I honestly think Kotkaniemi is a good player.
But if you're gonna pick him... trade down please? Because there is no way he's the right choice at #3. 
- Scabeh
They may have to, Kot might go as early as 6th with Detroit
from the Athletic
This is where Jesperi Kotkaniemi comes into play. Because if it’s not a sprint, and it could easily be argued the Canadiens are in fact attempting to sprint, then adding a promising centre at the draft makes sense as a marathon strategy.
The 17-year-old Finnish centre is one of the youngest players in the draft (he’ll be 18 on July 6) and is emerging as the top pivot available, obviously a position of need for the Canadiens. He played all season with men in Liiga, the top pro league in Finland, and got 29 points in 57 games for Ässät playing on the wing. He followed that with an outstanding performance in the World U-18 championships with nine points in seven games, playing centre, to help lead Finland to a gold medal.
His stock leading into the draft is clearly rising, and with Montreal desperately needing some talent at his position, the possibility exists that the Canadiens draft him.
“I’ve heard that they’re going to draft a centre,” Kotkaniemi said, before breaking into a big smile. “I hope it’s me.”
The Canadiens appear interested; they were one of three teams to take Kotkaniemi out for dinner in Buffalo, with the Detroit Red Wings (No. 6 overall pick) and Edmonton Oilers (No. 10) the others. For what it’s worth, Zadina did not go to dinner with the Canadiens, or anyone for that matter, but that information is probably not worth a whole lot. The Red Wings are looking to replenish their stock of centres and defencemen, just like the Canadiens, and Kotkaniemi is starting to look more and more attractive as an option for them as well, so trading too far down and still hoping to draft him would be risky.
“I think I’m mostly a playmaker but I also have a good shot. I’m a big guy, I like to go in the corners and to be in front of the net. I love those hard battles,” said Kotkaniemi, who is 6-foot-2, 190 pounds. “I think that went pretty well (playing against men). Before the season I think I would get something like 30 games, but I played 50 games so that was a big surprise to me. And I like that.
“I’m just 17, so that’s not a normal thing in Finland.”
It’s not a normal thing anywhere, frankly.
But Kotkaniemi is nowhere near a consensus top-10 pick, let alone top-3. Pronman has him at No. 4, Wheeler at No. 9 and McKenzie at No. 10. He’s ranked no higher than tenth by the scouting services tracked on Elite Prospects and NHL Central Scouting has him as the sixth-best international skater.
However, the man largely responsible for central scouting’s international list, NHL director of European Scouting Goran Stubb, likes what he sees in his fellow Finn.
“His best asset is his understanding of the game. If you don’t have strength or your skating isn’t as good, you can work on it and improve. But hockey sense is something you’re born with. And he has it,” Stubb told The Athletic in a phone interview from Helsinki. “He needs to work on his skating a bit, but he plays a very confident game. A lot of the problems he may have had (playing against men) he was able to avoid because of his hockey sense. He does need to bulk up a bit, but he doesn’t shy away from the rough stuff and, again, it was because of his hockey sense.”
Stubb has confidence in Kotkaniemi’s ability to perform in the NHL, but there are doubts about how high his ceiling is. At such a young age, long-term projections are problematic.
“I’m sure he will be, maybe not a superstar, but a very useful player for any NHL team,” Stubb said.
The Canadiens could use a very useful centre, but very useful at No. 3 overall might not cut it, not with someone available who has the potential to be an elite scorer, and, on top of that, can step in right away. Kotkaniemi says the plan is for him to play next season back in Finland, so he is at least one year away from the NHL, if not more.
