Montreal Canadiens top prospect Jesperi Kotkaniemi was in another preseason game for Ässät showing more off more of his skill and vision.
There has yet to be a game where Jesperi Kotkaniemi hasn’t stood out. His latest preseason performance for Ässät against Lukko is further proof of that which is great news for the Montreal Canadiens.
Kotkaniemi was once again the team’s number one centre with Otto Kivenmäki and Aleksi Rekonen on his wings. The first period had some positive flashes for the young centre. But it was evident that other teams were starting to recognize what he could do on the ice. As soon as Kotkaniemi would get close to or have the puck, a Lukko player was on him in a matter of seconds.
However, it was more than taking space away from him. When they got the chance to take an extra jab or hold him along the boards longer, they took it. That’s a clear testament to how he’s grown and something Kotkaniemi will have to work through as his career to continues. He was able to break through it as the period went on and fight back.
One of these instances came off a win along the boards circling the puck behind the net to start an offensive rush. Kivenmäki nearly scored, but he was unfortunately stopped by the goaltender. Minutes later Ässät would get another chance after an intercepted puck handle by Kotkaniemi ended up on Rekonen’s stick.
Lukko managed to get on the board in a play that involved Kotkaniemi. He stole the puck in the defensive zone but tripped while heading into the corner with it. Still keeping control, Kotkaniemi attempted to clear the puck which was picked up by Lukko at the blueline eventually leading to a slap shot tally.
The second period saw Kotkaniemi take another stride. He had two shots in the opening minutes almost converting on his own rebound. The scoring chances continued including an excellent feed to Jussi Makkonen along the blueline on the power play and a shot off an offensive zone turnover. A slight stick deflection from Kotkaniemi led to Kivenmäki intercepting the pass to get it back to him for another shot.
Then the 18-year-old started to get rewarded for his chances. It began with his goal to tie the game up in the third period. Rekonen received the puck in the neutral zone and skated with it along the wall. The cross-crease attempt to Kotkaniemi went off a player’s skate on net, and the rebound came out allowing him to get it past the pads and into the net.
Later in the period, the game was tied at two. Kotkaniemi’s efforts gave Ässät the lead instead of the match going to overtime with less than two minutes left. A neutral zone turnover gave Ässät possession of the puck, and Kivenmäki sent a pass to Kotkaniemi who skated down to the right circle and fired a sharp angle shot on the goalie. Makkonen pounced on the rebound jamming it in to make it 3-2.
Lukko couldn’t manage to get another one and Ässät came away with the victory.
Another solid performance from the 2018 third overall pick goes into the filing system. As each game goes by, Kotkaniemi is adding more evidence to prove that he should get a little look with the Montreal Canadiens. Yes, it’s only the preseason, but he’s showing signs of being able to dominate Liiga, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can transition that well in training camp.