Is Jesperi Kotkaniemi ready to shine in playoffs?
Young Finn says he’s healthy and ready to do what Habs ask when games begin
We won’t know whether Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s career is back on track until the NHL postseason begins on Aug. 1 in Toronto with the Canadiens playing the Pittsburgh Penguins, but the 20-year-old Finn displayed a mastery of one veteran skill when he talked to the media Friday on a video conference call.
Kotkaniemi, who was known for his winning smile and candid responses as a rookie last season, has learned to deflect questions.
Like the one he was asked about the seriousness of the spleen injury he suffered on March 6 while playing in Cleveland with the AHL’S Laval Rocket that was supposed to end his season.
“Am I allowed to say that, probably not,” Kotkaniemi said. “So next question.”
There was also a question about whether Kotkaniemi had put on some muscle during the fourmonth hiatus. The Canadiens’ training-camp roster lists Kotkaniemi at 198 pounds, the same as earlier this season, but it’s obvious he no longer resembles a scarecrow.
“I can just say my body feels good right now,” Kotkaniemi said.
And then there was the question of how he viewed the opportunity that may present itself if Max Domi doesn’t play because of concerns about his health as a Type 1 diabetic during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My job is to do the best every day and we’ll see where that’s going to take me,” Kotkaniemi said. “If I’m not in the lineup, I’ll just be in the stands cheering for the boys.”
Whether Domi is available or not, all the signs point to Kotkaniemi being part of the mix, either as a centre or on the wing. He is bigger and stronger, and if his post-practice shooting routine is an indication then Phillip Danault was correct this week when he described Kotkaniemi’s shot as “devastating.”
Kotkaniemi is also healthy. He arrived at the preseason training camp last September after having off-season knee surgery and had trouble keeping up. He lost time early in the season because of a groin injury and then was sidelined with a concussion in December. When he suffered the spleen injury, there were fears Kotkaniemi’s career might be in jeopardy, but the No. 3 overall pick at the 2018 NHL draft spent only one night in a Cleveland hospital and recovered quickly.
And then there’s his skating. Coach Claude Julien said Kotkaniemi is skating better than ever.
That’s something Kotkaniemi would discuss.
“Everyone knows that my skating is not the best thing about my game and we’ve been working with that this summer,” said Kotkaniemi, who travelled to Helsinki to work with former Olympic speedskater Janne Hänninen and former NHL player Raimo Summanen.
Kotkaniemi has been at centre on the third line with Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen during training camp, but Charles Hudon filled in Friday for Byron, who was “unable to practise,” which could mean just about anything.
Equally mysterious was Julien’s explanation that “circumstances” resulted in a hodgepodge of lines. Danault, who is usually the centre on the No. 1 line, worked out before the regular practice with Ryan Poehling, defencemen Cale Fleury and Victor Mete, and goaltender Cayden Primeau.
Julien said he was pleased with the way camp has progressed.
“The guys are skating well, there’s lots of energy,” the coach said. “We’ve had four months where the guys haven’t been used to the grind and we had three days to start and it was good to keep them off the ice yesterday. They still had their workouts and they came back today and I thought they had some jump.”
Defencemen Xavier Ouellet and Brett Kulak have not practised since the camp started on Monday. Ouellet was on the ice last week in Phase 2 of the Return to Play Plan, but Kulak has yet to skate in Montreal.
My job is to do the best every day and we’ll see where that’s going to take me.