Prospect Info: Jesperi Kotkaniemi: The Eagle has landed (Made the team!)

[HockeyDBspecialist]

Stop! This is so silly! All the nicknames so far are silly.
Kotka and that's it!
Have fun though...

KOKO or Kotkoko are the 2 best

 

[Skip Bayless]

Because that nickname is reserved for Kakko

Nah man, Kakko's nickname is Kakko

 

[Vachon23]

How good will he be when he will add streght and when he will be more explosif ?

 

[417]

This again?

Call him what you will, quite simply.

We're a few goals away from McDonald's building a custom Kotka-burger

 

[Saundies]

"JKo" (J-Ko) is what i call him....way better than KK..lol

This is the one I'm using! J Ko it is.

 

[Whitesnake]

Yeah he's "Jepu" back in Finland. Which I think is just fine.

But I can already tell some here will flip out if they have to call him that lol. I don't know why people get so caught up with these things.

Jepu in french like....doesn't work.....at all.....

 

[NotProkofievian]

This again?

Call him what you will, quite simply.

Can we call him King of kings? Upon whose works the mighty shall look and despair?

 

[Hope Of Glory]

Is he better than Zadina though?

Will he ever recover from that horrible rookie camp he had?

 

[G0bias]

Jepu in french like....doesn't work.....at all.....

- Chaput
-Oui, Jepu

 

[schnapshot]

Can we stop with the meanless nickname discussions please and talk about his performance?

 

[FrankMTL]

Jepu in french like....doesn't work.....at all.....

I literally laughed out loud. I didn't realize what you meant until i said it out loud....For those that don't know, in French, "Je pu" pretty much means "I stink"

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Is he better than Zadina though?

Will he ever recover from that horrible rookie camp he had?

It doesnt matter what kotka does now.
He had a bad 1st game in the rookie tournament, which is all that matters.

 

[peate]

I literally laughed out loud. I didn't realize what you meant until i said it out loud....For those that don't know, in French, "Je pu" pretty much means "I stink"

Not quite the way I see it, more like j'ai pu l'temps d'niaiser.

 

[FrankMTL]

Not quite the way I see it, more like j'ai pu l'temps d'niaiser.

Well it would have to be pronounced Jépu then..as Jepu (Je pue) is "I stink"

 

[Stive Morgan]

Because that nickname is reserved for Kakko

"Canadiens Finnish duo has Atlantic division going Koko Kaaka" - NHL.com pun writers

 

[sandviper]

I'm just going to stick with what Kotkaniemi says his nickname is.

Is he better than Zadina though?

Will he ever recover from that horrible rookie camp he had?

He will only be in the same conversations as Zadina once he scores his first shootout goal, where generational talent is measured.

 

[Church]

The Eagle is perfect. And when he scores and Michel Lacroix says his name, we all scream Kokkaawwwwwww (or some eagle cry)

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Can we call him King of kings? Upon whose works the mighty shall look and despair?

I prefered the modified JFK text that somebody posted last week.

The space race speech spoof

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I'm just going to stick with what Kotkaniemi says his nickname is.





He will only be in the same conversations as Zadina once he scores his first shootout goal, where generational talent is measured.

In that case why not not call him Hawk, it's phonetically similar to Kotk, on top of Eagle having already been used?

Hawks are in the same family as eagles, the Accipitridae.

 

[NotProkofievian]

The Eagle is perfect. And when he scores and Michel Lacroix says his name, we all scream Kokkaawwwwwww (or some eagle cry)

This has my vote.

KRÄAÄÄÄÄ

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

This has my vote.

KRÄAÄÄÄÄ

That sounds more like a crow.

Eagles have high pitched skreeks.

 

[NotProkofievian]

That sounds more like a crow.

Eagles have high pitched skreeks.

I'm doing my best, okay! Gawd.

 

[CauZuki]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with some of the logic I've been seeing. I don't feel I need to preface this commentary by saying I was a huge fan of the pick since the draft , highlights really stood out for me as a smart player. I honestly didn't know much about him until we drafted him, only first heard about him during the last WJC. That being said , are we willing to potentially add a higher risk of injury simply because he is outright our best option at C? I've said it before but this is selfish behaviour , that jeapordizes the longterm for the shorterm.

He is by far our most talented Center I am not denying the observation , but at the same time you can't deny that preseason hockey has nothing to do with the long haul that is 82 games of the NHL season. It's clear he has NHL talent and from his positive showing the development in Finland is obviously not an issue. He is in a perfect situation where he can play agaisnt men while playing Center , coached by his Dad , comfortably play WJC hockey and work on filling out.

If we were calculating risk vs benefit , it's a landslide risk to keep him in Montreal. He would be playing a longer schedule , facing an undeniable higher risk of injury as a just turned 18 year old in the NHL. We would be burning a year of his RFA years while we are clearly not in a situation where we need him onnour roster. We have an overabundance of players actually to the point where we could be putting a recent 1st rounder through waivers(Scherby).

The benefit exists where (assuming no injuries) he would gain some valuable NHL experience regardless of the season's outcome. However, that is clearly outweighed by the previously mentioned risks. There is a chance that this is the correct path for Kotka (staying in the NHL) but you can't argue it's likely to be optimal. We rarely here of players being "groomed too heavily" , there is a reason why the term "rushed" exists.

It's akin to an argument where I say driving with your feet causes more accidents and the other person says "I saw a person drive with his feet and he didn't get in an accident". Everyone thinks they are the minority or exceptional case , is it really worth risking the career trajectory of one of our best prospects in years?

 

[Runner77]

Can't jinx the sisu, meng.

I've seen you use "sisu" before but it wasn't until now that I finally looked it up to get to the bottom of it:

Sisu is a unique Finnish concept. ... Sisu is a special strength and persistent determination and resolve to continue and overcome in the moment of adversity…an almost magical quality, a combination of stamina, perseverance, courage, and determination held in reserve for hard times.

Sisu is a Finnish concept described as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness and is held by Finns themselves to express their national character.

Sisu means that you finish what you start, you don’t quit in the middle of a job, and you don’t whine.

"It doesn’t take sisu to go to the North Pole; it takes sisu to stand at the door when the bear is on the other side."

Given what it means, can you really jinx it? Seems like an inherent character feature that the Fins have and cherish.

If Habs management had any sense, they would have replaced their meaningless "attitude" buzzword by sisu.

 

[Runner77]

And in honor of our favorite local Finn ...