Saku Koivu
 |
|
| Position | Centre |
| Shoots | Left |
| Nickname(s) | Saks |
| Height Weight |
ft in
( m) 187 lb (85 kg) |
| NHL Team | Montreal Canadiens |
| Nationality |  Finland |
| Born | November 23 1974 , Turku, FIN |
| NHL Draft | 21st overall, 1993 Montreal Canadiens |
| Pro Career | 1992 – present |
Saku Antero Koivu (born November 23, 1974 in Turku, Finland) is a professional ice hockey player, and plays centre for the Montreal Canadiens as the current team captain.
Playing career
SM-liiga and NHL
Koivu started his professional ice hockey career playing for TPS in the Finnish SM-liiga, in the 1992–1993 season. He spent three seasons with TPS, winning two Finnish championships with the team in 1993 and 1995, and being elected Player of the Year by his fellow players in the 1994–1995 season. He was drafted by the Canadiens in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft as their first-round selection (21st overall), and moved to North America for the 1995-96 season.
In his first year, Koivu ranked 4th in scoring amongst NHL rookies. The following season Koivu was the NHL leading scorer (13 goals, 25 assists and 38 points) before suffering a knee injury on December 7, 1996 in a game against Chicago Blackhawks. He missed 22 games in that season but still scoring over a point per game (56 points in 50 games).
On September 30, 2000 Koivu was named the 27th captain of the Montreal Canadiens, and the first European-born captain in the history of the Canadiens.
After six seasons in the NHL, Koivu was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in September 2001 and missed practically the entire 2001-02 NHL season. He made an amazing recovery and was able to return for the playoffs, leading the Canadiens to an unlikely first-round upset of the number one-ranked Boston Bruins. For his courage and off-ice team leadership while undergoing cancer treatment, he was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy following the 2002 playoffs. He followed up in the 2002-03 NHL season by scoring his career best single-season point total with 71 (21 goals, 50 assists) to that date.
During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Koivu returned to Finland to play for TPS, whose head coach at the time was his father, Jukka Koivu. He was joined in Turku by then-fellow Montreal Canadien, and close friend, Craig Rivet.
The 2006-07 NHL season was Koivu's seventh season as the Canadiens captain. His continued tenure seems to have ended a supposed curse of Habs captains. During a ten-year span from 1989 to 1999, six captains were traded away.
The 2006-07 NHL season was for Saku Koivu, personally successful. In a game on January 9, 2007, in which the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Atlanta Thrashers 4-2, he registered his 500th NHL point. With 2:47 remaining, Koivu fed Michael Ryder with a pass across the slot for a power-play goal. Koivu received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 21,273 in Montreal. Koivu went on to score 22 goals and 53 assists in 81 games, totaling 75 points, making 2006-07 his best season. At the season's annual awards banquet, Koivu was announced as the winner of the King Clancy Trophy for his role in the cancer-fighting Saku Koivu Foundation. During the summer he will undergo eye surgery to improve his vision.
Koivu remains a close friend of Pittsburgh Penguins forward Mark Recchi, who was once a Canadien and a teammate of Koivu's before Recchi was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. Another Koivu's close friend, Craig Rivet was traded to the San Jose Sharks on February 25 2007 but the two are still very good friends outside the rink.
Battle against cancer
On September 6, 2001, Koivu was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after having serious pains in stomach and vomiting. Koivu was on his way back from Finland with then-fellow Canadien Brian Savage who said he looked pale and not well at all [1]. He went to see the Canadien's physician David Mulder, who did tests on him. Later it was discovered that Koivu had cancer.
During this rough time, Koivu received vast amounts of get-well e-mails and letters. [2] He was also in touch with Mario Lemieux, John Cullen and Lance Armstrong, all athletes, who had beat cancer and returned to top.
Koivu was expected to be out for the season but made a remarkable comeback for the end of the season. He received a warm welcome from the Canadiens fans in his first match after he had beat the cancer [3]. Koivu helped the team to gain a playoff spot and they went on to beat the #1 ranked Boston Bruins in six games.
