Montreal Canadiens: Jesperi Kotkaniemi nets two assists vs. Vaasan Sport
By Omar L
Montreal Canadiens first-round pick had another solid performance overseas finishing his first preseason game in Liiga with two assists.
Ässät was the better of the two teams coming out of the gate against Vassan Sport as Liiga preseason hockey got underway. However, two breakaway goals over the course the game gave the Sport the eventual 3-2 lead over Ässät. The defensive mistakes made can be fixed, but a positive to take away from it all, when it comes to the Montreal Canadiens anyway, was how well Jesperi Kotkaniemi played.
It was another solid performance for the 18-year-old who finished the game with two assists as the team’s first line centre in between Otto Kivenmäki and Aleksi Rekonen.
What stood out the most was how Kotkaniemi’s play from those two U20 games hadn’t changed. He vision and ability to find passing lanes was on point again, but his gap control and spatial awareness were apparent as well. Kotkaniemi stole a good amount of pucks from Sport players throughout the game and quickly turned them into chances on goal.
One of those passing plays saw Kivenmäki get sprung on a partial breakaway. It didn’t lead to a goal, unfortunately, but that was as good a scoring chance as you’ll ever see to recognize that he was streaking in and put the puck in the perfect spot for him to make a move with it.
The first assist of the night for Kotkaniemi came after a solid set of minutes of offensive pressure from Ässät. Kivenmäki carried the puck along the boards, and Kotkaniemi was there in support to poke-check the puck away from the Sport player after it was lost. With the puck back on his stick, Kivenmäki found Rekonen in front to make it 1-0.
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Kotkaniemi’s second helper was on the power play as Ässät was down 2-1. The third overall pick was set up on the left point with defenceman Juho Tommila to his right. A quick chance from Kivenmäki on the doorstep was turned aside creating a mini-horde around the net while the puck to trickled out.
Tommila sent it over to Kotkaniemi who had his first wrist shot blocked, but kept the play going by bumping it back to the defenceman for a quick game of hot potato. With the puck back on his stick, Kotkaniemi moved in as the first part of the ever-popular tic-tac-toe play passing it first to Rekonen who was parked on the left side.
It’s a good feeling to win, but seeing the 18-year-old continue to stand out is huge for the Montreal Canadiens. Ässät’s next game is on August 16th against the Lukko and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kotkaniemi in the lineup again.
Next. Ideal Linemates for Kotkaniemi. dark
After he gets his number preseason games, it’ll be off to the Rookie Tournament, and if he continues on this trajectory, fans should expect special things from him there as well.