Why Canadiens' Kotkaniemi is due for an upswing

Justin Bourne joins Ken Reid on Sportsnet Central to discuss what's happening around the NHL, including what Cole Caufield has brought to the Montreal Canadiens.

As Jesperi Kotkaniemi gets set to open up Wednesday’s game in Ottawa centring Jake Evans and Artturi Lehkonen, here’s a reminder of why he was lined up on Phillip Danault’s wing to begin with in Brendan Gallagher’s absence.

Because the discourse in the fan base around Kotkaniemi right now appears to be volleying somewhere between negative and concerned, and it’s easy to forget the progress that led him to that position, while the goals aren’t pouring in and the points aren’t piling up. Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme first put this 20-year-old centre to the right of Danault and Tomas Tatar in the first week April, and he did it in recognition of what Kotkaniemi was doing particularly well at the time.

"What he can do on the forecheck, the work he can do around the net, the plays he can make with Danault and Tatar, that will create offence," Ducharme said on April 6, the day after Gallagher went down with a fractured right thumb.

"Also, K.K. has grown and continues to grow, he’s gained experience defensively and often they find themselves facing the other team’s good players, so we have confidence in him that he’ll be able to do the job with them."

That confidence hasn’t waned, even if Ducharme glued Kotkaniemi to the bench for the final 14 minutes of Monday’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The coach is now placing him back at his position of preference, putting him with two players who are playing confidently and well of late, and Ducharme is convinced Kotkaniemi will bring those good elements in his game back to the forefront.

"He’s grown a lot and is still a young player," Ducharme said on Tuesday. "He’s got a better idea, image of what he needs to do to have success. It’s not easy to duplicate every night. We’re here to work with him so he reaches that level (but) it doesn’t come with a click. You go through ups and downs. He’ll come out of it stronger."

Just like Kotkaniemi has on several occasions since being drafted third overall by the Canadiens in 2018. He started with 11 goals and 34 points in 79 games as the youngest player in the NHL over the 2018-19 season.

A tough sophomore season saw him demoted to the AHL, where he put up 13 points in 12 games before vaulting himself back up the depth chart and playing a pivotal role in helping the Canadiens get past the Pittsburgh Penguins in the play-ins last summer and nearly past the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the playoffs.

It's been up and down for Kotkaniemi this season, with only five goals and 20 points to show for his efforts through 51 games. But up and down is a natural progression for a player this young, one we just saw 21-year-old Nick Suzuki go through.

Suzuki struggled through much of March and most of April, and that was normal. But a recent conversation with Ducharme helped both player and coach unearth the solution and Suzuki has suddenly scored in six straight games, collecting 10 points over that stretch.

"Every young player goes through highs and lows, but you always have to go back to what makes you successful, what got you to this level and how you will have success at this level," said Ducharme.

For Suzuki, that meant playing with more bite, getting more engaged in puck battles and taking more pride in getting pucks turned over to transition to the parts of the ice where he excels most. As Ducharme explained on Tuesday, Suzuki needed to stop relying as much on his above-average anticipation ability and start moving his feet more and reacting to the plays as they develop.

For Kotkaniemi, who has a similar skill set, the process is almost identical, and the ignition point is his skating.

When he ramps up his stride, everything else falls into place.

"That’s where he creates more space and time for himself to make his plays, and that’s where you see his talent come out," said Ducharme. "Same thing for his implication in winning loose pucks and winning 50-50 battles. All that allows him to have the puck more often, and when he’s implicated and dynamic like that, that’s when you see his talent come out."

There’s no lack of faith from the coach in that talent.

Part of the reason we haven’t seen it come out as often as anyone would like is the schedule the Canadiens have been in over the last five weeks — playing four games in six nights, three in four and at least two back-to-back. We knew it would be a physical grind for the Canadiens veterans, but it’s been that and a mental one for their young players.

When we spoke with Kotkaniemi last week, that’s what he referenced as a reason for why he hasn’t been able to find the back of the net for a while. It was 16 games without a goal then, and it’s 19 now.

"We’re playing a lot," he said. "Every day we’ve got a practice day or a day off, trying to mentally get a little bit away from hockey and think about something else. I feel physically it’s hard, but I think mentally, too — even harder. Big games, so sometimes it’s harder to get ready for the game, but we do our best."

Kotkaniemi also said that the key to him playing his best game is being mentally engaged from the start, focusing on the details that enable him to bring what had him trusted to take a spot next to Danault and Tatar initially and the spot he filled next to Danault and Josh Anderson on Monday.

We’ve seen what the Finn can do when he’s skating at his top end, finishing his hits and shooting without hesitation. Wednesday’s game presents an opportunity for him to return to that base and build on it as the Canadiens approach playoffs.

Ducharme knows he can do it, and he knows Kotkaniemi remains an important piece to this team’s success. And no one else within the organization has lost sight of that, even if some people on the outside appear to have.

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