Kati Kotkaniemi is one proud mom

MONTREAL - It was back in late June that Kati Kotkaniemi watched her son head up on stage at the NHL Draft in Dallas to put on a Canadiens jersey for the very first time.

Now, she's in town watching Jesperi play at the Bell Centre and live his NHL dream - and she's relishing every single second of it.
"I enjoy being here. It's a nice city. I love the fans. They are so incredible," said Mrs. Kotkaniemi, with the help of Joel Armia's girlfriend, Emilia, who served as a Finnish-to-English translator. "When I heard that he was really staying here with the team, I was proud and excited."

As she should be. Cracking an NHL roster at just 18 years old is quite an accomplishment, especially for a youngster who was plying his trade professionally overseas in Finland and had to make the adjustment to the North American game rather quickly.
She recalls sitting in the stands for the home opener against Los Angeles on October 11th feeling nervous herself and for him as well.
"He's such a small boy and there are huge guys out there," mentioned Mrs. Kotkaniemi with a smile. "But, watching him play has been amazing. He reads and understands the game very well."

A Finnish environment
Kati lives 6,000 kilometers away from her son, so it's only natural for her to worry about him, of course.
Fortunately, Jesperi is one of four Finns on the Canadiens' roster - along with Armia, Antti Niemi and Artturi Lehkonen - so he always has a few countrymen to turn to for a chat in his native language.

That's a huge source of comfort for a hockey mom.
"I have a feeling of safety," said Mrs. Kotkaniemi, before shedding some light on just how well her son has adjusted to his brand-new surroundings in such a short time. "I think Jesperi is even talking more than Joel and Antti. I'm not sure. He's been learning so much English. He's the same guy, just with better English skills."
As for his trademark smile, Kati confirmed that Jesperi's easy-going nature is one of the many, many things that impresses her about him.
"He's super social and happy," explained Mrs. Kotkaniemi. "He doesn't stress too much. He just enjoys."

The joys of being a mom
Even though Kati has already been in Montreal for 10 days, she hasn't seen too much of the city.
She's been hard at work making sure Jesperi has everything he needs to play to his potential, including hooking him up with some serious home cooking.
"Chicken with pasta. Chicken and rice. Spaghetti Bolognese," listed Mrs. Kotkaniemi, when asked to describe her son's favorite dishes. "It's been a great opportunity to support him at home."

When she isn't helping out around the house or watching him play, though, it should come as no surprise that Old Montreal is her favorite spot to hit up and explore.
The Canadiens' popularity is rising back home
Not a day goes by that Kati doesn't receive a message from someone in Pori asking her to bring back some Canadiens swag.
Like Kotkaniemi, Armia hails from Pori as well, so there are some big-time Habs fans in the coastal city.
"Every day I gets texts or e-mails asking me to bring home a jersey, a cap or a beanie - and it's all Montreal stuff," revealed Mrs. Kotkaniemi, who is scheduled to return to Finland on October 24th, but hopes to return soon. "There's going to be a lot of Canadiens stuff in Pori now."