Eye injury
On April 26, 2006, during a home playoff game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Koivu sustained a serious injury to his left eye. Hurricanes forward Justin Williams attempted to lift Koivu's stick and struck him in the eye. "The Canadiens were dumbfounded to learn that no penalty was called as officials failed to witness the play."[4]. Koivu was rushed to the hospital where he would remain overnight and for the remainder of the playoffs. Without Koivu, the Montreal Canadiens went on to lose the series and their chances at a Stanley Cup championship. Williams, as a teammate of Mark Recchi (who played alongside Koivu as a Canadien), attempted to contact Koivu to apologize personally, but was only able to leave him a message on his cell phone.[5] Koivu would remain out of the lineup for the rest of the series and underwent surgery to repair a detached retina in the off-season.
Koivu has admitted to losing some degree of peripheral vision out of the injured eye which he will likely never regain. As well, a small cataract developed following the retinal re-attachment surgery that has now been successfully removed.[6] Saku waited until the conclusion of the 2006-2007 NHL season before opting to have the surgery. A contact lens was worn to try to counteract the cataract's effects.[7] Koivu also opted to wear a larger style of visor than he had previously worn.
Koivu's play has demonstrated that he can still complement linemates Chris Higgins and Michael Ryder with seemingly no adverse impact to his performance.[8]. In fact, in the 2006-2007 season he was able to beat his career high 71 points with 75, making the season after his eye injury the best of his career.[9]. Koivu attributes his increased scoring this year to developing a quicker release of the puck, rather than anything to do with his eye injury or other subsequent changes to his play style thereafter. [10]
International
Koivu has represented Team Finland on several occasions and is the national team's captain. Koivu was named the successor of a long-time captain Timo Jutila after he retired from international play in 1997. Koivu's first duty came in 1998 when the 1998 Winter Olympics took place in Nagano. He has held the post ever since.
Most recently, Koivu won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics, and bronze medals at the 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics. He was also on the 2004 World Cup team, which advanced to the final but lost against Canada, thereby winning the silver medal.
Koivu's most renowned achievement with Team Finland is as first line center in the 1995 IIHF World Championships, where Finland won its only IIHF men's gold medal to date. Koivu played in the first line with Jere Lehtinen and Ville Peltonen (the "Huey, Dewey, and Louie" line [11]), who were all selected as tournament all-stars.
Koivu is partnered with Teemu Selänne and Jere Lehtinen in a line if all three are available. The trio has been a key factor to Finland's success at bigger events. However, Koivu and Selänne have played numerous times without Lehtinen and have had great performances which have also affected the NHL; after 1999 World Championships Selänne said in an interview on a Finnish TV program: "It would be great to play with Saku" which led to rumours about Koivu being traded to Anaheim.
On February 23, 2006, Koivu was elected by his fellow Olympic competitors as a member of the Athletes' Commission of the IOC.
Trivia
- Koivu means birch in Finnish.
- Fluent in English, Finnish and Swedish.
