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***luke*** · 03-04-2024, 07:02 AM

Joe Kurczewski
@JKortesi81

The S31 Draft was one of the best of all time, there are multiple players from that class represented in this list of Top 75 of all time, and several more who got mentions. One of the very best players to come out of that class was selected by the Calgary Dragons in the first round:

“With the 12th pick of the Season 31 Draft, the Calgary Dragons are pleased to select...
Forward Joe Kurczewski”

Joe K as he became to be known, joined a team which had just won 2 Cups in the last 4 seasons and were looking to build a dynasty. His career in the SHL had a rousing start when the Dragons won the Cup again in S32 - JoeK did not play a game during the regular season, but joined the team as a 4th liner during the playoffs when his junior team got eliminated - this used to be a thing! But it counts - he played in the playoffs and the team won the Cup, so he got a ring before he’d ever played a regular season game!

His career began in earnest in S33 when he got the callup - but he was an average rookie player, not yet showing what he would be capable of, mustering a measly 15 pts. He showed some improvement in his next 2 seasons, scoring 14 goals each season with steadily increasing minutes. It was in S36 where he really elevated his play, scoring 23 goals and 52 points to earn his first ppg season. He would go on to score 40+ points for 13 consecutive seasons, nobody knew this at the time of course but he got noticed enough that he got a nomination for the Aidan Richan as the breakout player of the year.

S37 was his first true superstar year. Not only did he up his scoring to 28 goals and 57 points, he also added a new element to his game, accumulating 113 hits to go over 100 hits for the first time - which he then did for 12 consecutive seasons. So this was the beginning of his dominance as a 2 way player. He was recognized for his efforts by being named to the First Team All Stars, In S38 he had 46 points and 179 hits, and was named to the Second Team All Stars. But his best was yet to come!

S40 will rank as one of Joe K’s most dominant performances. At this point he was the new number one in Calgary as players like Randleman and Anrikkanen were more for support, the torch had been passed. In the regular season he put up career highs in Goals (29), Assists (37) and Points (66). He was 2nd league wide in goals, 4th in assists, and 2nd in points, and added 115 hits along with those points. He was named the winner of the Ron Mexico and Sarmad Khan awards for dual MVP, and was nominated for the Jeff Dar Award as well! He was named an all star as well, but only 2nd team. In the playoffs he added 24 pts in 19 games to lead the Dragons to the Cup, the second of his career, for which he was nominated for the Razov as well. For any player, this season alone would be enough to call them a legitimate superstar.

S41 was another great season, 63 points was top 5 in the league, add on another 154 hits and JoeK was once again nominated for the Mexico and the Dar but did not win either, but securing another 2nd Team All Star.

S42 was the year he finally won the Dar, his points were good with 53 but he led the league in hits with 212. This two-way performance secured him the Dar on his third time being nominated. But his glorious season didn’t end there! The Dragons went on to win the Cup again for the 2nd time in 3 seasons, and JoeK’s performance in those playoffs earned him the Razov win this time around! A great season and he was awarded the hardware to commemorate it.

He had another couple good seasons with the Dragons in S43 and S44, receiving another nomination for the Dar in S44, his 4th such nomination. He was securing a place as a Dragons legend. But that would come to an end after S44. In the offseason, he was moved in a trade to the Battle of Alberta rival, the Edmonton Blizzard.

He only played one season with the Blizz, but what a season it was! Edmonton finished the season with an astounding 41-6-3 record, easily securing the President’s trophy. JoeK had 59 points which led the team and was 4th in the league overall. He earned his 3rd Mexico nomination which was won by his teammate, goaltender Tommy Tuck. He led the team in scoring in the playoffs and Edmonton battled to the Cup win. This was JoeK’s fourth Cup, 3rd in 6 seasons, and he received yet another Razov nomination. A great season for him, but he would soon be on the move again.

In S46, the league expanded and the New Orleans Specters joined as a new franchise. JoeK’s user was the creator of this team, so he was required to move. The Specters had an amazing first season, they went all the way to the Cup finals. JoeK had another great playoffs leading all players in scoring. Even though the Specters were unable to secure the Cup, JoeK was recognized for his role in taking them all the way to a game 7, earning his 4th Razov nomination in the last 7 years.

