Jesperi Kotkaniemi has quietly begun to forge a wild result in the NHL – can play a significant role in the championship fight

Is the moment approaching when it would be worthwhile to give up Carolina stocks for this season? There is still a top-level NHL team in the pile, but injuries have taken away the sharpest edge from the championship dreams – at least one could easily come to such a conclusion after the latest twists and turns.

Last week, a knee injury finished the star striker Andrei Svetshnikov the season. Acquired from Vegas Max Pacioretty the season ended earlier with an Achilles tendon injury.

If the duo were to play a full season healthy, you could expect them to bring about 80 goals and nearly 200 power points to the table.

The side has two top scorers.

There are two 20-goal players in Carolina’s playing lineup this season: Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas. The third in the internal goal exchange is the 34-year-old central man of the brake chain Jordan Staal.

Taking into account the level of competition in the east, the situation is far from ideal for spring.

Now the question is: who will step into the shoes of the injured players?

There aren’t too many options.

Of course, the starting point is that leading players must be able to tighten their belts. For example Teuvo Teräväinen has operated below its best level throughout the season.

For the spring, a wild card sensation would still have to be found somewhere, who also bears responsibility for making the result.

And no, it hasn’t just been transferred to the team Jesse Puljujärvieven though the native of Tornio has earned his place in the playing lineup based on the beginning.

A potential spring surprise is Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

Kotkaniemi, 22, has been one of the most cheerful Carolina stories of the winter. Since the beginning of the year, he has been the fourth most effective attacker in his team, and since the beginning of February, he has been the second most effective of all. Kotkaniemi is still looking for consistency in his work, but the results have not been created by chance.

There is a lift in the making of the Porila striker, which may carry over in the spring. Kotkaniemi’s process is at a stage, especially with skating, but he has taken clear development steps and progressed as a player during the year.

– In order to develop even more, skating has to improve incredibly. This thing is only up to the player himself. Balance and agility must come into action on the ice level. Otherwise, Kotkaniemi has the pieces in place, the shot is good and the passes are insightful. The hardness of the pass is good and the takeover is at a good level, Urheilu’s expert Ismo Lehkonen states.

Blow for blow

At its best, Kotkaniemi brings a lot of good things to the table. As a big player who doesn’t mind physical contact, he brings good roughness to Carolina’s game. Kotkaniemi does not hesitate from time to time to operate even in the gray area to the point of fights. Kotkaniemi will not take a step back even in the tough physical test of the first round of the playoffs.

That alone creates the basis for success.

Kotkaniemi has actually tackled more than five times per hour he played. That’s the third most among all Carolina forwards.

– For a player of his age, Kotkaniemi’s fighting play is at an elite level, and of course that is not surprising when it comes to a Pori resident. He has an excellent example in captain Jordan Staal, and that’s what Kotkaniemen’s players could be like in the future.

Kotkaniemi gets the game stopped and the opponent’s defenders exhausted with tackles. On the other hand, as a puck player, Kotkaniemi has developed and is difficult to play off in the corners or in front of the goals. The physicality combined with a good skill level has started to show in the performances as well.

– If we think that Carolina is aiming for the championship, then the eyes turn to Kotkanieme. He himself knows that now he has to step forward. There is some reason, because it was already seen in Montreal that he can raise his level when we start playing seriously. Many will disappear from the picture, but this Pori resident will certainly not disappear, assures Lehkonen.

Playing in two directions has also taken steps for the better. Kotkaniemi has increased his rookie season’s starting efficiency from about 45 percent to over 52 percent. Dangerous goal chances against Carolina have been created with Kotkaniemi on the ice 9.4 times per hour. The reading is the team’s lowest.

Of course, Kotkaniemi starts the game more often in the attack area than in the defense area, and next to him there are players who balance the game excellently, but all the same.

– Getting started has developed a lot. It often rains on young centers. For a young player, Kotkaniemi is surprisingly strong in them, Lehkonen praises.

On good days, Kotkaniemi is already a very good player, and even on bad days, the level has risen, although there is still work to do with performance reliability.

If you still have the character to play in the midst of a strong physical threat, the ace breeder will probably be Carolina’s best hope for the wild card of the spring.

– Even in Finland, we are always so busy with these young people. Considering that Kotkaniemi has one Olympiad to develop himself before his best years, his situation is very good, according to Lehkonen.