In a sense, it's almost unfair to compare any Finland-born hockey player with Jari Kurri, a virtual unanimous choice as best from his country to skate in the NHL.
A five-time Stanley Cup-winner with the Edmonton Oilers, Kurri was the first Finland-born player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. And there were many more accomplishments on Kurri's ledger during 17 seasons in the NHL with the Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks and Colorado Avalanche, from 1980-98.
But there's plenty about Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho that has him worthy of such comparison. Now in his sixth NHL season, the native of Oulu -- known as "The Finnish Hockey Factory" -- has scored at least 20 goals in each season and leads the Hurricanes with 54 points (22 goals, 32 assists) in 48 games this season.
Since 2018-19, when he scored 30 goals for the first time in the NHL, Aho is tied for 10th with Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand with 114 goals.
Playing during a more freewheeling era in the NHL, Kurri scored 30 goals or more 11 times, including 71 in 1984-85 and 68 the following season. He finished with 601 goals in 1,251 regular-season games and another 106 in 200 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Kurri also had a distinct advantage playing primarily on the same line with Wayne Gretzky for eight seasons. He was "The Great One's" sidekick through four Cup championships. But there was more to his game than just lighting up the scoreboard with Gretzky.
Barry Fraser, the Oilers chief scout who helped discover Kurri, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey and Glenn Anderson, called Kurri "by far our most complete player."
"There's no question that Jari, as much as any of our top guys, was responsible for the Oilers' success," Hall of Fame defenseman Kevin Lowe said. "Even after Wayne left for Los Angeles (traded to the Kings on Aug. 9, 1988), it was Jari who stayed on and was a key to our fifth Cup win."
Of course, Aho is still trying to win his first Cup with the Hurricanes, who are on their way to a fourth straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2019, when they were swept in four games by the Boston Bruins.
"What sets him apart for me is his competitiveness," coach Rod Brind'Amour told The Hockey News. "He hates losing more than he likes winning. It eats him alive when we don't win, and all the great ones have that."
Like Kurri, Aho plays a 200-foot game and is always a scoring threat at even strength, on the power play and penalty kill. He has scored 42 power-play goals and 12 shorthanded goals in the NHL.
As Ken Campbell of The Hockey News said, "He has a superior on-ice intellect to go with his natural physical gifts."
There's one other Kurri-Aho similarity worth mentioning.
"You wouldn't have found a nicer guy on our Oilers squad than Jari," Lowe said.
And that's basically how the Hurricanes feel about Aho.
"He's a super kid," Brind'Amour said.
There's still much ground to cover for Aho to live up to the standard set by Kurri. But he's proudly following in the footsteps, or skate strides, established by the trailblazing Kurri.
