Canadiens draft Aatos Koivu, son of former captain Saku

The Montreal Canadiens drafted center Aatos Koivu out of the Finnish league in the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft on Saturday.

The 18-year-old is the son of Saku Koivu, who played for the Canadiens for 13 seasons and served as the captain of the franchise for 10 years.

Aatos totaled 16 goals and 31 points in 28 games in the U20 SM-Sarja league this past season and appeared in four Liiga games - the top level of professional hockey in Finland - for TPS.

He also represented his country at this spring's IIHF World U18 Championship, where he registered one assist in five games.

Listed at 6-feet and 170 pounds, Aatos finished 27th among all international skaters on NHL Central Scouting's final rankings, rising three places from its midterm report.

"(Aatos) Koivu is a strong skater with a stride that will be able to move at an NHL pace," The Athletic's Corey Pronman wrote in May. "He has good hands and uses his skill to attack at the net. He's not overly physical, but like his father, he's a strong competitor who plays in traffic. Koivu has an excellent shot."

Saku, meanwhile, amassed 191 goals and 641 points in 792 career games with the Canadiens from 1995-2009.

He was diagnosed with cancer prior to the 2001-02 campaign and nearly missed the entire season. Saku returned for the final three games of the regular season and playoffs, memorably receiving an eight-minute standing ovation in his season debut.