(Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports)Conor TomaltyAugust 29, 2024 at 4:05 PM UTC·3 min readIn a recent article posted by Finnish outlet Yle Urheilu former Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu spoke on the offseason acquisition of Patrik Laine offering advice from his own experience of playing in La Belle Province View the original article to see embedded media Koivu had this to say about being a Finnish superstar in Montreal: It is important to be able to separate the civilian persona from the player persona in weaker moments Montreal is a fantastic city and a sports city that shows immense respect for the players but also demands respect for itself the players and the city is absolutely unique.” The former Finnish forward played 792 regular season games with the Canadiens He captained Montreal for ten of his 14 years with the team He was voted to the NHL All-Star game twice in 1998 and 2003 and won both the Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy Koivu is aware of the metaphorical magnifying glass cast over players wearing the Sainte-Flanelle he was at the center of the most notable moments of fan love in his return to the Bell Centre from cancer He also endured the vitriol of language politics and inquiries as to why he couldn’t speak much French Laine is looking to write a new chapter in his NHL story with the Canadiens wherein he only played 18 games before entering into the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance program Laine has since opened up about his mental health struggles and is looking to take what he’s learned and apply it going forward but the two years left on his contract won’t hurt the team in the long run if it doesn’t work out Related: Canadiens: Bruce Boudreau Gives His Thoughts on the Laine Trade It ultimately comes down to on-ice performance as to whether or not he remains in the good graces of Habs fans. Some in the media feel that Laine was the wrong skater to trade for Continuing to be respectful and optimistic off the ice has so far benefited the player-fanbase relationship Canadiens: Gilbert Delorme Talks Pascal Vincent-Patrik Laine Relationship Canadiens: Patrik Laine Opens Up About Mental Health Canadiens: Players React to Laine Trade Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens LAS VEGAS -- When the Montreal Canadiens were on the clock early in the third round of the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft on Saturday the Koivu family was watching on television in Finland Aatos Koivu was looking down with his eyes closed my God!” He didn’t hear his name called but looked up and saw it on TV The Canadiens -- his father’s former team -- had selected him with the No “He just said to me how proud he is and how happy he is for me,” Aatos said we haven’t got the chance yet to talk too much about everything but I think we’re definitely going to probably sit down tomorrow and talk a lot about Montreal and everything Montreal selected Saku in the first round (No The center played for the Canadiens from 1995-2009 regardless of his last name,” said Nick Bobrov Bobrov called the 18-year-old a late bloomer who started at U18 28 assists) in 48 games combined for TPS’ U18 and U20 teams last season his dad taught him very well,” Bobrov said and our job is to project and project the physique and project where the player can get to in five years so we felt that he is just scratching the surface Aatos is too young to remember much about Montreal where his father played for the Anaheim Ducks from 2009-14 very cool to see my dad play at that level,” he said But he was at Bell Centre for his father’s last game in Montreal on Oct “I’ve heard only good things about Montreal -- the fans “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 Aatos heard about his father often growing up He said opponents used to yell at him about him “It’s kind of just something I got used to,” he said like … It pushed me to want to become a good player myself and not just be Saku’s son work myself all the way up and make a name for myself.” where they know and revere the Canadiens’ history people are going to know who my father is and where he played and when,” he said and I think I can just kind of make a name for myself there as well It’s not going to be any different than in any other place.” 450 assists) in 792 games for the Canadiens Aatos said he has some of the same strengths and weaknesses “I think the best advice he’s given me is just that there’s no rush,” Aatos said “I was kind of small and didn’t have any strength when everyone else did so I kind of just had to concentrate on the training and let myself grow and not rush anything too much and just kind of stay patient.” Aatos didn’t travel to Las Vegas to see his name on the huge screen inside Sphere so he could say home to train His goal is to make TPS’ Liga team next season he’s been in the household where pressure was pretty common,” Bobrov said “The type of person his dad is and the family and we felt he’d be comfortable in that environment The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity (Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku) unveiled a new trailer, and the main cast Anime Japan 2025. The anime had previously teased an announcement for the event Also check out our full AnimeJapan 2025 Announcements coverage All the announced cast can be heard on the latest trailer:The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity trailer featuring the castStudio CloverWorks is animating the series Miyuki ‌Kuroki is directing with Satoshi Yamaguchi associate director Rino Yamazaki is writing the series composition Koheu Tokuka is designing the characters and chief animation director Anime Japan 2025© Saka Mikami / Kodansha / The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity Production Committee We open up with a bit of a backstory with Iyru and how he despised wagushi (Japanese sweets) That all changed when Saku came to his family’s shop to buy some for her grandmother’s birthday; however he didn’t know that and questioned her why she wasn’t with her grandmother it caused him to get over his resentment of Wagushi This would come into play later on in the volume it’s time for everyone’s favorite trope… the school festival It starts off with a haunted house where you