Since being drafted, Liam Kirk’s hockey journey has taken many twists and turns, with most out of his control.
The 2022-23 campaign has continued in that vein.
This season was supposed to be a fresh slate after working so hard to recover from knee surgery.
After featuring in just one game for Tucson and being a healthy scratch, Kirk found himself reassigned to the ECHL on November 21, 2022.
With the Atlanta Gladiators, the British forward recorded eleven points (5G/6A) in fifteen games.
A tweet posted by Atlanta late on Thursday, December 28 brought about a fair amount of intrigue.
After much speculation online, Arizona beat writer Craig Morgan posted the following.
I shall address these comments later.
The following day, official confirmation arrived from the Arizona Coyotes PR team and Kirk’s new home for the remainder of the season.
It remains a puzzle as to why Arizona feels this is the best path for Kirk if they still consider him a prospect.
The Tucson Roadrunners are indeed stacked with sixteen forwards on the current roster.
Except for Adam Cracknell, as he is Tucson’s captain, there are a further six forwards on AHL deals receiving playing time instead of the winger.
Kirk hasn’t been afforded a chance to prove himself this year and before his injury, looked the part at the AHL level last season.
There is little doubt that playing in Liiga provides a great opportunity and a higher standard of play than the ECHL.
To refer back to Craig Morgan’s comment in his posting, it’s an interesting take that he believes Kirk will almost certainly return to Tucson next season.
If anything, Arizona has shown they are averse to him being in the AHL since his injury and the question is whether half a season in a European league will change anything.
In response to his tweet concerning Kirk’s future, Morgan was asked “Do we know if it’s an ice time issue, development, or just to get him closer to home?”
“Closer to home… good opportunity” was the curious response.
The 22-year-old has spent the last few years a substantial distance from the UK to achieve his aim of playing in the NHL.
To assert that playing closer to home at this stage of his career is somehow beneficial or preferable to Kirk is frankly doing him a huge disservice.
As good as the Liiga is, there is no doubt in my mind that playing in the American League would be a far better opportunity.
So what of Kirk’s new home for the next few months?
Mikkelin Jukurit is happy to have the GB forward on board.
Jukurei’s development manager Mikko Hakkarainen says that the forward was already close to a contract with Jukurei at that time, but in the end, the road led to the NHL.
(Many teams were interested in attaining Liam Kirk before Arizona finally signed him to an entry-level contract).
When the opportunity to acquire striker Mikkeli came up again, it had to be used. Liam was being chased by several top clubs in Europe, so it’s great that he chose us. In Liam, Jukurit gets a versatile attacker who can play in the middle and on the wing. Above all, he is a natural scorer, Hakkarainen says.
Kirk will arrive in Finland on Monday and will possibly be fit for next Tuesday’s match against Tappara.
The full article can be read here: https://jukurit.fi/fi-fi/article/etusivu/liam-kirk-loppukaudeksi-jukurien-hyokkaykseen/4392/
Founded in 1970, Jukurit has only been a top-flight Finnish team since the 2016-17 season.
Last season was a breakthrough for the team as they finished second during the regular season, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in their history.
There would be no fairy tale ending as they suffered defeat in the first round.
Former NHL player Olli Jokinen orchestrated that turnaround.
He remains Head Coach in his first professional coaching role since retirement.
The 2022-23 campaign has been one of highs and lows.
Their first CHL campaign should be considered a success, having qualified for the knockout stages. There was certainly no disgrace in being defeated by Luleå in the quarter-finals.
Jukurit struggled early in Liiga action, losing three on the bounce to begin the year and recording just three regulation wins in the opening eleven games.
Since suffering a 5-0 reverse on November 01, they have managed to turn their season around, posting a 10-5-1 record including nine regulation victories.
That form has propelled them to eighth in the standings and they are just three points back of KalPa in sixth and five points back of TPS in fifth with 27 games remaining.
In Liiga, the top six automatically qualify for play-offs, whilst those finishing 7-10 compete in a wildcard best-of-two series.
Ikioma Arena is home for Jukurit and Kirk’s first opportunity to play there will arrive on January 04, 2023.
The Jukurit roster has a youthful look to it and counts some current NHL prospects among their number.
Joni Jurmo (unsigned) 2020 round 3 #82 overall by Vancouver Canucks
Niko Huuhtanen (Unsigned) 2021 round 7 #224 overall by Tampa Bay Lightning
Patrik Puistola (Unsigned) 2019 round 3 #73 overall by Carolina Hurricanes
Samu Tuomaala (Signed) 2021 round 2 #46 overall by Philadelphia Flyers
There is also the precocious talent of 16-year-old Konsta Helenius, who is a top prospect eligible for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
The evergreen Jarkko Immonen wears an ‘A’ for Jukurit and is the only player on the roster with NHL experience. The forty-year-old suited up on twenty occasions for the New York Rangers across two seasons in North America before returning to Europe.
Kirk’s favoured #14 will be available should he choose that next week, when he’s expected to make his Liiga debut.
The regular season ends on March 11 for Jukurit, which does leave open a few opportunities for hockey after that date, not only in playoff competition.
Arizona could reassign him to Tucson to be available for the AHL playoffs. For that to happen, a paper transaction would be required at the trade deadline. That seems highly unlikely, given what has transpired.
What is more likely is that Kirk will be available to represent Great Britain as they host the IIHF World Championships Division 1, Group B, beginning April 29, 2023.
With GB looking to regain their status in the top tier of world hockey, Kirk’s inclusion would be a colossal fillip to the squad.
Before that happens, the Maltby native will be looking to get his career back on track with a strong performance in the second half of the season in Finland.
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