Montreal Canadiens: What did Jesperi Kotkaniemi gain from Assat Pori?

Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s stretch in Liiga with Assat Pori is over as he is moving on from the loan to preparing for another season with the Montreal Canadiens.

The biggest concern about the mystery behind the start date of the 2020/21 season was rust. Sure, NHL players are used to going long stretches without playing games – five months if you’re out of the playoffs – but this feels different, and with other leagues going on, there was an opportunity for teams to send their players overseas. The Montreal Canadiens made the right decision sending Jesperi Kotkaniemi over to Europe, especially after the rollercoaster that was his sophomore season. The question now is, what did the 2018 third overall pick gain from it.

Kotkaniemi saw 10 games with Assat Pori with Sebastian Wannstrom on his right while Nikolaj Meyer and Otto Kivenmaki split time on his left. In total, the 20-year-old put up 2 goals and 6 assists, nearly sticking at a point-per-game.

It didn’t start out all too well offensively. Kotkaniemi didn’t get a point until his fifth game with a primary helper on Wannstrom’s third-period goal to tie the game at 2. Handling the puck, Kotkaniemi took a shot on net from the left circle that went off the JYP defender. The goaltender was tricked, bracing himself for KK’s shot giving Wannstrom a wide-open net.

The Finnish centre scored his only goals for the Aces in a single game against the Pelicans and fellow Montreal Canadiens prospect Jesse Ylonen. The first was an absolute bullet on the power play from the right circle to open the scoring. Kotkaniemi faked as if he was going to send the puck to the point after receiving it from below the red line instead, taking a few strides towards the net and firing. His second came off the rush but was another quick release from the left circle.

It’s been talked about ad nasueam of how important it is for Kotkaniemi to use his shot more. The Montreal Canadiens saw endless signs of its quickness, and his release, in particular, can be a serious threat on the powerplay if used more often. Kotkaniemi added three more assists (including two primary helpers in a 5-4 overtime loss to Assat.

The first on the Wannstrom goal (that happened a lot) really stood out. Kotkaniemi had control of the left side of the ice on the power play. After receiving the puck, he skated down to the right circle and fired a shot pass through two sticks to Wannstrom for the easy slot tap-in. Vision is one thing, but it was another example of how dangerous and effective the release of his shot can be.

However, context is key. Kotkaniemi had a lot more time and space to get his shot off and also skate with the puck and pick up speed to the hash marks. It’ll be more difficult to do that in the NHL, where the ice is smaller, and the players are, no offence to Liiga, better.

That said, the Montreal Canadiens can now have two lethally deceptive offensive threats. Nick Suzuki with his deceptive passing and Kotkaniemi with the quickness of his shots that can either be bullet shots or easy tap-in goals if you’re holding your stick properly.

According to Arpon Basu of The Athletic, the reason Kotkaniemi’s loan ended was so he could be in Montreal in time to prepare for training camp if the season stuck to its January 1st start date.

Gary Bettman and the rest of the league have been sharing their wishful thinking, but it’s better to be safe than sorry here so.

As it stands, the order of centres on the Montreal Canadiens is still up for grabs. Suzuki and Kotkaniemi took the 1 and 2 spots in the playoffs, but Phillip Danault seems determined to keep his role. KK can establish himself as a mainstay in the Habs’ top six. Some of the things he put on display in those 10 games will be a good way of doing it.

Acknowledgements: Liiga stats from the official league site