The Montreal Canadiens are not getting much production from Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Some fans are calling for him to be demoted, but the Habs just need to continue showing patience with their young forward.
The Montreal Canadiens turned a few heads and inadvertently created a few .gifs when they selected Jesperi Kotkaniemi third overall in the 2018 NHL Draft. There were several more “NHL-ready” forwards available with that selection, but the Habs elected to take Kotkaniemi.
The Finnish forward definitely filled an organizational need at center. The Habs have long been looking to upgrade that position. They saw an opportunity to do so with a tall, lanky, creative forward in Kotkaniemi who has the ability to play the middle of the ice. In order to take him, they had to pass up on a few intriguing wingers like Brady Tkachuk and Filip Zadina.
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Kotkaniemi was known at the time to be a longer term project. He had played one year in Liiga before being drafted but was a tall, slender kid who needed to add plenty of muscle before he could fully realize his potential.
Well, the 18 year old who was one of the youngest players in the 2018 NHL Draft, played well enough in his first NHL training camp that he made the Canadiens roster immediately. He had 11 goals and 34 points in his rookie season. Considering he was expected to still be in Finland, it was a great showing for Kotkaniemi.
It was hoped this season would bring further growth one the ice as it clearly did in the weight room for the now 19 year old. Things appeared headed in that direction as he scored goals in each of the team’s first two road games, something he was unable to do all of last season.
However, at this point he has played 16 games and has just two goals and one assist for three points. He has played most nights on the Habs third line but has often found himself at the bottom of the list of ice time at the end of games.
This has resulted in some Habs fans calling for Kotkaniemi to be demoted to the Laval Rocket or made available for the World Juniors next month. Others have decided to go back in history and claim the team was insane to not just take Brady Tkachuk when they had the chance.
It is pretty convenient to now suggest Tkachuk would have been a better pick. He had 11 more points than Kotkaniemi last season and has 11 more already this year. However, he had just six goals in his sole NCAA campaign right before being drafted and was far from a sure thing at that time, though he was definitely more physically prepared for the NHL.
It was predicted at the time that Tkachuk would have more immediate success, but Kotkaniemi would prove to be the better talent in the long run. Just because Kotkaniemi hasn’t put up a ton of points in 16 games as a 19 year old doesn’t mean the Habs were wrong to draft him.
Just look back a few years and you will see some of the stars of the NHL today were not so productive immediately. Leon Draisaitl was taken third overall and then scored nine points in 37 NHL games the following season. Alex Barkov had less than half a point per game in his 18 and 19 year old seasons but is now one of the best two-way threats in the league.
Jonathan Huberdeau was a third overall pick like Kotkaniemi and had just 28 points in 69 games as a 20 year old with the Florida Panthers. The early NHL experience certainly didn’t ruin him as he has 30 points already this season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored four goals in 40 games as a 19 year old with the Edmonton Oilers and has since cemented himself as a second line scoring threat.
We are starting to get further back in the past, but paltry offensive production as teenagers didn’t stop Tyler Seguin, Evander Kane, Brayden Schenn or Phil Kessel from turning into successful, productive NHLers.
There is a misnomer in the NHL that if a player isn’t playing huge minutes and producing big offensive numbers he needs to be sent down. That’s not necessarily true when you look back at many players taken in the top five of past NHL Drafts.
Kotkaniemi may not be producing big offence right now but that doesn’t mean he isn’t developing his game and getting better. The lessons learned as a teenager at the NHL level will pay off down the road for Kotkaniemi. It is just going to require a little patience from us fans along the way.