PLAYERS — KOTKANIEMI

#82 — JESPERI KOTKANIEMI

CAREER STATS / EXTENDED SEASON SUMMARIES

Selected by Montreal with the third overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, one pick after fellow Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov… Became the eighth Finnish-born player to be selected with a top-three overall pick… Represented Finland at the IIHF Under-18 World Championships in 2017 and 2018, winning silver and gold, respectively… Tallied nine points (3g, 6a) in seven games at the 2018 Under-18 World Championship, tied for the team lead in assists.

Spent most of the season with Assat’s junior team, posting 15 points (5g, 10a) in 23 Jr. A SM-Liiga games… Also recorded 17 points (5g, 12a) in six games with Assat’s under-18 squad… Ranked tied for second on the team in assists, fourth in points and tied for fourth in goals.

Registered 15 points (9g, 6a) in 17 games with Assat’s junior team… Ranked seventh on the team in goals… Added five points (4g, 1a) in seven playoff games as Assat U20 finished as the league’s runner-up… Ranked second on the team in goals and tied for sixth in points during the postseason.

Earned 29 points (10g, 19a) in 57 Liiga games with Assat during his first professional season… Ranked second on the team in assists, tied for second in game-winning goals (3), tied for third in points and sixth in goals… Ranked third in points among Liiga rookies… Tallied two points (1g, 1a), including the game-winning goal, in his Liiga/professional debut vs. Ilves (9/8)… Recorded a season-high three points (1g, 2a) in his third career Liiga game vs. Jukurit (9/12)… Posted a four-game assist/point streak from 11/20-11/30 (1g, 4a), including two points (1g, 1a) and the game-winning goal at SaiPa (11/20)… Earned two assists vs. Sport (12/25)… Posted a three-game assist/point streak from 1/15-1/19 (1g, 3a)… Posted a four-game point streak from 2/8-3/2 (1g, 4a)… Registered two points (1g, 1a) in the regular-season finale vs. HIFK (3/9)… Added one assist in seven playoff games… Recorded an assist in his Liiga postseason debut vs. Lukko (3/12).

Tallied 34 points (11g, 23a) in 79 NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens… Ranked tied for sixth in assists among NHL rookies… Earned an assist in his NHL debut at TOR (10/3)… Scored his first career NHL goals (2g) vs. WSH (11/1), becoming the second-youngest goal scorer in Canadiens history and the youngest player born outside North America to score two goals in an NHL game (18 years, 118 days)… Recorded two points (1g, 1a) vs. VGK (11/10)… Registered two assists vs. WSH (11/19)… Posted a three-game assist streak from 12/4-12/9 (3a)… Tallied two points (1g, 1a) vs. OTT (12/15)… Posted a four-game goal streak from 2/2-2/7 (4g)… Logged a season-high 17:08 of ice time vs. EDM (2/3)… Recorded two assists vs. CBJ (2/19).

Spent most of the season with Montreal, posting eight points (6g, 2a) in 36 NHL games… Also earned 13 points (1g, 12a) in 13 American Hockey League (AHL) games with the Laval Rocket… Led the team in points per game (1.00)… Began the season with Montreal… Scored two goals in the first three games of the season from 10/3-10/9, including his first career away goal in the season opener at CAR (10/3)… Tallied two points (1g, 1a) vs. NJD (11/28)… Skated in his 100th career NHL game vs. NYI (12/3)… Suffered a concussion vs. COL (12/5) and missed eight games due to injury (12/6-12/23)… Scored a goal in back-to-back games from 12/28-12/29 (2g)… Registered a career-high 17 penalty minutes, including his first career NHL fighting major, at PHI (1/16)… Assigned to Laval (2/1)… Posted seven assists in his first four AHL games from 2/1-2/9, including three assists vs. Utica (2/5)… Earned two assists vs. Manitoba (2/19)… Added four goals in 10 NHL playoff games with the Canadiens in the bubble… Ranked tied for first on the team in goals and tied for fifth in points during the postseason… Opened his NHL playoff career with goals in Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference Qualifying Round at PIT (8/1-8/3: 2g)… Scored two goals in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round at PHI (8/14).

