‘It was my favourite game of the year’: Jesperi Kotkaniemi talks about his new reality in the AHL - Habs Eyes on the Prize | Canada News Media
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‘It was my favourite game of the year’: Jesperi Kotkaniemi talks about his new reality in the AHL – Habs Eyes on the Prize

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Jesperi Kotkaniemi came back to his stall at Place Bell to talk to the waiting media. The Laval Rocket lost the game to the Belleville Senators 5-4 in overtime, after holding a 4-1 lead in the second half of the third period. It was a game that no one in the Rocket room was happy to be a part of.

There are some things more important than the result of the game, and for Kotkaniemi, he showed the ability to see the bigger picture.

“It was my favourite game of the year,” Kotkaniemi said.

He didn’t smile when he said this, the loss still weighing hard on him. But while the loss weighed him down, there was also the sense that another weight had lifted.

No player is happy to play in the AHL, or to be sent to the AHL. Rocket head coach Joël Bouchard often mentions that no one dreams to play in that league. Disappointment is normal, if not expected when a player is sent down. But there are positives, and for Kotkaniemi, that includes getting time on the ice and the ability to learn at a different pace than in Montreal.

Kotkaniemi, according to Bouchard, played over 16 minutes in the overtime loss and that was despite not killing penalties in a game Laval took six penalties. The third overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft will eventually take that role on, and will get more ice time as a result.

“He has to fill every role,” said Bouchard. “We want him to be a 200 foot player. We have to get him to kill penalties. He’s a smart player.”

Bouchard said that being in the AHL will allow him to teach him and prepare him for different roles and try new things where the pressure of winning at all costs is not as high as it is in the NHL.

“He needs to play,” Bouchard said. “There are things that I can work on him with that are harder to do at the NHL level.”

Kotkaniemi’s sense of humour didn’t leave him, either perhaps another indicator of where his head is at. When asked what he wanted to improve personally in order to get back to the top level, he gave an answer no one was expecting.

“Just trying to stay alive here,” he said. “There are a few guys who can kill me on every shift, so that’s one thing.”

He did bring it back serious.

“Getting confidence back and playing with the puck a little more I think that will help me,” he said.

The adjustment period surely won’t be easy, but the one thing that may be afforded to Bouchard and Kotkaniemi is time. And both parties know that no matter how long Kotkaniemi is in Laval, there will be opportunities to work.

“There were a few plays he made today where I went to him and said ‘you can’t do that. You do that in the NHL, and Claude [Julien] won’t play you,” Bouchard said. “What I like about Kotkaniemi is that he’s invested. He seemed happy to be here. He understands he needs to play. The reality of the NHL is that it doesn’t forgive you. If you have trouble playing in Laval, you’re not going to get better when you drive 15 minutes south. This is real life. It’s not easier in the NHL.”


While the media and fans have been debating where Kotkaniemi should be playing, the Finnish forward said he wasn’t necessarily expecting to get the news he got on Saturday morning. He showed up to the Bell Centre before the Canadiens game against the Florida Panthers, and that was when he was told he would be sent down.

He then went to Laval, and had a short meeting with Bouchard. Even though Kotkaniemi was making his AHL debut, he does have previous experience with the Rocket bench boss, as he was the coach at Kotkaniemi’s first development and rookie camp at the start of last season.

“We had a relationship and it built fast. For me it wasn’t unchartered territory,” Bouchard said.

There’s a lot of changeover in the Rocket locker room, but it’s hard not to notice that Kotkaniemi’s locker was immediately next to Cale Fleury’s. Both young players took different paths to the NHL, but are going through something very similar this year. Both players were healthy scratches recently in the NHL and both were sent down within 24 hours of one another.

A significant part of the Montreal Canadiens future is in Laval, and while a lot of people involved from fans to the players themselves wish they were the present, sometimes a step backwards is necessary to then move forward.

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Jays reliever Green and Canadian slugger O’Neill nominated for comeback player award

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NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.

Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.

The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.

Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.

The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.

O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.

After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Panthers’ Reinhart named NHL first star after posting nine points over four games

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NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.

Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.

New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.

Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.

Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s season ended by ruptured Achilles tendon, team said he’ll have surgery

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.

He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.

Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.

The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”

Watson was injured on a noncontact play in the second quarter of Cleveland’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals and carted off the field in tears.

It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.

The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.

He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.

As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.

Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.

The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.

“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.

“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”

Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.

“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.

“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”

The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.

Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.

With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.

The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.

But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.

Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.

Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.

Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.

Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.

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