have to wear a heart monitor Sakura wears it but his meter doesn’t budge until they leave the haunted house He asks Saku if she wants to check out the rest of the festival with him and that’s when the monitor goes off Saku thinks that the meter is broken… that is until later when Iryu wears the same meter when Saku is volunteering as one of the monsters She trips and hits her nose and when he checks on her and gets too close Saku and Sakura play a couple’s game where they are asked a question and have to write their answers on cue cards the final question is ‘Have you kissed anyone’ and when Sakura answers yes it short circuits Saku’s mind and causes her to worry about his past a childhood friend named Hazuki arrives with Dai This sends things spiraling out of control between Saku and Sakura Saku has to put that on the back burner as she admits that she agreed to cover a shift at work after the festival although Sakura did get a lot of development as well he was tired of being made fun of for living in his family’s wagushi shop which caused him to loathe wagushi… that is until Saku showed up to buy some for her grandmother’s birthday Sakura and Iryu run into one another and after learning about how they both wore the same heart rate monitor and figuring out that it wasn’t broken like Saku thought it was Sakura flat-out asked him if he liked Saku he’s going to make a bold move showing that he’s not going to let anything fall to chance Given his previous attitude throughout the series it makes sense that he would try to jump the gun and beat Sakura to the punch his development came when he knew that the heart rate monitor wasn’t broken He fully admitted his feelings for Saku and throughout the volume you can see him become a bit more protective of Saku he was hoping that she would recall the incident when they fell and accidentally kissed He boldly asked Saku if she wanted a do-over which shows that when Saku gets the wrong idea and runs away from him he chases after her so that he can clear the air He acts very coldly towards her which means that they have a past together… one not quite revealed as of yet Thinking the heart rate monitor was broken Meeting Hazuki and thinking that she was an old flame of Sakura’s getting into one big misunderstanding of his final answer in the couple’s quiz she was akin to a ping pong ball bouncing back and forth from scenario to scenario she had to deal with Iryu making a move on her to close out the volume I hate to sound like a broken record here but the problem I’m having with this series is the same problem I have with a lot of romance series… and that is setting up a supporting character in a role where it makes it seem as if they have a chance at stealing away the main girl when the story has already established the obvious… that the two main leads will get together We are six volumes deep into a nine-volume series It means we have three more to go after this… if you honestly think Iryu had even the slightest shot in the world There is literally zero point in even exploring this as a story option this deep into the series Had this series established Iryu and Sakura on equal footing from the beginning and made them compete so as to not make it painfully obvious then I would have been on the edge of my seat with Iryu’s bold move… but… it wasn’t like that that Saku had feelings for him in this volume which right then and there nullifies any drama and impact Iryu might have on this series This is a simple filler and a waste of time but… I get it Nearly every romance series I read goes this route They have multiple characters and at some point in the story give those side characters a shot at taking the main girl even if they have zero chance Some people love this because it allows them to fabricate ‘what if’ scenarios in their heads (and if you’ve read my reviews you would know that I am one of those people) but when you see it time and time again you kind of stop wondering about the ‘what ifs’ and you start sighing because you know this plot point is futile and won’t go anywhere Just once… I would love to see a series shock the world and actually ship the side character with the main girl I cannot for the life of me see that happening here which means it’s just another empty pointless dramatic scenario that will amount to nothing I know that’s rather contradictory but aside from my little rant about this and every other romance series going for that pointless angle there was a lot of great stuff here and some actual real drama and tension to be worried over Iryu is starting to give off creeper vibes Sakura is starting to realize he needs to make this relationship happen and we have a piece of Sakura’s past that doesn’t seem so pleasant that we need to explore You can also check out other The Outerhaven reviews on your favorite social media networks: This item was provided for review by Viz Media a high school girl who lives on the island and holds regular reading sessions for the island's children senses Hana's power to attract people through her reading and invites her to join the club Hana joins the Broadcasting Club and experiences many firsts with the other members Takeda (Sound! Euphonium) and Musshu (Furidashi ni Ochiro) launched the manga in Shueisha's Ultra Jump magazine in June 2021 Shueisha published the manga's first compiled book volume in January 2022 Euphonium - The Kitauji Concert Band's Decisive Final Movement) in 2019 The anime adapts Kumiko's third year in high school Takeda published the story of Kumiko's third year in high school in two novel volumes The first volume shipped in April 2019 and the second volume shipped in June 2019 Musshu launched Furidashi ni Ochiru in May 2017 a 16-year-old high school girl who just wants to enjoy her school life But it turns out she doesn't really act like a high school girl The manga is a light story about a girl who tries her hardest to become a real high school girl Sources: Hana wa Saku, Shura no Gotoku anime's website, Comic Natalie Amatsu Sora ni Saku first launched for PC on September 9, 2023. A Steam version is also planned The console versions will add a fully voiced main cast (except the protagonist) The PlayStation 4 version will cost 2,980 yen for the physical standard edition 2,700 yen for the digital standard edition and 6,980 yen for the physical limited edition The limited edition includes an original soundtrack The Switch version will be digital-only and cost 2,700 yen Thanks, Famitsu Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without acknowledgment of Gematsu is prohibited Use of this site is governed by all applicable laws Website by 44 Bytes naming the best players of their franchise since 2000 voted on by broadcasters and former players Nos meilleurs depuis l’an 2000 😎 The best to do it since Y2K Que pensez-vous de notre Équipe du quart de siècle What’s your take on our #NHLQCTeam?