“I haven’t reached that level yet, but I hope I will”

Jesperi Kotkaniemi wasn’t the most popular player during his time in Montreal.

Clearly, he was drafted too early, but the Habs sorely needed a center and he was the best available.

In hindsight, it’s easy to see why the Habs passed on him when they chose the Finn over Brady Tkachuk.

Kotkaniemi has always been nonchalant, with an attitude of “it doesn’t matter, everything’s fine” when it wasn’t fine, something that always sort of annoyed me.

And in the wake of the Carolina Hurricanes’ elimination in the Eastern Final, KK had other words to say that “everything’s beautiful” in his case.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi at the crossroads?
The former Habs man hasn’t scored in his last 32 playoff games pic.twitter.com/6T5afRIlYr

– RDS (@RDSca) May 30, 2025

The way he said it makes me think he thinks it’s going to magically fall from the sky.

And that’s really not how it works in the NHL.

You have to work your ass off and find ways to improve what needs to be improved, take steps to find out what’s wrong and figure out why you’re not producing up to expectations.

You don’t hope “it will happen”, you do everything you can to make it happen.

He could take a leaf out of Lane Hutson’s book, as he’s on the ice every chance he gets.

As RDS mentioned in the tweet above, Kotkaniemi hasn’t scored in his last 32 games (!!!), which is far from ideal for a third overall pick.

His best season was 43 points in 2022-23, which isn’t exactly stellar for a guy drafted 3rd overall.

Now 24, he still hasn’t reached the potential the Habs drafted him for, and it’s questionable whether he’ll ever really be an NHL impact player.

With 33 points this season and a (very) long drought of scoreless games, we wouldn’t bet much, if anything, on him.

Overtime

– He was an accomplice on both Moncton Wildcats goals in this semi-final.

Caleb Desnoyers demonstrating loudly and clearly why he will be a very high pick in the draft. He has been superb tonight. Best player on the ice.

– Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) May 31, 2025

– Is this really the year of the Oilers?

Last year, Connor McDavid was the last Oiler to leave the ice while the Panthers celebrated their Stanley Cup victory.

Now, McDavid has another shot to win what he’s worked his entire life for pic.twitter.com/VTbHtW0p3s

– B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 31, 2025

– Wow!

What a catch by Denzel Clarke pic.twitter.com/roKd3H9FuD

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 31, 2025