In professional sports, you never know when your moment will come. Injuries, especially in a sport like hockey, can come at any time to any player. That's why we talk about the "next man up" so much. The Carolina Hurricanes have been no strangers to that. Just last year, injuries on the blue line forced prospects like Joel Nystrom and Charles Alexis Legault to step up.
Last season, Jesperi Kotkaniemi only played in 42 games during the regular season, and he didn't appear in the playoffs. Still, he played enough games to get his name on the Stanley Cup. Kotkaniemi was all but gone this summer. He was going to be bought out or traded, but he wasn't going to be a Carolina Hurricane on Opening Night.
Fast forward to September. Kotkaniemi was showing up to training camp. He hadn't gone anywhere. Kotkaniemi had a good camp, but he still wasn't in the lineup on Opening Night, serving as the healthy scratch while Nicolas Deslauriers played. The same happened against Washington a few nights later. Kotkaniemi got his first chance in Philadelphia the next night. He hasn't looked back since.
Kotkaniemi started the season playing on the wing, instead of his natural spot at center. Jordan Staal's injury pushed him back to the middle, allowing him to thrive. It was on the State Fair trip that Kotkaniemi really started to produce. He scored three goals, his first in over 11 months, and added an assist in five games.
In 17 games this season, Kotkaniemi has already surpassed his goal and point totals from last season, sitting with five goals and ten points after a two-assist effort on Saturday against the Blackhawks. He's operating a shade under 50 percent in the dot in Staal's absence, but he went 10-for-14 in Saturday's win.
Now, the former third-overall pick is returning home. Outside of playing a few games in Finland in 2020 before his final season with the Canadiens, Kotkaniemi has never played at home as an NHL player. He represented Finland's U-18 team twice before being drafted. He has a pretty decorated career while representing his country.
In 2017, Kotkaniemi recorded six points in seven games, helping Finland defeat Andrei Svechnikov and Russia in the semifinals before falling to the United States for the gold. The following year, he finished seventh in scoring for the tournament with nine points. In the Gold Medal Game, he picked up two helpers, including the primary assist on the tournament-winning goal, to get revenge on the U.S.
Since 2018, Kotkaniemi hasn't represented his country internationally. He was left off both the 4 Nations and Olympics rosters, though I figure he had to be close on both occasions to making the team. Instead, he sat at home, watching Finland win the bronze medal in Milano Cortina. Kotkaniemi waited for his moment, and he's made the most of it this season.
Jordan Martinook, whose two goals on Saturday were assisted by Kotkaniemi, said it best after their victory. He praised Kotkaniemi as an "unbelievable teammate" despite everything that has happened over the last year. He is getting rewarded big time, and he'll be front and center when the Canes take the ice on Thursday. Kotkaniemi has proven a lot of people wrong this season, myself included.
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