Aatos Koivu was worth a third-round pick.

Aatos Koivu is the son Saku Koivu. That could be potential baggage for a Montreal Canadiens prospect but after you speak with him, you’ll realize that’s just not the case. Now 170 pounds, he was underweight for years and he’s done a decent job of building up his body since he’s just 18, there’s still plenty of runway for him to reach his potential.

I like his hockey I.Q. and just his maturity off the ice. He’s a center who has good speed, especially on zone entries. According to InStat, he’s only won 39% of his puck battles, so that’s something that has to get better over time.

Something that caught my eye was his 48% on face-offs. He has fast hands and since he’s not the strongest guy currently, this shows he has some ability in the dot.

Defensively, he’s getting 31% defensive zone starts. His instincts are good but he has to improve on disrupting potential scoring chances.

His puck control is good. He can shield off defenders and that allows him to make some skilled passes. I’ve always liked his passing ability. Koivu has figured out how to cash in his puck control into power play time for his team. He’s drawing penalties.

He’s a right-handed shot and he is able to bury his one-timer on the power play. The Finn has a good release but it’s not elite or anything like that. Koivu is averaging 2.5 shots per game and that’s not enough. I’d like to see him improve upon that over time, especially in Liiga. So far with TPS, he has five points in 16 games.

I think Koivu has third-line center potential if he makes it to Montreal someday. I expect him to stay overseas for a few more seasons before heading to Laval. He is one of those players who might play in the NHL at 23 or 24. And that’s ok, every player has a different development path.