Player Discussion Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Part VIII) - Pretty Mintniemi Edition

[Habs Halifax]

The panic over him sitting one game is hilarious.

The passion withing our fan base is real. We want this kid to succeed so bad and when he sits one game, questions pop up. Why? What's wrong? How does this affect Kotkaniemi's attitude? etc.

Watch if he sits for a few games and when he plays again. The attention he will get is enormous. It's extremely hard for our management team to make any moves like this and have it fly under the radar. It's Montreal and it's how it is.

 

[Saundies]

The passion withing our fan base is real. We want this kid to succeed so bad and when he sits one game, questions pop up. Why? What's wrong? How does this affect Kotkaniemi's attitude? etc.

Watch if he sits for a few games and when he plays again. The attention he will get is enormous. It's extremely hard for our management team to make any moves like this and have it fly under the radar. It's Montreal and it's how it is.

The only thing I don't wanna see is Julien holding him out of the lineup because he feels more comfortable going with a guy like Weal down the stretch to try and eek into the playoffs. Not only does KK >>>>> Weal (and even more so going forward with this team), but this would be an unwelcome interruption in his development that, up to this point, I thought was going pretty great.

That's it. If it's just for one or two games, okay. I get it. But if it starts becoming a thing because Claude is uncomfortable with how young he is and starts using "gotta go with a winning lineup" as an excuse, I will be royally pissed.

 

[ZUKI]

I dont know, Ill be mad at the team, like ive been for the past four years.

I think that you're a fan of this team because you love to be mad . The day the Habs will be contenders , you will be a fan of another team

 

[Kaako Kappo]

The passion withing our fan base is real. We want this kid to succeed so bad and when he sits one game, questions pop up. Why? What's wrong? How does this affect Kotkaniemi's attitude? etc.

Watch if he sits for a few games and when he plays again. The attention he will get is enormous. It's extremely hard for our management team to make any moves like this and have it fly under the radar. It's Montreal and it's how it is.

From everything I've seen, Julien likes Kotkaniemi very much and he is also very liked in the locker room. He's also a person who isn't really phased by much so I'm sure eating popcorn for a game or two won't break his mental. I know it's just the passion but it's still funny how it causes 5 pages of discussion.

If it's more than the last game and maybe tonight's game, then I'll be a bit disappointed.

 

[philipsson]

I’m not alone when I say KK is a special talent. See what Kopitar said about him.
Could Jesperi Kotkaniemi become the Canadiens’ version of...

Really thinking about getting that membership ahahah. Can you just pinpoint the important points of the article ?

 

[Habs Halifax]

The only thing I don't wanna see is Julien holding him out of the lineup because he feels more comfortable going with a guy like Weal down the stretch to try and eek into the playoffs. Not only does KK >>>>> Weal (and even more so going forward with this team), but this would be an unwelcome interruption in his development that, up to this point, I thought was going pretty great.

That's it. If it's just for one or two games, okay. I get it. But if it starts becoming a thing because Claude is uncomfortable with how young he is and starts using "gotta go with a winning lineup" as an excuse, I will be royally pissed.

Lets face it... our pride/rebound year trumps everything else. So Kotkaniemi's develop will take a back seat if Weal out performs him in practice and in games. Not sure how I would feel about Kotkaniemi sitting more games than he should but I also prefer not to jump on Julien back cause he trying to get us in the playoffs and the coaching staff knows a heck of a lot more than us fans.

If anything, this keeps Kotkaniemi hungry to improve and he does not become complacent. There is something to be said about this as well. Lets not put Kotkaniemi on a pedestal. He's having a good year but there are parts of his game he needs to improve.

Lets not jump on Julien's back cause he is trying to win games and also trying to shelter Kotkaniemi.

 

[ZUKI]

Um, Weal DID score and played great. And looked strong on face offs. It was want a bad move and it gave the kid some rest. There’s nothing suspicious about it.

Weal has more goal on the road than KK after one single game

 

[Saundies]

Lets face it... our pride/rebound year trumps everything else. So Kotkaniemi's develop will take a back seat if Weal out performs him in practice and in games. Not sure how I would feel about Kotkaniemi sitting more games than he should but I also prefer not to jump on Julien back cause he trying to get us in the playoffs and the coaching staff knows a heck of a lot more than us fans.

And that's exactly what I'm afraid of. We've seen this story before.

We'll see. But I know I won't be happy if that's the route we go down.

 

[Habs Halifax]

From everything I've seen, Julien likes Kotkaniemi very much and he is also very liked in the locker room. He's also a person who isn't really phased by much so I'm sure eating popcorn for a game or two won't break his mental. I know it's just the passion but it's still funny how it causes 5 pages of discussion.

If it's more than the last game and maybe tonight's game, then I'll be a bit disappointed.

He is our best prospect in decades. The attention he is getting and will get with him is going to happen. It's unavoidable within our fan base.

 

[Habs Halifax]

And that's exactly what I'm afraid of. We've seen this story before.

We'll see. But I know I won't be happy if that's the route we go down.

