June 29, 2024
The Montreal Canadiens make eight picks on day two of the NHL Entry Draft, including Aatos Koivu
Aatos Koivu – the son of former Montreal Canadiens captain and fan favorite Saku Koivu, is now a member of the Montreal Canadiens.
After walking away with two solid forward prospects taken on day one of the NHL Entry Draft, Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage, the Habs stayed the course and chose Aatos Koivu in the third round, and added four more forwards, two defensemen and a goalie on day two.
See More: Canadiens draft Demidov, Hage in first round of 2024 NHL Draft
On what was speculated as being a defense heavy draft, it was the forwards that made the biggest splash on the draft as a whole – which played perfectly into the hands of the Montreal Canadiens who already possess a slew of highly talented and highly touted defensemen and goalies in their prospect pool.
Aatos Koivu is more than a nod to a beloved former Canadiens captain – he has earned his spot at the draft despite the name on the back of his jersey. Koivu suffered an injury that kept him out for a decent amount of the past season, but upon his return, showed significant growth and blossomed as a player.
Koivu plays for TPS Turku, as his father did, and was able to take advantage when several of his teammates went down with injuries, and in January of this year, he found himself centering the top line – and never looked back. He displayed good speed and skill against players several years older than him, as well as the heart and determination that man his father, Saku, and his uncle Miko Koivu, who played for the Minnesota Wild, such special players.
Aatos also had a strong showing on the international front, where he was a key component to the Finnish national team at the Five Nations tournament. At just 18 years of age, Aatos is already 6’1″ and still growing.
In fact, the Habs seemed to have opted for players with size this year – every one of the Habs picks is at least six-feet tall, with fifth round pick Tyler Thorpe topping the charts at 6’4″ and 209 pounds at just 18 years old.
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Along with Aatos Koivu, the Habs also selected center Logan Sawyer, gritty defenseman Owen Protz, the aforementioned Tyler Thorpe, goaltender Mikus Vacvanags, center Ben Merrill, another highly skilled and intriguing Russian forward Makar Khanin and Swedish defenseman Rasmus Bergqvist.
When the dust settles, the Montreal Canadiens might have left Las Vegas with one of the better groups of prospects amongst the NHL teams; only time will tell.