- Brother Mikko Koivu plays for Minnesota Wild
Awards and honors
- Ice Hockey World Championships Tournament All-Star - 1994, 1995, 1999
- Ice Hockey World Championships Tournament's Best Forward - 1995
- Kultainen kypärä award - 1995
- Jari Kurri trophy - 1995
- Lasse Oksanen trophy - 1995
- Veli-Pekka Ketola trophy - 1995
- Finnish Ice hockey player of the year - 1995
- President's Trophy - 1999
- Bill Masterton Trophy - 2002
- Voted to the NHL All-Star Game by the fans - 1998, 2003 (did not play due to injury)
- 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin - Tournament All-Star
- King Clancy Memorial Trophy - 2007
- Captain of Team Finland - 1998-present
- First ever European-born captain of the Montreal Canadiens - 1999-present
Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1992-93 | TPS | SM-l | 49 | 10 | 32 | 42 | 28 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1993-94 | TPS | SM-l | 47 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 42 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | ||
| 1994-95 | TPS | SM-l | 45 | 27 | 47 | 74 | 73 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 16 | ||
| 1995-96 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 82 | 20 | 25 | 45 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 1996-97 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 50 | 17 | 39 | 56 | 38 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 1997-98 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 69 | 14 | 43 | 57 | 48 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1998-99 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 65 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 38 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1999-00 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 24 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000-01 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 54 | 17 | 30 | 47 | 40 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2001-02 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 | ||
| 2002-03 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 82 | 21 | 50 | 71 | 72 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 68 | 14 | 41 | 55 | 52 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 10 | ||
| 2004-05 | TPS | SM-l | 20 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 28 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 30 | ||
| 2005-06 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 72 | 17 | 45 | 62 | 70 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2006-07 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 81 | 22 | 53 | 75 | 74 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2007-08 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Career Totals | 656 | 164 | 380 | 544 | 490 | 43 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 36 | ||||
International play
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Ice hockey | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 1994 Lillehammer | Ice hockey | |
| Bronze | 1998 Nagano | Ice hockey | |
| Silver | 2006 Turin | Ice hockey | |
Played for Finland in:
- 1993 World Championships
- 1993 World Junior Championships
- 1994 Winter Olympics (bronze medal)
- 1994 World Championships (silver medal)
- 1994 World Junior Championships
- 1995 World Championships (gold medal)
- 1996 World Cup of Hockey
- 1997 World Championships
- 1998 Winter Olympics (bronze medal)
- 1999 World Championships (silver medal)
- 2003 World Championships
- 2004 World Cup of Hockey (silver medal)
- 2006 Winter Olympics (silver medal)
International statistics
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Finland | WC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1994 | Finland | OLY | 8 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 12 |
| 1994 | Finland | WC | 8 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 4 |
| 1995 | Finland | WC | 8 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 18 |
| 1996 | Finland | WCH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 1997 | Finland | WC | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 1998 | Finland | OLY | 6 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 4 |
| 1999 | Finland | WC | 10 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 4 |
| 2003 | Finland | WC | 7 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 4 |
| 2004 | Finland | WCH | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 2006 | Finland | OLY | 8 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 12 |
| WC Totals | 45 | 17 | 36 | 53 | 34 | ||
| OLY Totals | 22 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 28 | ||
| WCH Totals | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | ||
See also
External links
- Saku Koivu on nhlfinns.com
- ESPN.com profile
| Preceded by Vincent Damphousse |
Montreal Canadiens
Captains 1999 – present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Esa Keskinen |
Winner of the Kultainen
kypärä 1994-95 |
Succeeded by Juha Riihijärvi |
| Preceded by Adam Graves |
Winner of the Bill
Masterton Trophy 2002 |
Succeeded by Steve Yzerman |
| Preceded by Olaf Kolzig |
Winner of the King
Clancy Memorial Trophy 2007 |
Succeeded by latest winner |
| Preceded by Ari Sulander |
Winner of the Jari Kurri
trophy 1994-95 |
Succeeded by Petri Varis |
| Preceded by Esa Keskinen |
Winner of the Veli-Pekka
Ketola trophy 1994-95 |
Succeeded by Juha Riihijärvi |
| Preceded by Teemu Selänne |
Winner of the President's trophy 1998-99 |
Succeeded by Esa Tikkanen |
Monahan • Chagnon • Bouchard • Myre • McCann • Plasse • Houle • Tardif • Martyniuk • Lefley • Lafleur • Arnason • Wilson • Shutt • Larocque • Gardner • Van Boxmeer • Gainey • Connor • Risebrough • Chartraw • Tremblay • McTavish • Sadler • Mondou • Lee • Schutt • Baker • Napier • Dupont • Geoffrion • D. Hunter • Wickenheiser • M. Hunter • Delorme • Ingman • Heroux • Turcotte • Svoboda • Corson • Charbonneau • Chorske • Pederson • Cassels • Charron • Vallis • Stevenson • Bilodeau • Wilkie • Koivu • Brown • Ryan • M. Higgins • Ward • Chouinard • Hainsey • Hossa • Komisarek • Perezhogin • C. Higgins • Kostitsyn • Chipchura • Price • Fischer • McDonagh • Pacioretty
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Montreal Canadiens
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Wingers
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Centers
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