With two picks in the book, the Montreal Canadiens front office began picking in rounds two through seven in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft on Saturday. The first pick they made at no. 70 was son of former Canadiens captain Saku Koivu: centreman Aatos Koivu.
The 18-year-old, 6’0″, 170-pound centreman from Turku played for TPS in the Finnish league last season.
“Unreal feeling right now,” he said. “Montreal as an organization and a city is just amazing… I’m super pumped that they picked me and I’m very happy about that.”
Aatos compared himself to fellow Finn Sebastian Aho, saying he’s a two-way responsible centre. He said he will stay in Finland to continue training and will not be at the Canadiens development camp.
He was beaming as he spoke about the chance to play in Montreal.
“I’ve heard only good things about Montreal, the fans, the city, the Bell Centre …