Kuiri was playing left wing on the second line in KalPa’s devastating 8-1 pre-season loss against JYP in the U18 league. Kuiri was featured on the second power play unit, where he was positioned on the right half wall as a shooter.

It’s always hard to look very good in a 1-8 defeat, and that was pretty much the case for Kuiri in this game. He did show pretty good top speed and he also got a few chances to use his release, which is his most dangerous weapon. Being the top goal-scorer at the U16 league last season, Kuiri has a very effective and powerful wrist shot. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to use that or his one-timer on the power play. Kuiri’s passes could have been more precise, and he didn’t show much creativity with the puck. His effort level away from the puck was decent, though, as he back-checked well and competed for the pucks.

Being a new face on the team and given that it was a pre-season game, Kuiri still has time to get used to KalPa’s system before the actual season starts. With the right deployment, he should get a good amount of goals, but I would also like to see more diverse offense from him.