Habs rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi earns power play assist in NHL debut

When Jesperi Kotkaniemi stepped on the ice Wednesday night, he became a small piece of NHL history.

The Montreal forward became the first player born in the year 2000 to play in a regular-season game as the Canadiens opened the 2018-19 season at Toronto.

Even though Kotkaniemi _ who turned 18 in July _ was the youngest player skating at Scotiabank Arena, it didn't show. He had an assist in 15:05 of ice time as the Canadiens lost to the Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime.

Kotkaniemi said he had ``no butterflies'' playing in his first NHL game.

``It was fun,'' said Kotkaniemi. ``I enjoyed every moment even though the result isn't what we wanted.''

Kotkaniemi earned his first-ever NHL point on the power play, assisting on Andrew Shaw's goal that tied the game 2-2 just before the second intermission. The goal deflated the Maple Leafs, who struggled through the third period before Auston Matthews scored in overtime.

``I don't think he looked out of place,'' said Canadiens head coach Claude Julien. ``If you want to win hockey games you have to put players that are capable of making some great plays and creating some offence in a good position and he's certainly one of those guys.''

Kotkaniemi was Montreal's third overall pick in the 2018 draft and will be a key piece in the Canadiens' ongoing rebuild. The six-foot-two, 185-pound centre from Pori, Finland, had 10 goals and 19 assists for Assat in his one professional year in Finland before joining the Habs.

``I think what I saw from him tonight was a guy whose first experience was a good one, I thought he did well,'' said Julien. ``But at the same time I know he's one of those guys that's going to continue to adjust himself like he's done since the beginning.

``I thought he answered the call very well, but he's realizing too that things are closing quicker but he's going to adjust. I was really happy with how an 18 year old handled himself in his first game.''