National Post (National Edition)
Canadiens keeping an ‘open mind’ on Kotkaniemi
Centre could force his way into lineup
MONTREAL •Headcoach Claude Julien was asked after practice Monday in Brossard, Que., if the Montreal Canadiens have a difficult decision ahead of them with Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
“Yes, we do,” the coach said.
Kotkaniemi, the Canadiens’ first-round pick (third overall) at this year’s NHL draft, has had an impressive training camp so far and was named the first star in a 3-2 pre-season win over the Ottawa Senators Saturday at Bell Centre, while playing centre on the No. 1 line between Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia.
The Canadiens put Kotkaniemi back in the lineup for Monday’s pre-season game against the Maple Leafs in Toronto with Michael Chaput taking a resting Drouin’s spot on the left wing and Armia staying on the right wing.
Julien said the Canadiens “suspected that might be the case” as far as Kotkaniemi making their decision difficult as to whether he will start the season in the NHL or return for a second season with the Pori Assat in the Finnish elite league.
“We look at the possibilities so far,” Julien said about the 18-year-old Kotkaniemi. “We needed to see how he was going to handle himself and if people would have seen his first game in Laval (during the NHL Rookie Showdown), they would have said: 'This guy has no chance.' But you look at him today, he’s a different player. I guess we kept an open mind and right now I think that’s why he’s still here and that’s why he’s still playing. We’ll have a tough decision, I think, to make at the end of training camp.”
Chaput is also fighting for a spot on the Canadiens’ 23man roster when they open the NHL regular season Oct. 3 in Toronto. The Canadiens signed the six-foot-two, 204-pound Île Bizard, Que., native as a free agent July 1 after he posted 17-25-42 totals in 55 games with the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets last season and was pointless in nine games with the Vancouver Canucks.
“There’s always people saying there’s a couple of spots open (on the roster)," said the 26-year-old Chaput, who was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round (89th overall) of the 2010 NHL draft. "Sometimes you do look at the depth chart and you’re not really sure. But if you do enough and you play well and you play your game and the coaches like you and you fit in the team, somehow there’s always a chance. So I think that’s the way I see it.”
As for playing on the same line as Kotkaniemi, Chaput said: “I think it’s going to be fun. He’s a good player, great vision, he’s got good hands and he’s been playing really well so far, so I think it’s going to be fun.”
Julien said he has been impressed by the work ethic of Chaput, who played for the Lewiston Maineiacs and Shawinigan Cataractes in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and added the forward can produce offensively.
“Again, this is evaluation of everybody, not just Kotkaniemi,” Julien said. “It’s also Chaput, who’s having a great camp, and we’ll see how all that stuff goes.”
WE’LL HAVE A TOUGH DECISION ... AT THEENDOF TRAINING CAMP.
Julien was asked if he would have Kotkaniemi start the season in the NHL even if it meant having to shelter the teenager from certain situations during games.
“I get what you guys are asking,” he said. "I think you guys are really looking for answers that will come later. I think we still have to evaluate that because I know what you’re asking because I’m also looking at that, too. And that’s why I said we got some decisions to make at the end of camp and those are all part of the equation of making that decision and is part of the questions that we’ll be asking ourselves.
"So we need to have a real good look at that and make, as I said before, a real tough decision.”
After Monday’s game in Toronto, the Canadiens have two pre-season games remaining with the Maple Leafs visiting the Bell Centre on Wednesday night and the Canadiens visiting the Senators in Ottawa on Saturday night.