Word: kurri
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Dates: during 1984-1984
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Finland is a country of fewer than 5 million people, and there are more saunas than ice rinks. Though he is the finest hockey player the Finns have ever exported to North America, Kurri returns home each spring to a pleasant obscurity. He is a splendid skater, a strong outside shooter, an artful stickhandler and a responsible back checker. Judging right wingers, Gretzky puts Kurri in a class with the New York Islanders' Mike Bossy. Among all-round players, he may even rate with the Islanders' Bryan Trottier. Kurri does not care to be lumped with the other...
When the Oilers were arranging boxing lessons, a valuable sideline in this sport, Kurri was quick to sign up. Later, each player was asked to write out what he considered to be his essential role on the team, and Kurri put down "Beating up anybody who picks on Wayne." But to date he has been held back, despite himself, by an essentially peaceful nature and snug gloves. A formidable if not imposing 6 ft. 1 in., 185 Ibs., Kurri has yet to appear in a fight. "My gloves won't shake off," he moans...
...better view of the great Gretzky. "He's so smart, he's so confident, he's so wide open usually," Kurri exclaims. "We know each other so well now, we're instinctive, I think. He looks out at the whole rink, and can see all of every thing, even into my head." Against Winnipeg a few days before Christmas, they both scored short handed goals 15 seconds apart, a phenomenon that is becoming something of an Oiler specialty. Consider that Calgary, for instance, has scored 21 power-play goals this year, when the opponent was outnumbered...
...depressed them momentarily. To be sure, not enough to exchange their freewheeling skaters' game for any proven pattern that emphasizes defense. Knowing Edmon ton's style will stay indefensible until it succeeds, Gretzky withholds argument and simply says, "We still have a long way to go." But Kurri imagines, "Once we break through against the Islanders, we'll have broken through for all and ever," and he is not the only one who thinks...
Accompanying Gretzky, the Oilers do have talent in unusual abundance: Kurri, Mark Messier (an all-star without benefit of ever playing on Gretzky 's line), Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey. All of them are trying to perform at the level of Gretzky. He lifts them. Says Kurri: "It's very surprising to me that I'm playing with Wayne Gretzky and second in the scoring lead. But he plays up here, and so I try to play up there too. We don't mind losing some attention to him and his rec rds because he does...