#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/aplXsHm5ad — Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 19, 2025 The Canadiens’ first team was made up of two former captains and a Hart Trophy winner with Shea Weber and Andrei Markov on the blue line He scored 191 goals and 450 assists for 641 points in 792 career regular-season games He helped the Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs eight times scoring 16 goals and 32 assists for 48 points in 54 games including the 2007-08 season where he scored 35 goals and 49 assists for 84 points Plekanec played all but 17 of his 1,001 career regular-season games with the Canadiens scoring 223 goals and 373 assists for 606 points Weber served as captain in Montreal between 2018-19 and 2020-21 scoring 58 goals and 146 points in 275 games as well as leading the club to the Stanley Cup Final in his final season the Russian blueliner spent his entire career with the Canadiens scoring 119 goals and 453 assists for 572 points in 990 career regular-season games the future Hockey Hall of Famer was arguably the game’s best goaltender of the 2010s finishing at or near the top in every statistical category and carrying the Canadiens into the playoffs He won both the Vezina Trophy and Hart Trophy in 2014-15 going 44-16-6 with a .933 save percentage (SV%) and 1.96 goals against average (GAA) present-day captain Nick Suzuki centers a line with former captain Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher Subban and Sheldon Souray make up the blue line Suzuki has three 60-point seasons in his first five years and is currently on pace to eclipse his 2023-24 career high of 77 points Gallagher has spent all 13 seasons of his career with the Canadiens including back-to-back 30-goal seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19 and produced five 30-goal and 60-point campaigns but during that time recorded 160 points in 324 regular-season games winning the Norris Trophy in 2012-13 and among the most productive offensive defenseman in the NHL for nearly a decade Theodore played in Montreal for nine seasons going 141-158-35 with a .911 SV% and 2.62 GAA Theodore won both the Vezina and Hart Trophies in 2001-02 going 304-24-10 with a .931 SV% and 2.11 GAA Summer vacation is ongoing and Saku is heading to see her grandmother She wants an excuse to see Sakura; however When she says that she will bring Iryu a gift back with her she realizes that she can buy one for Sakura and that would count as an excuse to see him We get a time skip to when she comes back and she meets up with Sakura to give him his gift School starts right after so she’s happy that she can see him again every day an issue between Saku and Iryu begins to brew Iryu might be her guardian angel… the one who brought Saku her grandmother’s bag that one day that wasn’t the case but Iryu did return the bag to her once The only problem is that Saku doesn’t remember anything about that other time and it irks Iryu The volume closes with Saku remembering what it was but can she smooth things over with Iryu The main focus was on Iryu where he always seems bothered to walk Saku to the station but he does it anyway because it’s something that Ryuosuke asked him to do When he becomes irked that Saku can’t remember the day that he returned her bag to her it raised some flags that there could be more to the two of them that we’re not being told More on that in the final thoughts section Once with Sakura and the other with another person who has yet to be revealed Dai stopping by has piqued Ryuosuke’s interest; however There could be something brewing there that could lead to some nice backstory for him so we’ll see Needing an excuse to go see Sakura during summer vacation is a bit weird Not sure why she felt as if she needed a reason but it is what it is I don’t feel as if she has grown as a character outside of her practically confirming (silently) that Sakura is the one for her and no one else Without venturing into spoiler territory here I will say that the ending to this volume was highly disappointing It did a great job building up to the ending which was Saku remembering what happened when Iryu returned her bag to her but the reason itself felt really REALLY flat So much so that it was tough to believe that’s why Iryu was upset… especially since that very same reason was muttered earlier in the volume without any issues whatsoever it made even less sense for that to be the reason why Iryu was mad A part of me wants to believe that there’s more to it that we’re not being told but if that’s truly the end of that little mini-arc On the subject of Saku needing a reason to go see Sakura… look I understand love causes our brains to take a vacation when you need it the most but overthinking the simple act of just texting your crush and being like “want to hang out today?” is a bit much The series treated summer vacation as this invisible barrier that prevented them from seeing one another I get that they established that in the previous volume but it still seems a bit ridiculous to me everything else was fine albeit on the short side with only three main story chapters and one bonus chapter There are four volumes left so I would expect the series to kick it into gear and head towards our conclusion We’ll see what happens when volume six rolls around The anime will premiere in January on Nippon TV Takeda (Sound! Euphonium) and Musshu (Furidashi ni Ochiro) launched the manga in Shueisha's Ultra Jump magazine in June 2021 Sources: Hana wa Saku, Shura no Gotoku anime's website, Comic Natalie The lie between Kotono and Haruki continues and carries them through the exams leading into summer break; however Iryu notices Saku’s awkwardness and pulls her aside several times to check on her