Claimed:Kurri Looking Forward to Facing Former Team [Final 6/6]

[nikkurri17 109]

Niklas Kurri (right) visits some friends in Seattle.


It was a successful regular season for the Quebec City Meute. The club for the French speaking providence in Canada finished with a strong record of 51 wins, 13 losses and 8 losses in extra time. The regular season effort was enough to earn Quebec City a first round bye in the Victory Hockey League playoffs. The Meute sat back and watched as the Seattle Bears went to war with the Toronto Legion. The Bears easily disposed of the Legion in very convincing fasion, sweeping the Ontario based squad in 4 games. The Bears will be moving on to face the Quebec City Meute in the second round.

One interesting storyline to keep an eye on will be how will Quebec City forward Niklas Kurri fare against his former team?
 
Kurri was drafted by the Bears in the Season 40 draft and spent 2 years developing in the minors before leaving the squad after just his rookie season in the VHL.
 
"Yeah I mean it's definitely something that I've thought about"
 
Said the Finnish forward,
 
"In the end, I left the team because I wanted to find the best opportunity possible to win a championship. I don't hold any hard feelings towards the organization and you have to treat the games just like any other game. This is the VHL playoffs and you can't let your emotions keep you from playing the best hockey that you are capable of. The goal is to win the championship this season and I'll do whatever possible to help us bring the cup home to Quebec."
 
Kurri was coming off a merely average rookie season with the Bears before he left town to Quebec City. Kurri really seemed to tone down his physical game last season as is evidenced by the dramatic drop in his hit totals.
 
"Yeah I think I was running around a little bit too much last season. I watched a lot of film over the off-season and noticed a lot of cases where I would end up out of position to chase an opponent and deliver a body check. This season I've been focusing on maintaining my gaps defensively and only looking for contact when the situation calls for it. I think it's made for a dramatic improvement in my defensive game as a whole."
 
The Seattle Bears roster features a lot of the same players the Kurri was teammates with last season. The team was very strong defensively and ultimately that's what has led to their strong play throughout the season.
 
"Hopefully I'll get some time to catch up with some of the guys on their team. I was pretty good friends with guys like Borje Samuelsson and Jakub Rhinehart. Nicklaus (Mikaelson) is an excellent young goaltender and has really carried there team so far. He gives them a shot to win every night and we'll have to be on our A game to beat them"
 
Surely Kurri has kept in contact with his old teammates since signing in Quebec right?
 
"Honestly I think that Wolfgang Strauss is the only guy on their team I still talk to. Like I said it would be cool to hear from some of the guys, but I'll probably wait until the handshake line to talk to them too much."
 
It should be a great series and Kurri could make a big impact against his former team.

[Phil 5,119]

It'll be a good series. Nice write up

[eaglesfan036 4,603]

Kurri 2 gud?

[Tylar 219]

Content: 3/3 - It's kind of tough playing your former team in the play-offs so early after leaving. I was going to say good luck but Quebec already lost to the Bears in the play-offs. So Good luck next season!

Grammar: 2/2 -

providence in Canada  = province in Canada

fasion = fashion 

Appearance: 1/1 - Looks good.

Overall: 6/6

[CoachReilly 688]

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