At the break: Jesperi Kotkaniemi

MONTREAL - With the Habs off for both the All-Star break and their bye week right afterwards, we took the time to look back at some of the key players on the roster and how their seasons measure up to where they were a year ago. Today: Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

When Jesperi Kotkaniemi first skated at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard this summer, he was somewhat taken aback by the number of people who had come to watch the Canadiens' prospects at development camp. According to the Finnish youngster, it seemed like there were more people at the Habs' practice facility than there were at some of his Liiga games back in Finland.
The Pori native is a far cry from his days with Assat. After recording 29 points (10G, 19A) in 57 games with his hometown team and helping Finland to a gold medal at the 2018 IIHF World U18's in Russia, Kotkaniemi's life was turned upside down after he was picked third overall by the Canadiens at the 2018 Draft in Dallas.
Fast forward several months, and it's hard to look back and imagine Kotkaniemi anywhere other than the NHL.
Not only did he become the first player born in the 2000's to suit up in one of North America's four major team sport leagues (NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB) on opening night, but the man affectionately known as "KK" firmly established himself on the Habs' roster, pivoting a third line aptly where he's been flanked by a rotating cast of characters including fellow Finns Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Armia, as well as Andrew Shaw, Tomas Tatar, and Paul Byron, among others.

Kotkaniemi has not looked out of place regardless of who he's skated with and has demonstrated he's packed with a strong hockey sense and a poise that's almost unbecoming for someone his age.
The 18-year-old didn't have to wait too long to score his first career goal, a wrister wired past Washington Capitals netminder Braden Holtby on November 1 that ignited the Bell Centre faithful in celebration of their smiley rookie sensation. The tally gave him the distinction of being the second-youngest player in franchise history to score his first career NHL goal after Mario Tremblay did it in in 1974-75. And Kotkaniemi didn't have to wait nearly as long to net his second: just 54 minutes and 32 seconds, to be exact, scoring later that same game.

He hasn't stopped there, either. After earning an assist in the Habs' 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on January 5, he became just the third Canadiens player to reach the 20-point mark before his 19th birthday after Tremblay and Petr Svoboda.

Kotkaniemi arrived at the All-Star break tied for third-most points by a rookie this season, and has 31 games remaining to take over Tremblay as the club's leading point-getter as an 18-year-old. (Tremblay registered 39 points (21G, 18A) in 63 games in 1974-75).
The future, one might say, is as bright as a Kotkaniemi smile, and that's got Canadiens fans feeling pretty "mint" these days.

Notable quotables
"He's been unbelievable since the start of the year. He's a special player. He's going to be a really good player for a long, long time in this League and for this team. We're very lucky to have him and excited to see how he's doing so well. He's only 18 years old, and the way he's handled himself and the poise he's had, it's remarkable. He's very respectful. We all love him as a teammate and as a player, too. He's a great kid and he deserves it." -Max Domi on the night Kotkaniemi scored his first two NHL goals, November 1 at the Bell Centre against the Washington Capitals
Highlight of the year so far

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