It gets to the point where everyone is starting to wonder if Iryu and Saku are starting to get better acquainted with one another While it doesn’t become a major focal point it is something that lives in the back of everyone’s heads Things take a turn when Haruki asks Saku for a math tutoring session they keep bumping into each other while trying to reach for an eraser so Haruki snaps it in half a fellow classmate asks for an eraser but Saku panics and gives him a new one instead of her half Kotono sees this and begins to piece things together she makes a decision that she might regret there are some hijinks but as everything is about to come to an end Kotono and Saku can no longer keep things up They have a one-on-one talk and some things get said that should shape the future of their friendship… and alongside them is Mitoshi who pulls a shocking truth out of Kotono When he sees how much she is lying to protect Kotono you’ll need to keep extending that lie until it becomes a natural habit This gets to her and makes Saku think about everything; however This allows her to be honest with herself and makes her realize that honesty is the best policy after all I’m not sure if you could call this development but she simply reacted to Saku and how she was lying and took matters into her own hands What she did didn’t end up solving anything regarding her problem but we did get a huge swerve with her right at the end of the volume when she was talking to Mitoshi The last person who did a bit of developing was Iryu He is still brash and as forward as ever; however at the very end of the book (as in the last page) the revelation makes no sense and is kind of pointless given how the story is going but I’m sure they’ll try to build off of this and turn this into an unnecessary story arc Hmm… I’m not completely sure how to feel about this volume I’m glad that Saku and Kotono cleared the air but it never solved Kotono’s problem and we’re right back to square one… which means that we just wasted nearly three volumes of content trying to figure out how to deal with it only to end up back at the beginning we have a plot point that should have been resolved by now dragging forward for whatever reason it seems as if Sakisaka-sensei wants to take Iryu in a pointless direction I hope that’s not the case because it wouldn’t make sense outside of artificially extending the series at this point Ao Haru Ride was pretty good although there were some gripes I had about it but then she came back with Love Me Love Me Not which felt more structurally sound Saku… I feel that the plot is getting sloppy and (again I hope I am wrong) heading into a typical cliché trope of making a side character have interest in the main character… the only problem is that the story is written to where Saku and Haruki are pretty much a lock so any introduction of a plot like this is a moot point and a waste of time We’ll see if it goes the predictable route or if it ends up surprising me it should be focused on building Haruki and Saku up and not diverging with any more distractions The March issue of Shueisha's Grand Jump Mucha magazine announced on Wednesday that Yasunori Mitsunaga and saku will launch a new manga titled Yome ga Kuru (My Wife is Coming!) in the magazine's next issue on April 23 The science-fiction romantic comedy manga (left in image above) centers on Yukito Takiguchi who has developed the ultimate matching system A woman who claims to be his future wife then appears before him and it released the seventh volume in January 2022 Del Rey published seven volumes of the main Princess Resurrection manga in North America, although it stopped publishing the series before Kodansha USA took over its titles Kodansha USA has since published all 20 volumes digitally The artist saku drew the Betsusekai no Kirakira Dōki ga Ecchi na Illust o Kaiteiru manga in 2021, Senpai! Waza to Janain Desu! in 2022, Kimi ni Koisuru San Shimai in 2023, and the Boku o Shiritasugiru Shimizu-san manga in April 2024 The Montreal Canadiens drafted center Aatos Koivu out of the Finnish league in the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft on Saturday who played for the Canadiens for 13 seasons and served as the captain of the franchise for 10 years Aatos totaled 16 goals and 31 points in 28 games in the U20 SM-Sarja league this past season and appeared in four Liiga games - the top level of professional hockey in Finland - for TPS He also represented his country at this spring's IIHF World U18 Championship where he registered one assist in five games Aatos finished 27th among all international skaters on NHL Central Scouting's final rankings rising three places from its midterm report "(Aatos) Koivu is a strong skater with a stride that will be able to move at an NHL pace," The Athletic's Corey Pronman wrote in May "He has good hands and uses his skill to attack at the net he's a strong competitor who plays in traffic amassed 191 goals and 641 points in 792 career games with the Canadiens from 1995-2009 He was diagnosed with cancer prior to the 2001-02 campaign and nearly missed the entire season Saku returned for the final three games of the regular season and playoffs memorably receiving an eight-minute standing ovation in his season debut Malone will miss six to eight weeks with an upper-body injury Robert Hradil / RvS.Media During the game against HC Lugano on October 1, Sean Malone suffered a partial muscle tear in his abdominal muscles. The US-American forward is thus expected to return to the SCL Tigers' lineup only in the second half of November As for Saku Mäenalanen, he sustained an injury on September 24 in the game against HC Davos The exact length of his absence is still unclear and his condition is being reassessed on a daily basis The Tigers will thus be able to deploy only four import players this evening in Rapperswil Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Comparable NHL Contracts For Hutson Mega Extension Habs Daily: Primeau in Laval, Hutson’s Playoff Excellence, PWHL Canadiens Wrap: Hutson Contract, Anderson And Wilson, Demidov Canadiens Defenceman Hutson Thrived In Playoffs Fowler’s Excellent Playoff Stats Changes Canadiens Goalie Debate Laval Rocket Have Sights Firmly Set On AHL Championship Montreal Canadiens Goaltending Options, Montembeault Injury Canadiens News: