Aatos Koivu aiming to follow in father Saku’s footsteps with Canadiens

BROSSARD, Quebec -- Aatos Koivu had a particularly special feeling when he donned his Montreal Canadiens gear for the first time at their development camp this month.

“That was super cool,” he said. “I kind of stared at the jersey for a bit before I put it on and definitely cherished that moment. It was very cool. I’ve definitely been dreaming about that my whole life.”

Koivu, the son of former Canadiens captain Saku Koivu, took part in Montreal’s development camp for the first time since being selected in the third round (No. 70) of the 2024 NHL Draft.

The 19-year-old forward from Finland wore jersey No. 56 during camp; his father’s No. 11 is currently worn by veteran forward Brendan Gallagher. But he doesn’t shy away from the attention drawn by his surname, which is also renowned throughout the NHL because of the distinguished career of his uncle, forward Mikko Koivu, whose No. 9 was the first number retired by the Minnesota Wild, in 2022.

“I think I do pretty good under pressure,” Aatos Koivu said. “I do good under the spotlight, I’d say, and it doesn’t really bother me if something kind of maybe motivates me because here, for many I might be Saku’s son, so I kind of just want to make a name for myself and show people that I can be a good player as well. It kind of motivates me to do hopefully even better and that’s something I want to do as well.”

Aatos’ immediate family accompanied him to Montreal, and he got a taste of Saku’s enduring popularity among the city’s hockey-crazed fans. Saku played 13 seasons as a forward for the Canadiens (1995-2009) and was captain for nine of them (1999-09).

“Yeah, they recognized him a lot,” Aatos said. “But I was kind of surprised, I think they kind of stayed calm. I mean I saw a lot of mouths going, ‘There’s Saku! There’s Saku!’ But nobody really did that much. A couple came to ask for a picture, maybe an autograph, but they handled it really well. Nobody got crazy or anything, so nothing to complain about.”

And Aatos had no complaints about how he and the rest of the Canadiens prospects were treated during the three-day camp at Montreal’s practice facility.

“It’s been just unbelievable,” he said. “The staff, everyone here is just so nice and I can see that they’re here for us. They’re willing to do everything for us just so we can have a great week.”

Koivu had eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 32 games as an 18-year-old with TPS of Liiga last season, his second in the top professional league in Finland. His season was interrupted by a bout of mononucleosis.

“I got a little sick during the season right before the [World Junior Championship] and I was five weeks out,” said the forward, who will play for TPS this season. “And at first I think I felt pretty good in the Liiga and I enjoyed the whole season. I loved playing there but there were a lot of ups and downs. At first I was feeling great and then I got sick, maybe a little downfall there, but I learned a lot from that season even though maybe I didn’t play as much as the other players. I mean, they’re older, they’re more experienced, so it’s normal.

“We had tough times with the team, so how we build up from those as an individual and as a team, you know, I learned a lot and it definitely did good for me that season.”

Aatos said he was speechless when he visited Bell Centre during camp and dreams of one day skating there as a member of the Canadiens, just like his father.

“That would be something so special,” Aatos said. “I can’t even find the words for that. Hopefully someday I’m going to be enjoying every minute of it, that’s for sure.”