Yes, Mikko Koivu is the Horse that pulls the Wild Wagon…

It’s been apparent, if not stated already, that Minnesota’s fortunes will be firmly attached to their best player, the guy who has been playing at a high level all year (barring injury.) Not quite who you thought, but Jacques Lemaire has put the team on Mikko Koivu’s broad shoulders.

The 25 year old is the poster child for the “Lemaire Center”; Good, if not great, in all three zones. Koivu has improved with every passing year, including what looked like a year where he was building on the 54 point campaign from a year ago, until he was chopped down by the stick of Mattias Ohlund, sidelining him for 24 games. Still, this year he has 34 points in 48 games. Teammates and Coaches think so highly of the young Finn that he has the A on his sweater, even playing the role of Captain (a position he is destined to have) earlier this year.  Now, Koivu is the glue of the team.

He can play any brand of hockey you want to play, but more importantly (especially for a squad with a semi-center in Pavol Demitra, and two rookies in Benoit Pouliot and James Sheppard) for the team, Koivu will play upwards of 26 minutes a game on every line, in every situation, in what seems like every other shift.

One shift he’ll be between the potent combination of Demitra and Marian Gaborik looking to score, and then on the next he’ll be inbetween Stephane Veilleux and Branko Radivojevic against the other team’s top line in a shutdown capacity.

He’ll be out on the power play, and then you’ll see him as the first guy out on a penalty kill, not to mention on of the first options if Minnesota goes to a shootout.

He is the main faceoff guy for Minnesota, so its not uncommon to see Koivu take a faceoff in the offensive zone, then head to the bench so Sheppard, etc. take can over.

Not bad for a guy who was just “Saku’s Little Brother” or the “Ultimate Boom or Bust pick” in his draft year.

My concern about the ever-expanding role Koivu plays is this; considering Demitra’s reluctance to play pivot, and the relative inexperience of Pouliot (8 games total) and Sheppard (71 games, although its fair at this point to remove the rookie stigma) up the middle, and that they are still being handled with kid gloves, it is possible that Koivu could wear down.

Not just that, but it also affects the kids as well; let’s take the Colorado game on Monday as an example. The Wild took two penalties in the first 2 and a half minutes which not only kept Koivu busy, but left the kids on the bench until 5 on 5 resumed; ideally you’d like to get them integrated early and let them get a feel for the game and some flow, but it can hurt when they are forced to ride pine until halfway into the first period.

Will he wear down though?

It’s tough to say, and considering the Horse he is, probably not; one could surmise that being the ultra-competitive player he is, that he thrives in his new role the anchor.