nikkurri17

Nik Kurri - +3

Niklas Kurri +3

+3

Wow! Thanks to everyone who voted for my player. Congrats to Escobar on a great season.

Haha s n u b b e d

Nik Kurri - +3

Kurri was dominant at times during Season 44. There is no doubt about Niklas Kurri being one of the most surprising players in the VHL this past season. Many people considered New York's signing of Kurri as simply a move to acquire depth and fill out the teams forward lines. The Americans were viewed as a team going through a rebuild. Nicholas Caprivi was pretty much the only established position player on the roster. Kurri was seen as a veteran, who was brought in to help highly touted rookies such as wingers Edwin Reencarnacion, the #1 overall pick in the most recent VHL Entry draft, two way forward Jorma Ruutu, a fellow Finn, and E'Twaun Delicious, considered by a few people to be the most talented of the bunch. The odds of New York being competitive seemed very slim at best. Whenever the New York Americans are faced with adversity, the club always seems to find a way to respond. Season 44 should definitely be considered a step in the right direction. The Americans battled hard all season long and overtook the Seattle Bears, down the stretch for the final playoff position. Niklas Kurri was a big part of the Americans surprising playoff run. Kurri finished one goal shy of hitting the 50 goal mark, his 49 goals were good enough for 6th overall in the league. Kurri finished with 103 points. More points then he had put up over his entire career previously and the 9th highest total in the league. It's safe to say that nobody expected Kurri to have as good of a season as he did. Kurri put up his strong offensive numbers despite playing the entire season on the Americans second line. Heading into Season 45 of the VHL, there will be a lot of people keeping a close eye on the Finnish center. Was Season 44 the birth of a new superstar in the VHL, or was it just an abnormally good season for Kurri? "Yeah, I'm happy with how I played in the VHL this past season. I'm disappointed that we couldn't win more games in the playoffs, but it was a good achievement for us to win games down the stretch and qualify for the postseason. This season just making the playoffs won't be enough. We want to advance and have a shot at winning a championship. Our young guys will have some experience and be much more prepared when the playoffs come around next season. I was one of the only guys who had VHL experience heading into last season. I've never been one of the veterans on my team before and I really liked playing in that role." Kurri will have to prove that he can play at an elite level consistently. In order to take the next step forward, The New York Americans will need Kurri to do just that.

Nik Kurri +3

" alt= Good luck Calgary.

Glad we got the W with our backs against the wall, Looking forward to game 5. You never know what could happen!

Leo! < Bottas

Thanks, I just need to proof read lol

Good Article Jorma!

Is Niklas Kurri the most improved player in all of the VHL? It certainly appears so. The third year VHL forward has improved his play drastically this season. With the VHL regular season winding downand only three games left before the post-season, Kurri finds himself among the leagues scoring leaders and has spearheaded the Americans offensive attack, helping lead the team during a tight battle with the Seattle Bears for the North American Conferences final playoff spot. Today we review Kurri's statistics over his career and get an idea of how much the two-way centers game has improved over the past season. Goals Season 42: 16 Season 43: 21 Season 44: 47 With three games remaining, Kurri has a legitaimate chance to reach the 50 goal plateau. Kurri's goalscoring has been consistent since the first couple weeks of the season and he has steadily climbed the VHL's leaderboard throughout the season. Nik has recorded two hat tricks and is always dangerous against the leagues top teams. Kurri's 47 goals lead all New York players by a wide mark and have absolutely descimated the Finn's previous career highs. Kurri has scored ten more goals this season then he had in his previous two campaignes combined. Assists Season 42: 20 Season 43: 26 Season 44: 52 While Kurri has shown more confidence in his shot then he ever has before, Kurri has also been able to find his teammates on a regular basis. Nik has already doubled his career high in assists with 52 so far. A number of Kurri's assists have been logged as a result of Niklas firing the puck on net and rookie forwards Edwin Reencarnacion and Jorma Ruutu driving the paint and tapping in loose rebounds. Rookie forwards Reencarnacion and Ruutu have had excellent rookie seasons on Kurri's wings and have helped form arguably the most dangerous second line in the VHL. You have to wonder though... Have the rookies been relying on Kurri's strong offensive play or has it been the other way around? Kurri is no stranger to playing with talented line-mates. Last season in Quebec, Kurri played with the likes of Aksel Thomassen, Travis Boychuck, Jack Wylde and Bruno Wolf. Points Season 42: 36 Season 43: 47 Season 44: 99 It's all but a lock that Kurri will reach the 100 point mark for the first time in his career this season. Kurri leads all Americans players in scoring by over 20 points. Kurri has went on multiple scoring streaks over the course of the season and if not for a mediocre first few weeks to the season, Kurri would probably be near the very top of the scoring lists league wide. Niklas is registering over 1.1 points per 20 minutes played, ranking in the top 5 league wide in scoring efficiency. Kurri getting ready to score another goal​ Kurri has been excellent defensively as well blocking 49 shots and winning nearly 55.0% of his face-offs. Kurri has also seen a huge turnaround in the plus/minus catagory as the season progressed. At one point in the season, Kurri was nearly a -20. Kurri has turned that stat around and is now a +27, second on the team to Edwin Reencarnacion. The Finnish forward is starting to show some of the star power that you would expect from a player with the last name Kurri. Nik has been the #1 star of games 11 times and has been one of the games three stars 21 times in 69 total games. Kurri has been dedicated to improving his game off the ice and it has shown with his on ice results. No disrespect to Pablo Escobar who has seen a big increase in his scoring totals, but I would have to think that Kurri has the Dustin Funk award locked up. Hell, Nik may even be in MVP consideration when you consider that the award goes to the most valuable player to their team. Cheers. ​

