Posted on Mon, Jul. 19, 2004
Koivu warms up for a Wild berth
Former top draft pick finally arrives
BY BRIAN MURPHY
Pioneer Press
BREEZY POINT, Minn. — At least Mikko Koivu has his priorities in order.
The enigmatic playmaker from Finland arrived last week for his first visit to Minnesota since the Wild drafted him sixth overall in 2001. He poked around the Xcel Energy Center, where he hopes to christen his NHL career this fall, before showing his tourist colors in Bloomington.
"I went to that mall," Koivu said, referring to the Mall of America. "We have big malls in Finland, but not that big."
Big are the expectations greeting the only first-round pick who had yet to set foot in the Twin Cities, let alone skate a shift for the Wild. Big enough that his presence at the team's annual development camp is more noteworthy than Marian Gaborik crashing the party.
This month's acquisition of free agent Brian Rolston landed the Wild a proven No. 1 center, but they remain thin offensively at the position. Koivu's credentials at both ends of the ice are untested on this continent. Yet they offer the best available solution entering training camp.
The Wild have been extremely patient with Koivu, who played the last three seasons for his father/coach Jukka in their hometown of Turku in the Finnish Elite League. He finished school and completed his mandatory military service, deferring his final days of army training until the summer of 2006.
Last year, Koivu signed a three-year, $1.13-million contract that remains on ice until he earns a job in Minnesota. The standard entry-level contract is a two-way deal that would pay him about half his NHL salary if he were assigned to Houston in the American Hockey League.
Against that backdrop, the 21-year-old has less than two months to adjust to the American lifestyle, new teammates, the Wild's system and tighter North American ice surfaces — not to mention learning the difference between I-35E and W.
Koivu followed defense prospect Zbynek Michalek around town for two days before hopping the team bus to Breezy Point.
"Every day, it's easier for me, getting to know the guys and how things work," Koivu said. "It's not going to make pressure for me. It's going to take time to become a better player, but the coaches here have been a lot of help."
Koivu headlines the roster of draft choices who will spend 17 days skating, scrimmaging and golfing at the sleepy resort near Brainerd. Gaborik and Brent Burns also are participating. They, along with Pierre-Marc Bouchard, represent the first-round picks who made the Wild as 18-year-old rookies.
When the Wild drafted Koivu, he made it clear he wanted to follow the lead of his older brother, Saku, who played two years for Turku after the Montreal Canadiens selected their future captain in the first round in 1993.
Mikko Koivu helped lead Turku to the league championship before it lost the best-of-five final in four games. Despite a rash of injuries, he managed 30 points in 45 games and finished plus-18.
Foot and shoulder ailments and a broken cheekbone carved into Koivu's career production — 17 goals and 57 points in 130 games — although scouts rave about his abilities. He is a set-up man and go-to guy for faceoffs in either zone as well as a thorough back checker who soaks up ice time on the power-play and penalty-killing units. And his size — 6 feet 3, 205 pounds — makes him tough to knock off the puck.
"He's a leader. He's very competitive and easy to coach. I'm sure he's going to fit in well," said Thomas Steen, a 14-year NHL player who scouts for the Wild in Europe.
Koivu calmly dismisses the notion that he is injury prone and the assertion that he has to prove more than his predecessors because it has taken him three years to arrive.
"I'm going to play the same as I've always played," he said. "I'm a team guy always. If I can make points, great, but I also have to be responsible on defense. Everything's good. My shoulder's stronger. I'm healthy now, and it's going to be that way."
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Brian Murphy covers the Wild and the NHL. He can be reached at
brianmurphy@pioneerpress.com
