What we knew Sunday night was that Wild captain Mikko Koivu was skating in his 1,000th NHL game with the team riding an eight-game point streak. "He's a very, very determined hockey player, a determined person and a very proud person. He's also the first (and only) full-time captain in Wild history and one day will likely become the first player to ever have his number lifted to the rafters at Xcel Energy Center. Koivu was issued a similar challenge by the legendary coach early on in his career and it was something that has remained with him ever since. That he'll reach the milestone on Xcel Energy Center ice is both fitting, and appropriate. "He's played in all 26 games this season and has 11 points (two goals, nine assists). I started to realize when I got a little bit older that he did it because he cared. All Rights Reserved. But I could feel that right away. That's why the record has been so good.
I started to realize when I got a little bit older that he did it because he cared. "I'm trying to enjoy it now," he said, "play the game and having fun with it. "Fists slammed the table, French curse words were mumbled and glares were exchanged," Lynn wrote. "Below the hash marks to the net defensively, there are not many players that I've ever seen that are as good as Mikko Koivu with his stickwork, his determination and his hockey sense," Walz said.A native of Turku, Finland drafted sixth overall by the Wild in 2001 who debuted Nov. 5, 2005, Koivu has become synonymous with the Wild and vice versa.Wild captain Mikko Koivu has already been singled out for his proficiency in many of those areas, sitting atop a host of the leaderboards in the team's archives. "And among Wild players all-time, Koivu ranks first in gamed played, assists (496), points (699), plus/minus (plus-70), shots on goal (2,241), power-play points (249), power-play assists (189), shorthanded points (25), shorthanded assists (15), multi-point games (150), faceoffs won (10,159) and faceoffs taken (18,929). It means a lot to me.
All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. "Koivu learned his lessons well, all the way to 1,000 NHL games played. All those years and seasons, and all 999 NHL games to this point, have been with the Wild. There are so many good memories. "You're thinking back and thinking about all the years that you've been here, and you're thinking about the teammates and the friends that you've made during the time here. He and Mikko will become the sixth set of brothers in NHL history to each skate in 1,000 games, per NHL Stats. I kind of knew it was similar to what we had back home. There is hating to lose and then there is Koivu's hatred of losing.The group did what it could to disguise its interest in Koivu, talking up defenseman Mike Komisarek as well as goaltenders Pascal Leclaire and Dan Blackburn.Koivu's first-ever game in Minnesota actually came as a member of the club's minor league affiliate at the time, the Houston Aeros. "Koivu will become the 55th player in NHL history to play his first 1,000 games with the same team, the 342nd player overall to reach the plateau and just the seventh to accomplish the feat in a Wild sweater.In the final leg of a two-year, $11 million contract, Koivu has thought about what his future might look like beyond this season while also recognizing much is out of his control.
He had at least 42 points in 11 of the previous 12 seasons before tearing his ACL last February, limiting him to 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 48 games.Bienvenue à LNH.com , le site officiel de la Ligue nationale de hockeyKoivu spent one season in Houston with the Wild's then-American Hockey League affiliate during the lockout of 2004-05, but that season he also got a glimpse of what hockey meant in Minnesota when he played his first game at Xcel Energy Center. Vítejte na NHL.com, oficiálních stránkách National Hockey LeagueWild coach Bruce Boudreau, who coached Saku Koivu during his time with the Anaheim Ducks, echoed those sentiments. "The identity of what he brings is part of the Minnesota Wild," Brunette said. 9 stall, you never have to worry about if he's going to play or not," said Wes Walz, Koivu's teammate from 2005-08. "The Wild's ruse had worked and the Montreal staff was none too happy about it.