Claimed:Niklas Kurri Biography

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Player Name: Niklas Kurri

Position: Center

Handedness: Right

Jersey Number: 17

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 202 lbs.

Birthplace: Helsinki, Finland

VHLM Team: Brampton Blades

Background

Niklas Kurri was born in Helsinki, Finland, the capital city of the illustrious hockey nation. Kurri is the nephew of Jari Kurri, arguably the greatest Finnish hockey player of all time. Niklas was introduced to the sport at a very young age, learning to skate at the age of 4 and joining his first youth league at the age of 6. It was obvious from the beginning that young Nik had inherited the hockey gene that was passed on in the Kurri family. Kurri averaged 6 goals a game and was bumped up to the 12 and under group as a 8 year old! Kurri played youth hockey with some well known Finn's such as Tuevo Teravainen, Julius Honka and current teammate Mikko Koskinen.



 

At the age of 16, Kurri started his professional career. Kurri played the season for his hometown club in the SM-Liiga, Jokerit-Helsinki. Kurri put up respectable numbers while appearing in 29 matches for the pro-team. Kurri scored seven goals, added four assists and finished with a team best plus/minus of +12. Kurri earned the trust of his coaches and even managed to receive playing time on the team's penalty killing unit, a huge accomplishment for a 16 year-old rookie. Kurri finished third on the club with two shorthanded goals. Kurri was selected to play on the Finnish U-18 World Junior team and finished the tournament with two goals and an assist in six games.



 

The following season, Kurri crossed the Atlantic and played for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. The Jokerit fans and coaching staff were not happy to see Nik go. Kurri put up fantastic numbers for the Washington based franchise and led the team to within a single game of a chance to play for the Memorial Cup. Nik Kurri scored 46 goals, added 51 assists and was regarded as one of the best defensive forwards in the entire league. The highlight of Kurri's season was leading the Finnish U-20 World Junior squad to a gold medal. Kurri played a huge part in the Finn's victory scoring 8 goals and adding 4 assists playing in 7 games during the tournament.



 

Pro's

Skating: The aspect of Nik's game that stands out the most is his fluid skating. For a player with such great size, Kurri glides effortlessly around the ice and makes it look extremely easy. Kurri uses his deceptively smooth stride to beat unsuspecting defenders wide off of the rush, to gather loose pucks in the defensive zone and to terrorize opponents when he gains a step on them during the penalty kill. Kurri is a bull on his skates and has multiple way's of using his skating to his advantage. The most underrated part of Kurri's skating ability is his agility.

Defense: With Kurri's bloodlines it should come as no surprise that he is very responsible in his own zone. Niklas is a complete player and pays attention to all 200 feet of the ice equally. Kurri uses his excellent skating ability to be in the proper position and harass opposing players who get careless with the puck in the offensive zone. Kurri has great size and uses his excellent reach to disrupt opponent's trying to set up the powerplay from the point. Niklas has been en-trusted to play on his teams penalty killing unit from a young age and takes pride in his ability to disrupt plays and block shots.

Scoring: Niklas has the potential to be one of the most dangerous scorers in the VHL one day. Kurri has always been more of a scorer than a playmaker and is known for the same wicked wrist shot that his uncle was known for. Kurri has one of the quickest releases of all incoming prospects and is sure to work on it more as he looks to make a mark in the VHL. Kurri's shot is incredibly accurate. Kurri's shot power pay be suspect when it comes to VHL standards but this is something that is sure to improve over time. Kurri posses a deadly slap-shot and is known to let bombs fly on the powerplay, firing one-timers from his off point/wing.

Con's

Face-Off's: In order to be a true elite defensive forward you need to be able to win key face-off's and up until this point, Nik has not shown he has the ability to do so. Kurri has relied on using his size to be somewhat successful at taking draws in the Western Hockey League but he has very poor technique. Kurri is known to stand too far upright and push the puck forward in an attempt to be successful. As the players get stronger and more fundamentally sound, Kurri will need to develop techniques to win important face-offs. Kurri's uncle Jari developed into one of the best face-off men in the league and Niklas could very well do the same. This flaw was exposed in Kurri's game during the season of professional hockey Nik played back home in Finland.

Conditioning: While Kurri already possesses a VHL ready frame, There have been rumors that he doesn't work that hard to improve himself in the weight room. Kurri was sometime's pushed around in the Finnish professional league and the same thing happened on occasion with some of the more physical Western Hockey League team's. Kurri will need to dedicate himself 100% to training if he is going to be a successful VHL player. Kurri's agent is said to have been very active in the improvement of his other client, SHL draft eligible defender Valterri Bottas, so it remains to be seen if Kurri will be given the same type of guidance.

Familiarity with the League: Kurri is said to have had a tough time adapting to life in Brampton so far. Kurri has played with newly signed teammate Mikko Koskinen before, so maybe that will help Nik adapt to life in North America. Kurri has been distant from his teammates and has not had much, if any interaction with anybody from the team. At one point the General Manager did reach out to Niklas but it remains to be seen if he will dedicate himself to the team or possibly return home to play professionally in Finland. The next couple weeks should be huge in determining if Niklas is cut out for the VHL.

Conclusion

Niklas Kurri has all the potential in the world but up until this point has showed very little interest in the VHL. Kurri could become a elite two-way Center but has not shown us the ability to do so yet.

Edited August 25, 2014 by nikkurri17

[Will 4,660]

Content: 3/3

Wow, great job! This was very well written and had a good balance between life and hockey. Niklas Kurri had a very sold rookie career and hopefully he can extend that into his VHL career.

 

Grammar: 2/2

I actually didn't find a thing. Great job!

 

Presentation: 1/1

Nice!

 

Pros: 2/2

You definitely have enough here. Looks great!

 

Cons: 2/2

Same as above!

 

Overall: 10/10

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