Pascal Vincent Named Coach Of The Year Canadiens Prospect Jacob Fowler Wins Mike Richter Award Canadiens Daily: Hutson Loves Montreal, Wilson Hit, St-Louis Habs Daily: Top 5 Playoff Lessons, Fowler Vs. Primeau Habs Daily: Merci David Savard, The Next Step, Jacob Fowler Habs Daily: Carrier Injury Options, Monahan Draft Pick, Playoffs The Canadiens will have a relatively long break after they make the 26th overall pick seeing as the Utah TBDs own their second round pick due to the desperation trade involving Christian Dvorak made by former general manager Marc Bergevin acquired in the deal that saw Artturi Lehkonen join the Colorado Avalanche at the 2022 trade deadline The talent level will have dwindled significantly by the time the Habs take to the podium in the second round which means they have very little margin for error in the first round There is one player in particular that has garnered some attention as a potential second-round draft target and not just because he’s the son of one of the most respect Montreal Canadiens players in recent team history Aatos Koivu’s family name may carry some weight when it comes to recognition lineage doesn’t necessarily equate greatness when it comes to NHL players was originally chosen 21st overall by the Habs in 1993 a choice that received much more criticism than was warranted at the time Aatos is not slated to be a first-round pick There’s a significant discrepancy in the public lists with some outlets suggesting he should be a late second-round target while others have him closer to the fourth round To make matters even more difficult to interpret failing to list him among the top prospects available in 2024 Bob McKenzie’s consolidated rankings have him 60th which is enough for us to propose that the Canadiens should look into whether he’s the right target for their only second-round pick We also have to remember pre-draft rankings rarely only two outlets had Florian Xhekaj ranked prior to last year’s draft and both had him as one of the last players on their list identified that he could bring a style of play to the table that would improve the team down the road and gave him a much higher ranking prior to the draft Many scoffed at the idea that he was worth a fourth round pick but the Canadiens stuck to their guns once the fourth round started and they saw the younger Xhekaj was still available MUST READ: Florian Xhekaj Defied The Odds To Earn His Entry-Level Contract Given Xhekaj’s impressive growth this season but the point is that pre-draft lists are great to get an overall sense of where players will end up going but there are always a multitude of factors in play A comparison of their U18 seasons shows that Aatos never quite reached the offensive level his father did Saku scored 20 goals and 28 assists in 24 games as a 17-year-old while Aatos scored 16 goals and 15 assists in 28 games It’s very difficult to compare U18 seasons especially when there’s a 30-year gap between them Liiga has increased its overall quality of competition in recent years owing to the exodus of talent from the KHL due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine we can suggest that Aatos certainly possesses an offensive streak though perhaps not at the level of Saku prior to his arrival in Canada We also have to remember Saku Koivu was one of the most exciting prospects in franchise history at the time He was highly skilled in the offensive zone and his defensive acumen was through the roof He was also among the leading scorers in the NHL before an unfortunate knee derailed his season 96-97 season The most impressive aspect of Aatos’ season is that he started the year playing with TPS’ U18 club before eventually being promoted to their U20 team quite the accomplishment for a 17-year-old playing four games with TPS as one of the youngest players in the league he’s shown considerable growth in the past two seasons enough to entice a team like the Canadiens that is looking for a hidden game in the second round Koivu already shows excellent maturity away from the puck which is quite rare for young players who usually spend the majority of their time with the puck on their stick in Junior ranks though he’s also adept at using a one-timer when the situation arises or something a little more fancy which involves multiple dekes he has said his style of play is similar to Sebastian Aho’s a rather interesting comparison to say the least Two minutes of Aatos Koivu showcasing his most notable offensive attribute: his shooting skill One of the better – especially more accurate – one-timers among draft-eligible Europeans. Also very capable of shooting from his inside leg. #2024NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/TA85jDz7t8 — Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) May 16, 2024 he’s certainly tall enough to pique Kent Hughes’ interest he will have to add muscle mass to his frame if he’s to excel in the NHL His handful of games in Liiga confirmed as much is he the type of player that could eventually make an impact with the Montreal Canadiens on a nightly basis The Habs are already overstocked with prospects who have a strong defensive acumen while the list of elite prospect forwards is rather short We also have to consider what type of player you end up drafting late in the second round as the vast majority of prospects with legitimate NHL aspirations are off the board once the first 50 names have been called If you can identify a player who has healthy odds of eventually making the NHL in the fourth round Seeing as the Canadiens have already touched base with Aatos during the season, not to mention their meeting during the 2024 Scouting Combine it’s safe to say that they’ve already shown enough interest to suggest he may become their ideal draft target in the second round MHN 2024 NHL Mock Draft: First-Round Picks (No.1-No.32) Enter your email address and get all of our articles sent directly to your inbox Montreal Hockey Now is part of the National Hockey Now network and is in no way endorsed by the Montreal Canadiens or National Hockey League The Finn will temporarily return to his former team for the traditional end-of-year tournament in Davos At the 96th edition of the Spengler Cup, Saku ‌Mäenalanen will get the opportunity to gain important game practice with Kärpät Oulu. The 30-year-old