Saku Koivu's son Aatos drafted by Habs in round 3 at NHL Entry Draft

With two picks in the book, the Montreal Canadiens front office began picking in rounds two through seven in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft on Saturday. The first pick they made at no. 70 was son of former Canadiens captain Saku Koivu: centreman Aatos Koivu.

The 18-year-old, 6'0", 170-pound centreman from Turku played for TPS in the Finnish league last season.

"Unreal feeling right now," he said. "Montreal as an organization and a city is just amazing... I'm super pumped that they picked me and I'm very happy about that."

Aatos compared himself to fellow Finn Sebastian Aho, saying he's a two-way responsible centre. He said he will stay in Finland to continue training and will not be at the Canadiens development camp.

He was beaming as he spoke about the chance to play in Montreal.

"I've heard only good things about Montreal, the fans, the city, the Bell Centre everything," he said. "I've heard only good things from my dad and my mom and my whole family. I don't think I've heard anything bad about Montreal. I'm super pumped that they picked me and I'm very happy about that."

His father played 13 seasons with the Canadiens and captained the team for nine seasons. The Habs drafted him in the first round, 21st overall, in 1993.

Former Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu stands next to a painting with his wife Hanna, daughter Iona, son Aatos and his parents Jukka and Tuile during a ceremony honouring his career Thursday, December 18, 2014 in Montreal. Ten years later, the Habs drafted Aatos with the 70th pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. (Bernard Brault, The Canadian Press)

On Friday, the Habs picked an offensive stud in Russian winger Ivan Demidov with the fifth overall pick and then selected Mississauga-born centre Michael Hage at 21.

Hage's parents are from Montreal, and the 6'1", 18-year-old told TSN 690 Radio's Mitch Gallo and Jon Still that he "almost blacked out when I heard my name."

"It's definitely a surreal feeling being picked by the team you grew up cheering for," he said. "It was probably the best day of my life honestly... It's extremely special."

Hage speaks meticulous French and fielded a flurry of questions from the French-speaking reporters in Vegas for the night.

Michael Hage, center, poses after being selected by the Montreal Canadiens during the first round of the NHL hockey draft Friday, June 28, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus, The Associated Press)

His father, Alain, died in a freak swimming pool accident in July 2023.

He said on draft night that his father would be "so happy" to know that he was chosen by his hometown team. The inside of his suit jacket on draft night featured pictures of his family and hockey life with some words of wisdom from his mom: "Don't move on, just move forward."

"It means to move forward as if he's watching and do what he always wanted me to do and what he believed I could do," Hage told TSN.

As for the Habs top pick, the 18-year-old, 6'0" St. Petersburg playmaker told TSN 690 Radio's Mitch Gall and Jon Still that he's happy to be a Hab.

"My hands shook and my legs shook," he said about the moments following his name being called. "My mom was very happy."

GM Kent Hughes and his team now have to decide what to do with the next eight late round picks.

Here are the Habs picks in Saturday's rounds three through seven:

Round 3 (70): Aatos Koivu, Centre from Finland Round 3 (78): Logan Sawyer, Centre from Orangeville, Ontario Round 4 (102): Owen Protz, Defenceman from Ottawa, Ontario Round 5 (130): Tyler Thorpe, Winger from Richmond, BC Round 5 (134): Mikus Vecvanags, Goalie from Latvia Round 6 (166): Ben Merrill, Centre from Hingham, MA Round 7 (210): Makar Khanin, Winger from Russia Round 7 (224): Rasmus Bergqvist, Defenceman from Sweden

With files from TSN.

With files from The Canadian Press.