Ice the best roster and in order to understand our coaches situation, you need to watch the practices and what they are trying to do. If Kotkaniemi sits cause Weal out performs him in practice and in games, so be it. Kotkaniemi should not get a auto pass and I like the idea of keeping him hungry to get better. We should not overlook both sides to this in terms of the Habs trying to win games and how this affects Kotkaniemi's development.

But yes, I am a bit concerned with this pride/rebound year. I hate middle of the pack strategy and we clearly had this heading into the year.

 

[Guns n Roses]

The only thing I don't wanna see is Julien holding him out of the lineup because he feels more comfortable going with a guy like Weal down the stretch to try and eek into the playoffs. Not only does KK >>>>> Weal (and even more so going forward with this team), but this would be an unwelcome interruption in his development that, up to this point, I thought was going pretty great.

That's it. If it's just for one or two games, okay. I get it. But if it starts becoming a thing because Claude is uncomfortable with how young he is and starts using "gotta go with a winning lineup" as an excuse, I will be royally pissed.

He’s a little bit too young for the grind, it’s not a bad thing, it’s normal when being THE youngest player in the league that has already played more hockey this year than most NHL guys have. Giving him a rest is a good thing, he will be stronger next season, and every season after.

 

[Belial]

Rest him till we get back home and then scratch Weise for Weal.

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

Kotkaniemi is ok but Weal has more upside...

It seemed to do Mete some good earlier in the season to be out of the lineup. Maybe it will all work out all right.

 

[Saundies]

Ice the best roster and in order to understand our coaches situation, you need to watch the practices and what they are trying to do. If Kotkaniemi sits cause Weal out performs him in practice and in games, so be it. Kotkaniemi should not get a auto pass and I like the idea of keeping him hungry to get better. We should not overlook both sides to this in terms of the Habs trying to win games and how this affects Kotkaniemi's development.

But yes, I am a bit concerned with this pride/rebound year. I hate middle of the pack strategy and we clearly had this heading into the year.

But is he scratched because he's being outperformed? Or is Weal a better player than him? I don't think so. You don't really scratch guys based on practice unless they are on the bubble and mailing it in. Julien said "fatigue" but KK yesterday said he wasn't tired.

Or is he being scratched because of service time and a coach who has historically leaned on veterans during tough times (even to a fault)? I can't count how many times this year he's taken KK out of a key faceoff situation only to have the vet he replaced him with get beat and then we get scored on.

Is making the playoffs and probably getting obliterated by Tampa worth any gaps in KK's development? That's the worry. It's easy to say "he's played a lot, this will be good for him" but we don't know him or how he reacts and he's had a year and a half straight of virtually no setbacks. Sitting him for the most important stretch of our season for an inferior player isn't good.

 

[Schwang]

I know, thats what were reduced to in MTL. We accept playing a guy that couldnt make the Coyotes or the Flyers over our prized jewel, over the chosen one.

Well let’s see how he does over the long haul. Paul Byron was waived for gods sake!

 

[Miller Time]

Kotkaniemi is ok but Weal has more upside...

It seemed to do Mete some good earlier in the season to be out of the lineup. Maybe it will all work out all right.

 

[Ozmodiar]

Kotkaniemi is ok but Weal has more upside...

 

[GrandmaCookie]

Don't feed him.

 

[Schwang]

Weal has more goal on the road than KK after one single game

Funny but true. He’s obviously an offensive minded player and should play with like minded players. Some people think he should be 4th line and I don’t agree with that.
He’s more suited to today’s nhl. Provided he can finish.

 

[Ozmodiar]

The young kid has played a lot of hockey this year and last. A break might do him some good. The Cali road trip seems like a good opportunity to give him a rest.

If there's any signs of fatigue, best to nip it in the bud, and get him some rest before the playoffs.

 

[Kotkaniemi15]

Really thinking about getting that membership ahahah. Can you just pinpoint the important points of the article ?

Basically Kopi and Nate Thompson spoke about how KK is adjusting very well to the league and is always in the right place at the right time. They both talked about how good his positioning was even on the little things and how important that was. They also said he was very good defensively which is very rare for an 18 year old and that's why the coach trusts him in defensive zone face-offs. Paul Byron also compared him to Barkov. I'm so glad we have KK. Once he fills out he's going to be a beast.

 

[Mrb1p]

I think that you're a fan of this team because you love to be mad . The day the Habs will be contenders , you will be a fan of another team

I was a fan of this team in the Kovalev days and I was a fan of this team when they went to the ECF in 2015.

 

[Mrb1p]

Well let’s see how he does over the long haul. Paul Byron was waived for gods sake!

I know, it may be a good acquisition, but why hes getting reps instead of Kotkaniemi is beyond me. He needs to play.

 

[philipsson]

Basically Kopi and Nate Thompson spoke about how KK is adjusting very well to the league and is always in the right place at the right time. They both talked about how good his positioning was even on the little things and how important that was. They also said he was very good defensively which is very rare for an 18 year old and that's why the coach trusts him in defensive zone face-offs. Paul Byron also compared him to Barkov. I'm so glad we have KK. Once he fills out he's going to be a beast.

Can't agree more. It's been a long time since i've been THAT hyped about a prospect. Thanks for the resume pal !

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

He's a weally good prospect