Koivunen’s a stocky and feisty winger who goes into the dirty areas. He’s a smart player who shows a very good understanding of how the play is unfolding and where he needs to be to influence it. He has poise and vision when the puck is on his stick. He has great balance on his feet and has surprising strength in front of the net when battling for position. He has good awareness for when to break out of the zone to make himself open for a pass. Koivunen tends to come to a complete stop to change direction instead of a long sweeping turn which gives him an edge in chasing down the play. He keeps his body square to the puck which makes him always open for a pass. From a defensive perspective, Koivunen doesn’t over pursue the puck which ensures he’s almost always in position relative to his assignments. He plays hard, trying to throw hits and rub players out along the boards, despite his smaller stature. Koivunen frequently looks to make passes to high-danger areas but does show a tendency to force plays at times. With his combination of agility and speed, he needs to increase how often he carries the puck out of his zone and into the neutral zone. This would make him a more impactful possession player. One caveat to this though is his need to maintain his speed when puckhandling as it;s noticeable how his speed slows when carrying the puck. He’s so focused on the puck, that sometimes he forgets his shoulder checks and to keep an eye on his man. He does well defending the rush, using an active stick and challenging the puck carrier. Once the opposition gets set in his defensive zone though, he needs to improve in his engagement. He tends to miss or mishandle passes. He’ll need to greatly work on his puck reception. He gives up a lot of balance in his shot, leaning over on one leg, keeping it straight. He needs to put his weight into his shot by bending his knee and maintaining good posture. He’ll also need to drive the net on offense rather than always working the perimeter. Finally, his skating is his biggest weakness right now with his short stature hurting his reach and range. With his size, he’ll need to improve his skating to reach the next level.

– FCHockey’s 2021 NHL Draft Guide