Finnish forward just returned last Saturday from a concussion that kept him out of the SCL Tigers' lineup since the end of September It will be the first Spengler Cup for Mäenalanen The adaptation of the manga for the anime of Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku ( Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity ) had a new trailer revealed So the new anime Kaoru Hana WR Rin to Saku ( Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity ) debuts in July 2025 with animation from the studio CloverWorks ( The Promissed Neverland ) known for bringing together students with terrible grades is neglected by the prestigious Kikyō girls' high school The curtains in the two neighboring buildings are always closed and the students never have a chance to see each other has always been judged by his appearance and has kept his distance from people over time Rintaro begins to feel comfortable around Kaoruko who doesn't judge him based on his appearance he discovers that she is a student at Kikyō High School weaves a beautiful tale of youth and romance the series “Kaoru Hana Wa Rin To Saku” (or “The Fragrant Flower Broker with Grace” ) has been serialized in the official application of Weekly Shonen Magazine Source: Official Website All images on this site belong to their respective owners A website opened to announce the television anime adaptation of writer Ayano Takeda (Sound! Euphonium) and artist Musshu's (Furidashi ni Ochiro) Hana wa Saku, Shura no Gotoku (FLOWER AND ASURA) manga on Wednesday The website also revealed the anime's teaser visual Musshu drew an illustration to celebrate the announcement: The anime will star Minori Fujidera as Hana Haruyama (right in the teaser visual), and Miyuri Shimabukuro as Mizuki Usurai (left in teaser visual) Takeda and Musshu launched the manga in Shueisha's Ultra Jump magazine in June 2021 and the seventh volume will ship on June 19 Sources: Hana wa Saku, Shura no Gotoku anime's website, Comic Natalie Share your travel photos with us by hashtagging your images with #visitjapanjp Browse the JNTO site in one of multiple languages The 30-year-old forward was injured in last Tuesday's game against HC Davos Saku Mäenalanen suffered an upper-body injury in the first period of said game and is now considered day-to-day. It remains thus to be seen when the Finn will be ready to return to the SCL Tigers lineup The Tigers will play their next game on Tuesday against HC Lugano As the "Berner Zeitung" reports, the 30-year-old forward was injured in the first period of the game against HC Davos Saku Mäenalanen was injured in an incident near the boards, involving a player from HC Davos and his teammate Claudio Cadenau. The Finn could not return to the SCL Tigers' bench after the incident The forward has appeared in four games for the Tigers If you want to know why I previewed Hana wa Saku it’s because there frankly weren’t a whole lot of prospects this season If you want to know why I had a healthy skepticism about it “This has more than a whiff of “healing” and CGDCT to it” like Kono Kaisha ni Suki na Hito ga Imasu this hit pretty much exactly as I expected The issue is that my expectations were a good deal lower with Hana wa Saku Hana lives on a small island called Tonakishima where she loves to read storybooks to the island’s younger children She’s about to start high school on the mainland and a 2nd-year from her school named Usurai Mizuki shows up recruiting for the broadcasting club If you think things couldn’t sound any more wholesome This is the sort of world where a ferry (more of a water taxi really) captain will happily delay his final run from 5:00 PM to 7:00 so the cute girl can join the broadcasting club You can pretty much tell it’s one of those series where high school girl idolatry rules all which is frankly just as tiresome  as it was a couple of years ago when it was even more omnipresent (and it’s not like it’s rare now) The church of the divine joshikousei is a bore and slightly creepy – slightly in shows like this where it’s muted I like poetry and you can never make a call on club anime until everyone in the room gets a chance to stand out (if indeed they ever do) All the warning flags I saw going in are flapping in the sea breeze at full mast now but at least one more week is probably in order as we’ve really only met the two leads They don’t make much of an impression – Hana seems as bland a template heroine as you could ask (even with the Asura thing) But there are other people we haven’t really met yet and maybe the broadcasting thing will prove interesting (who knew about the NHK Cup?) It’s that sort of season – if I don’t hate it I’m at least going to give a new series a little bit of play on the lead Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Please consider becoming an LiA patron through one of the methods below Vincent van Gogh and so on — there are quite a few world-class artists who have been diagnosed with a mental disorder or intellectual disability Why does the art and beauty created by these artists impress and touch the hearts of so many people This must be one of the mysteries of what art is.In the manga “Dokudami no Hana Saku Koro” (“When the Dokudami Flowers Bloom.”) sees something else in Shigaraki: that the clay works and grass dolls he makes have a strange charm Neither his teacher nor his classmates understand their value at all gradually becomes an obsessive collector of “Shigaraki art.”Some of you may have already noticed that the designs of the characters and the story structure of this manga are somewhat similar to those of “Kimi to Uchu o Aruku tameni” (“Walking to Space Together”) by Inuhiko Doronoda which I introduced in this column in February The fact that it represents a popular story pattern for manga these days is an interesting phenomenon but let us not consider it too closely for now the mangaka of “Dokudami no Hana Saku Koro,” are recipients of the same manga award for newcomers — the Afternoon Shikishou by the monthly manga magazine Afternoon Kido’s work is just as entertaining as Doronoda’s Only the first volume of “Dokudami no Hana Saku Koro” is available in book form so far but this manga will surely be nominated for various manga rankings this year please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent Dokudami no Hana Saku