His final great individual season was in S48, he had one last ppg season with 55 points, earning his 6th nod as an all-star. After this, regression caught up and his production started dwindling, even though he held on playing for another 7 seasons. The final glorious feather in his career cap was in S54, as finally the Specters went all the way, winning their first franchise Cup, and JoeK’s 5th. He almost won one last one, playing for the Buffalo Stampede in his zombie year, but was traded away to SFP before the season was over, and Buffalo went on to win the Cup. No 6th ring for JoeK, and his career faded after 23 seasons.

Playoff Dominance.

Another aspect of Joe’s game. Is his dominance in the playoffs. Where he would take it to the next level. At the top level, Joe upped his level of play in the playoffs. In 252 career playoff games. Joe scored 94 goals, 135 assists for 229 points. A crazy number indeed. Becoming the only player to reach 200+ playoff points before Aaron Wilson did in his career. Even then, in an inflated FHM scoring time, only got 242 points in 267 games played. Joe Thrived in the playoffs, in the high stakes. 3 Razov Nominations, 1 Win. A total of 4 times he was nominated or won the Razov. The only player to have been nominated 4 times. The only other players who were nominated 3 times were all goalies. A Jobin, Jakob Tanner, Olof Karsikko, and Willie Miller.

Beyond that, Joe scored 20+ points 4 different times in the playoffs. 25 points in 16 games played in S42. Winning a Cup with the Dragons and where he won his Razov. 24 points in 19 games played in S40, winning a Cup with the dragons. 23 points in 20 games played in S46 with the Specters. Not winning the cup. And 21 points in 17 games played in S38. He also reached 10+ points 6 more times in his playoff career. And 9 points 3 times. With players like Mikko Rashford's 209 points in 170 games played. Evil Allbran’s 208 points in 156 games played. To name a few.

Arguably one of if not the best playoff performers of the SHL, at least in the STHS times of the SHL. Joe rightfully deserves his praises.

When all was said and done, Joe Kurczewski had a career which stood out as one of the best ever. He finished with 1143 games, 403 goals, 437 assists, 940 points, and 2437 hits. He still ranks in the top 10 forwards for hits and shots in his career. With 1 Mexico win and 3 total nominations, 1 Dar win and 4 total nominations, a Khan win, a Richan nomination, and 6 times an all-star, he was definitely a superior player. But it was his performance in the playoffs which really sets him apart, being nominated 4 times for the Razov, winning it once, 229 points in 252 career playoff games, and 5 times a champion. He was a clutch player when it mattered most, securing himself as the 13th best player in SHL History. Only now are we seeing players in an even more FHM8 inflated era start to reach Joe’s level of success.

Written mostly by @Muerto
Muerto - 1200
Luke - 275

[Image: QiKQRK2.png]

By-Tor · 03-04-2024, 07:57 AM

Credit to enigmatic, Merica, tweedledunn, and jaypc8237 for sigs

ztevans · 03-04-2024, 10:23 AM

It's actually kind of ridiculous when you put it like this that the Scarecrows drafted two of the top 13 SHL players of all time in the S30 J draft.

***JKortesi81*** · 03-04-2024, 11:46 AM

It's an honor to be up here with some of the best players in SHL history. I never imagined when I signed up for this site in July of 2016 that I'd still be here nearly 8 years later, or that Joe K would be part of four years of my real life. (Maybe careers are a bit too long here....)

I've been lucky to make some awesome friends here, which is the most important thing.

But I'm also blessed to have had this player. I've always been most proud of him being arguably the best player in SHL playoff history, always seeming to produce when things mattered most. And in the chaos that is/was STHS, that was never guaranteed. I was very lucky to be drafted into Calgary to start my career, and just as lucky to have awesome players around Joe K when we started New Orleans. I can't forget that one magical season in Edmonton either (where Joe K mayyyybe should've won another MVP that season, just saying haha) where we went 41-6-3, again feeling nearly impossible in STHS. I was happy Joe K got to play for Buffalo too, being from Buffalo myself, and a lot of his "backstory and lore" was related to coming from Buffalo. Even if the end was, well, not great. There were so many good times that were had.

The SHL rules.

Thank you for the fantastic write up.