As the season beings to wind down, the New York Americans find themselves in a bit of an unexpected position in the standings. Most experts didn't expect New York to make the playoffs. A majority of them thought that The Seattle Bears would be the team to come out of the Western Conference as the #3 seed. For some reason Seattle appears to be tanking. They've traded players away and signed free agents who have no place in the VHL, a clear indication that they have no interest in winning and instead are trying to lose as often as possible. It's moves like this that Niklas Kurri wanted to avoid. By all reports, Kurri is thrilled that he escaped after his rookie season and that he's not a part of the Seattle franchise. Seattle forward Mario De Rossi The New York Americans have played solid yet unspectacular hockey all season. The team has struggled to find balanced scoring throughout the line-up and has played average defensively. New York has received a minimal amount of support from their defenseman in the offensive zone. As of the time of this article, the Americans were one game under 500 and have moved into the final playoff spot. It's not like they've been playing good either... the team is 5-5 over their last 10 games and have lost 3 in a row. Luckily for the Americans, the Seattle Bears have found a whole new level of horrible play and have basically moved out of the way, allowing the Americans to capitalize. teammates congratulate Edwin Reencarnacion One bright spot for the American has been the play of the teams 2nd line. Niklas Kurri is becoming one of the top forwards in the league and has been scoring consistently for a majority of the season. Kurri is climbing the VHL scoring leaderboards and is now firmly in the top ten league wide in goal scoring. Edwin Reencarnacion is beginning to find his scoring touch. Reencarnacion is second in rookie scoring and has recorded nearly a point per game. Reencarnacion has really stepped up his game since he was placed on a line with Kurri and Finnish grinder Jorma Ruutu. Ruutu is another rookie who has been playing very well. Ruutu is also among the top 5 in rookie scoring, totaling 50 points so far. Ruutu's two-way play has perhaps been undervalued. Ruutu has been excellent in all three zones. With a strong finish to the regular season, Both Reencarnacion and Ruutu are capable of being the leagues rookie of the year. So will New York be able to close the deal and qualify for the post-season? All signs point to yes, thanks to Seattle throwing in the towel despite the fact it looked like they were about to cruise to a playoff birth. New York is looking forward to the opportunity to play spoiler in the post-season. If the playoffs began today, New York would match up with the Calgary Wranglers. The Wranglers have been on fire recently and haven't lost in regulation over the past 10 games.