Koro (When the Dokudami Flowers Bloom.) by Shiho Kido (Kodansha) By Kanta Ishida / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer This must be one of the mysteries of what art is In the manga “Dokudami no Hana Saku Koro” (“When the Dokudami Flowers Bloom.”) gradually becomes an obsessive collector of “Shigaraki art.” Some of you may have already noticed that the designs of the characters and the story structure of this manga are somewhat similar to those of “Kimi to Uchu o Aruku tameni” (“Walking to Space Together”) by Inuhiko Doronoda Shigaraki’s atelier is a grassy field of dokudami (chameleon plant) This field is bulldozed clean for construction work I love the scene in which Shigaraki reproves Kiyomizu with a shout of “Calm down!” Beauty can drive people crazy there must be an irresistible sense of ecstasy in feeling that you are the only one in the world who knows of this guy’s talent I wonder whether people who discovered the value of Kusama Yamashita and Van Gogh when they were still unknown also felt overwhelmed by their talent just as Kiyomizu did for Shigaraki the artistic talent of creative artists is amazing but how about the ability to appreciate hitherto undiscovered beauty before anyone else Kiyomizu volunteers to become Shigaraki’s production assistant Whether or not Shigaraki can grow to become a Van Gogh in the future is probably unimportant to Kiyomizu It does not matter to him what others think or value The important thing is the fact that Kiyomizu is able to “promote” Shigaraki’s art from the bottom of his heart While this manga is an excellent comedy about a somewhat awkward friendship I have been impressed with many portrayals here and there that refer to the fundamentals of art Although the manga is relatively light reading I think the mangaka has thrown the ball into a very narrow by choosing to depict Shigaraki’s character as it is along with his complicated family background I wonder if this story would be as interesting as it is now if it were a novel I am so wowed by the wide range of expressions conveyed by manga Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting © 2025 The Japan News - by The Yomiuri Shimbun Saku takes us into quite an interesting scenario Kotono’s ex-boyfriend still believes that she’s in love with him and is being very confrontational about things It has gotten to the point where it is super uncomfortable for her so Kotono enlists Saku’s help being with Saku didn’t matter because he came strolling up Haruki starts talking to Saku after school when Kotono’s ex comes over and accuses Haruki of cheating on Kotono This is when Saku finds out that something happened and it led to Kotono and Haruki to begin dating each other… although it’s just a smokescreen This sends Saku into anxiety mode and makes her wonder about things Kotono even asks Saku if she’s okay with them pretend dating to help stave off her ex but even though she tells Kotono she’s fine with it Saku wants to get a part-time job and notices an ad for the café that Ryosuke works at she bumps into someone who is rather sharp and direct with his tongue but apologizes because he admits that he’s the type of person who’s not good with words and never considers how his words would make other people feel we learn that his name is Iryu and he also works at the café she’s interested in One thing leads to another when she goes to return the sheet she finds herself working there alongside Ryosuke We wrap things up with an update on the pretend dating situation between Kotono and Haruki Haruki wonders if everything should go back to normal; however things don’t seem to be that black and white anymore It’s painfully obvious that she’s in love with Haruki so the entire volume was spent to make her look jealous we know that Saku is a caring individual and always seen as a goody two shoes; however when she decides to hide her feelings from Kotono about Haruki it just making all of her negative feelings that much worse She begins to second-guess herself and even with Iryu telling her that she’s not a good person… something that’s very jarring for her to hear she begins to wonder if her goody two shoes nature is backfiring on her Even though it’s not flat-out stated that she’s thinking that you can tell through her mannerisms and her dialogue that those thoughts are beginning to seep in… especially with the way that the volume ended you feel sympathetic for her having to deal with an obsessive ex-boyfriend; however she does try to play the white knight here She offers up the chance for Saku to express her thoughts on the pretend dating situation because she’s concerned about how it might make her feel This was the out that Saku was looking for but she didn’t take it; however it opened the doors for her to possibly create the worst outcome for Saku possible you want to hate her for getting in the way and not reading the room like she should have but she was misguided and just acting on what information she was given As for Haruki… he’s part of this whole mess because when Kotono told her ex that she was interested in someone else it was Haruki who jumped in and proclaimed that he was her new boyfriend He was just trying to diffuse the situation to help a friend out but he admits that he hated not being able to talk to Saku openly to keep up appearances is interested in here and a few things happen throughout the volume which confirms that He’s still the background character that’s there when needed; however given everything that’s happening in this volume Can Io Sakisaka please use some diversity when drawing characters There are about four guys in this volume at look nearly identical so unless a name was spoken it was a bit difficult to remember who was who that it would be much easier but since we’re stuck in black-and-white land this is the typical needless drama in a romance series It’s painfully obvious that Saku and Haruki are going to end up together Sakura after all… unless we get massively swerved and Saku goes for Haruki’s brother adding in drama in a romance series where the ending is obvious feels a bit cheap and unnecessary I also understand why some of these things are done because it gives the reader something to latch on to and not make the story boring but… here’s a thought… since we know that the two mains are always destined