Completed his third NHL season, with 20 points (5g, 15a) in 56 games… Began the season on loan with Assat, recording eight points (2g, 6a) in 10 Liiga games… Posted points in five of six games from 11/10-11/20 (2g, 6a), including a goal both on the power play and while shorthanded (2g) vs. Pelicans (11/17)… Recalled to Montreal for the start of the NHL season… Tallied two points (1g, 1a) at VAN (1/20)… Registered two assists vs. CGY (1/28)… Posted points in five of seven games from 2/25-3/10 (1g, 5a), including a three-game assist/point streak from 3/6-3/10 (1g, 3a)… Recorded two assists vs. WPG (4/8)… Added eight points (5g, 3a) in 19 NHL playoff games as Montreal fell to Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final… Ranked tied for second on the team in goals and tied for fifth in points during the postseason… Led the Canadiens with three goals in the North Division First Round vs. TOR, including the overtime winner in Game 6 (5/29)… Posted points in four of six games from 6/16-6/28 (1g, 3a), including the opening goal in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals at VGK (6/22).

Registered 29 points (12g, 17a) in 66 games during his first season with Carolina… Established new single-season career highs in goals, game-winning goals (3), plus/minus (+3) and penalty minutes (37)… Scored all 12 of his goals at even strength, marking a new career high… Won 51.2% of his faceoffs, finishing above 50.0% for the first time in his NHL career… Made his Hurricanes debut in season opener vs. NYI (10/14)… Scored a goal for his first Hurricanes point at MTL (10/21) in his first career game against his former team… Posted a three-game goal/point streak from 11/26-11/30 (3g, 1a), including two points (1g, 1a) at PHI (11/26)… Played his 200th career NHL game vs. LAK (12/18)… Posted a career-long, six-game assist/point streak from 12/16-1/7 (1g, 7a), marking the longest assist streak by any Hurricanes player this season… Recorded two assists vs. DET (12/16) for his first multi-assist game with Carolina… Earned two points (1g, 1a) vs. LAK (12/18)… Scored two goals, including the game winner, at BOS (1/18)… Missed three games while in COVID protocol (2/7-2/10)… Signed an eight-year contract extension with Carolina on 3/21… Posted a three-game assist streak from 3/24-3/28 (3a)… Missed 13 of 15 games due to a lower-body injury (3/29-4/26)… Tallied a career-high three points (1g, 2a), all in the first period, in regular-season finale vs. NJD (4/28), marking the only three-point period by any Hurricanes player in 2021-22… Registered two assists in 14 playoff games… Made his Hurricanes playoff debut in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round vs. BOS (5/2)… Tallied his first Hurricanes postseason point with an assist in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round vs. NYR (5/18).

Posted 43 points (18g, 25a) in 82 games with Carolina, reaching the 40-point mark for the first time in his NHL career… Played his first career 82-game season and was one of six Hurricanes skaters to accomplish the feat… Ranked tied for fourth on the team in goals, tied for fifth in assists and fifth in points… Posted a career-high eight multi-point games, marking a new career high, and also ranked third on the team in hits (105)…  Set new career highs in nearly every offensive category, including goals, assists, points, even-strength goals (14), even-strength points (31), power-play goals (3) and power-play points (11)… Also set new career highs in plus/minus (+10), penalty minutes (50), faceoff win percentage (51.4%) and hits (105)… Was one of eight different Hurricanes skaters to score a shorthanded goal… Registered an assist for his 100th career NHL point at PIT (12/22)… Scored a goal in his 100th Hurricanes game vs. PHI (12/23)… Earned two points (1g, 1a) vs. FLA (12/30)… Scored the first shorthanded goal of his NHL career vs. NJD (1/10)… Posted seven points in six games from 1/31-2/18 (3g, 4a), with two points (1g, 1a) in the Stadium Series game vs. WSH (2/18)… Recorded a career-high five points (1g, 4a) vs. TBL (3/5), with four points (1g, 3a) on the power play… Registered the first five-point outing by any Hurricanes skater since 2019-20 and joined Brent Burns as the only two Hurricanes skaters with a four-assist game in 2022-23… Also became the seventh player in franchise history and the first since Pat Verbeek in 1990-91 to post four power-play points in a single game… Scored his first career shootout goal in the sixth round at MTL (3/7) to defeat his former team… Played his 300th career NHL game vs. PHI (3/9)… Earned three points (2g, 1a) vs. WPG (3/14)… Tallied two points (1g, 1a) vs. OTT (4/4)… Added seven points (3g, 4a) in 15 playoff games… Scored his first Hurricanes playoff goal in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round vs. NJD (5/3)… Scored two goals, including the game winner, in Game 2 vs. NJD (5/5)… Tallied the primary assist on Jesper Fast’s overtime, series-clinching goal in Game 5 vs. NJD (5/11)… Logged a career-high 35:19 of ice time in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final vs. FLA (5/18).