HabsWorld.net --
| Position: | Center |  |
| Shoots: | Left | |
| Height: | 5’10" | |
| Weight: | 181 lbs | |
| Birth Date: | 11/23/1974 | |
| Birth Place: | Turku, Finland | |
| Acquired: | NHL Entry Draft | |
| Draft Team & Year: | Montréal Canadiens in 1993 | |
| Draft Round: | 1st | |
| Overall Choice: | 21th | |
| Salary: | $4.750.000 |
Scouting Report
| Strengths: | Great playmaking abilities, has good breakaway speed and is a strong leader; he is team captain. |
| Weaknesses: | Has tended to be injury prone over the years. |
| Projected Role: | 1st line center |
Biography
| Saku Koivu was drafted by Montreal in the 1st round of 1993 (21st overall). Just 2 years later, in 1995, he made his NHL debut at the ripe age of 20. He has always been a consistent point producer, but injuries have set him back on a yearly basis. But Koivu would’ve preferred any injury to what happened to him in 2002, when he was diagnosed with cancer. Many wrote his season off, but he managed to return for the final 3 games of the regular season, and led the Canadiens in playoff scoring. After playing for TPS Turku during the lockout, Koivu returned to the Canadiens for the 2005-06 season and enjoyed a relatively injury-free season, playing 72 games and scoring 62 points. Koivu’s importance to the team was underlined in horrifying fashion when he was injured in the third game of the playoffs in a collision with the stick of Carolina Hurricane forward, Justin Williams. Williams’ stick hit Koivu’s eye and prohibited Koivu from playing for the remainder of the playoffs. The Canadiens were unable to make up for the loss of their top centre and captain and proceeded to lose the next four games and exited the playoffs. |