Remember the NBA Jam video game series? Well Niklas Kurri is on fire. At the time of my last article, Kurri had seen a rise in his scoring production and moved his way to the top of The New York Americans scoring list for the season. Kurri recorded 19 points over a 13 game stretch and notched 29 points through 29 games. Kurri has built on his strong play and has found a new level of confidence in the offensive zone. Over the past 17 games, Kurri has scored 15 goals and has 31 total points. Kurri is leading The Americans in scoring by a wide margin and has established himself a one of the clubs most reliable players in pretty much every situation. In his third season in the VHL, Kurri is enjoying by far his best season in the league and has already established career highs in a number of different categories. While his offensive production is what has stood out, Kurri has been arguably The Americans best defensive forward as well. Kurri has blocked 45 shots through The Americans first 46 games which is two more than fellow Finn and line-mate Jorma Ruutu and leads all of the teams forwards. Kurri's 60 points are 16 more than any other player on The Americans and 13 more then the forwards previous career high. Kurri also leads the club with 29 goals, 31 assists, 7 powerplay goals, 14 powerplay points and 4 game winning goals. We were lucky enough to catch up with Kurri after a recent game with The Riga Reign and ask him some questions. Great game Niklas! You guys won 5-2 and you had a goal and 3 assists, Your thoughts on tonight's game? "Thanks Bud, I'm glad we could get the win! The team played great and I think the result reflects that. We played a very physical brand of hockey and dictated the flow of the game. We were able to force some turnovers and kept the puck in the offensive zone, away from our own net. My teammates were in great position and capitalized on their scoring opportunities." What's the difference in your game personally? What has sparked your offensive outburst? "Yeah, I think I'm just working really hard off the ice and I have a lot more confidence with the puck. I've been working on getting stronger and I've been watching a lot of film to make sure I'm in the right position on the ice. I still think there's room for improvement and team success is definitely more important then individual statistics. Hopefully we can make a strong push for the playoffs and make some noise when we get there." Thanks for your time Nik, good luck the rest of the way! "No problem man anytime!"

Nice! Points in bunches.

6-2 Davos

Wranglers Americans Meute Vikings

Close call

Nice win.

Nice

Kurri Finding The Net Often Kurri celebrates an Americans goal Over the course of Niklas Kurri's VHL career thus far, The two-way forward hasn't shown much of a scoring touch. While Kurri has been able to produce respectable scoring numbers, The Finnish forward has never been among his teams offensive leaders. Kurri has seen a steady rise in his production throughout his VHL career and he may have truly broken out offensively this season. Kurri posted 16 goals and 36 points during his rookie season with Seattle. The following season Kurri moved over to The Quebec City Meute and improved his statistics to 21 goals and 47 points. Critics attributed his increase in scoring to the quality of his line-mates and an increase in ice-time. Tis season Kurri has proven those critics to be wrong. Before the current VHL season, Niklas Kurri joined The New York Americans. The Americans were considered a rebuilding franchise and the move seemed like a very odd choice on Kurri's end. Not only was Kurri going to be playing with less experienced teammates, there was no guarantee that Kurri would see the same amount of playing time he had become accustomed to in Quebec. Kurri earned a spot on the teams 2nd line and has played there for the entire season. Kurri lit up the scoring sheet for New York during the pre-season. While his production was more or less on pace with his career averages to start out the season, Niklas has caught fire as of late and improved his scoring pace dramatically. Through the Americans first 16 games this season, Kurri put up 5 goals and added 5 assists. Very respectable numbers considering he was transitioning to a new team and playing with some scrub named Ali Azi or something.. Ali was taken off the teams 2nd line and Edwin Reencarnacion was given the opportunity to skate with Kurri and fellow Finn Jorma Ruutu. Without that bum Ali out there on the ice with them, blowing a ton of chances, Kurri-Ruutu-Reencarnacion have been New York's most effective line. Kurri and Ruutu during a charity game. After taking some time to get used to his new surroundings in New York, Kurri has absolutely caught fire. The Americans second line center is currently on a 9 game scoring streak. Over the past 13 games, Kurri has recorded 9 goals and added 10 assists for an impressive total of 19 points. The boost in the two-way forwards offensive production is evident when taking a look at the Americans scoring leaders. Kurri's recent discovery of his scoring touch has resulted in a point per game average throughout the entire season. What makes Kurri's offensive production even more impressive is the fact that overall, New York has had a very tough time finding the net. Kurri is leading New York in goals, points, powerplay goals, powerplay points, shots on goal, hits taken and shot blocks among forwards. Despite his production, the coaching staff continues to play other forwards more frequently. Only time will tell if Kurri can keep up his scoring pace, or if he's just caught fire and is on a lucky hot streak. On the surface and with his results, Kurri keeps improving every game.

Thrown out for unsportsmanlike conduct huh?

Nice Win!