Wild Looking For Koivu To Step Up In Playoffs
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Wild know its first-round opponent in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the St. Louis Blues, well.
Do they know themselves well enough? That's the job of leadership and in the case of the Wild, its captain is Mikko Koivu. He's got plenty of veteran help, but this time of year has to be his time of year.
You almost forget to talk about him because he's been such a constant in an ever-changing roster. Mikko Koivu is here, as in, in the moment that this is about Game 1 of the playoffs for now.
"I don't want to get into it now but I think, inside one series, I think we learned last year that there can be ups and downs," Koivu said. "It can come down to one game in a series and you have to keep it as even as possible."
Koivu is the captain, and Koivu has to be, to an extent, a leader more so now than ever. That has never meant being more vocal, because that's not Mikko Koivu.
"I think he's not the guy that's the most vocal in the room, but just his work ethic every day and the way he competes," Jason Pominville said.
For Koivu, there is also the realization that playing hockey at all is finite and the opportunity to play in the playoffs, that's magical. So this is the ultimate opportunity.
That's what you notice when you are around seasoned veterans. They have been doing this long enough to appreciate it and to understand there are probably fewer seasons in front of them than behind them.
"The further and further you have and the more years you go you appreciate it more and more to be in it," Koivu said. "It's not an easy thing to do in today's league, there's a lot of good teams out."
