Versatile Korpikoski helping Coyotes charge

[MasonRaymond0320]

Friday, 03.18.2011 / 11:12 AM / In The Spotlight
By Jerry Brown - NHL.com Correspondent

He can play all three forward positions and serves as a nice fit on any of the four lines. He blocks shots, scores shorthanded, checks the opposition's top skill and his stickhandling and shooting is becoming a strong compliment to his blazing speed.

To all but diehard Phoenix Coyote fans and shrewd NHL fantasy league owners, Lauri Korpikoski isn't any easier to recognize than his name is to pronounce. That is changing quickly, with the Coyotes now streaking toward another Western Conference playoff berth and the former understudy now playing a starting role.

The 24-year-old Finn, scooped up from the New York Rangers in the summer of 2009 for a player no longer in the League (Enver Lisin), is tied for the Coyotes team lead with 17 goals, has chipped in 19 assists and is doing it all for the bargain-basement price of $700,000.

This from the same player who scored in only three of the 71 games he played last season (five goals total), producing 11 points while playing mostly fourth-line minutes and penalty-killing shifts.

"We've got a lot of guys who can score and I'm glad to have the opportunity to contribute to that every night," Korpikoski said. "Last year, I wasn't playing all the time and not too many minutes. I was afraid to make a mistake or I would be back on the bench. Now I'm playing with a lot of confidence, I can take some chances and know I'll be back out there for the next shift."

Korpikoski has found a home at left wing alongside Eric Belanger and Phoenix captain Shane Doan – a spot that was manned first this season by the enigmatic and expensive Wojtek Wolski then by the spunky and popular Scottie Upshall. Both forwards have since been traded to beef up Phoenix's defense in the form of Michal Rozsival and Rostislav Klesla.

"I had a meeting with him early on, just a pep-talk thing," said Phoenix general manager Don Maloney, who was the assistant GM in New York when Korpikoski was a Ranger and targeted him in the 2009 trade. "Normally guys are agreeable, but he was fairly frank and pretty certain that he could do more and contribute more.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=556488

[ravens_creed]

Great article, Andrew, thanks for posting and sharing.
I've always thought Korpikoski was a tad underrated for his contributions. Too bad his hobby love will continue to be near-non-existent, however. Maybe hitting the 20-goal plateau and showing well in the playoffs changes that!