.

"To be able to do it together is a bit more comforting because we have each other to lean on and it's cool to be able to prepare for it with each other, whether it be skating or working out together, just pushing each other to get better and giving feedback…we're pretty critical of each other. It's comforting to know that there's someone else who is preparing and competing at your level," explained Murphy.

The next challenge for the Dublin natives and their USA teammates is a rematch with Canada in the semifinals. The teams played earlier in the preliminary round of the tournament, a close fought game that resulted in a 2-1 win for the Canadians.

"We learned from playing them earlier and know what game plan we need to have and hopefully we'll be successful and earn a shot at that gold medal," said Murphy.

For now they're trying to stay in the moment and remember to enjoy the experience while they go for gold.

"Coming here it's something you should cherish because you know you'll remember it for a long time," said Kuraly. "While you're here you might not think of it, but once you get back you know you're going to want to remember everything so you just have to live in the moment and soak it all in."

"In the back of your mind, you have confidence that you can make it and reach those goals," said Murphy. "So now that it's staring us in the face, we're ready to go for it and bring a medal home with us."

**********

Team USA defeated Czech Republic 7-0 this afternoon to advance to the semifinals against Canada tomorrow at 4am ET. Russia defeated Switzerland 4-3 in a shootout to advance to the semifinals against Sweden tomorrow at 8am ET. Both games will air live on NHL Network, TSN and NHL.com.

Julie
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