to get shipped why not add the drama to the side characters and give people a reason to care about them Imagine if Mitoshi was the person to help out Kotono rather than Haruki It would make us care about him more rather than him just being relegated to the back burner duty it was still a pretty good volume even though I think all of the cliffhanger drama is going to get dispelled at the start of volume four the reigning Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year has taken the next step in his soccer career Heiskanen returns to his native Finland after producing a dominant debut season with the Knights earning Sun Belt All-Conference Second Team honors in addition to his Freshman of the Year award He appeared in each of UCF’s 16 matches He made his first collegiate goal count, scoring in the 43rd minute of the Knights’ 2-1 season-opening upset victory over the No. 4/9 Clemson Tigers to tie the match at one goal apiece at the time. He also recorded the secondary assist on Emmanuel Bam’s game-winning goal in the 69th minute of the contest to record his first collegiate three-point game Heiskanen made a bit of history in the Knights’ 3-2 double-overtime loss to Vermont in the team’s NCAA Tournament second round match as well scoring the fastest goal in UCF’s NCAA Tournament history just 66 seconds into the contest The Espoo native scored five goals and added two assists en route to registering 12 points last fall notching 33 total shot attempts and 15 on goal Follow UCF men’s soccer on X (@UCF_MSoccer) Instagram (@UCF.MSoccer) and Facebook (/UCFMensSoccer) Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite teams by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android devices. The app provides personalized information for men’s and women’s teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and breaking news. Click here to download the app now. The Montreal Canadiens used their 70th overall selection on Aatos Koivu. If the name sounds familiar that’s because he is the son of longtime Canadiens captain Saku Koivu I wrote a piece a little while back about the prospect of the Habs selecting Saku’s son So the Cinderella story could have happened But the best part of it all is that Aatos was at home watching the draft with his folks he was reportedly unaware of the selection and didn’t hear it But he learned about it because of the cheers from both of his parents #Habs Aatos Koivu says he didn't hear his name called initially while watching the #NHLDraft on TV but when his mom started jumping up and down, he realized he was taken by the #GoHabsGo Dad Saku then joined in jumping for joy too My colleague and co site expect Nate Duffett wrote about Koivu and how it is a legacy pick given the weight the name holds in Montreal Koivu certainly will have some high expectations but he does have some soft mitts and solid skating Hopes are that he can continue on an upward trajectory and find his way into the Habs lineup Aatos Koivu, son of Saku, pulled off this SILKY shootout winner for Finland’s U18s 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/KpDff9tbPi Certainly, it would be easy for him to crumble under the pressure or be known simply as Saku's son. But for Aatos to become the player he wants to be while absorbing all the advice that he can both in stride and his one-touch while standing still could be a big weapon in his arsenal While offence doesn't always generate to the next level playing an honest 200-foot game and giving consistent effort goes a long way a big part of his game is that he works hard in the faceoff dot and he is a reliable presence down the middle it will be a good measuring stick to see where he is at in his development perhaps the biggest is developing and having feedback to get better and continually be challenged Montreal's development staff will be essential and I expect that they will do their best to keep the Koivu name around in Montreal © 2025 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Minute Media or its affiliates and related brands All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER #Habs Aatos Koivu says he didn't hear his name called initially while watching the #NHLDraft on TV but when his mom started jumping up and down, he realized he was taken by the #GoHabsGo Aatos Koivu, son of Saku, pulled off this SILKY shootout winner for Finland’s U18s 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/KpDff9tbPi Certainly, it would be easy for him to crumble under the pressure or be known simply as Saku's son. But for Aatos to become the player he wants to be had a much different draft experience than his dad but got to join the Habs fold no less Justin Barbour has finished a monstrous journey from Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada to Cape Pine the southernmost point on the island of Newfoundland “What a rip in the wilderness,” Barbour wrote on his social media “It was a journey that just kept on going and hike through one of the planet’s last great wild areas.” This was a journey six years in the making Barbour’s first attempt to cross Labrador from east to west ended when an early winter bogged him down He vowed to return better kitted out and with more winter experience “I want to experience a full year in the northern wilderness,” he told us in May 2023 “To experience the four seasons as the indigenous people of the area have I felt good physically and mentally in 2018 but my winter skills in the subarctic cold weren’t there yet.” Barbour’s approximate route before he decided to bike pack the Trans-Labrador Highway The long-distance cycle ride was not planned. After a break to see out the depths of winter, Barbour spent over a month manhauling through Labrador’s rugged interior before opting to turn back to the Trans-Labrador Highway. Spring had arrived, and thawing rivers removed his “river roadway for tobogganing.” Meanwhile Barbour opted to retrace his steps to the highway and bike all the way to Labrador’s south coast “Being too restless to wait a month for lakes to ice out enough for a canoe I adapted,” Barbour wrote at the time “Pedaling in-between seasons kept the momentum going and the expedition close to on schedule.” Barbour portages his canoe on a previous expedition The final leg of his journey involved hiking and packrafting south through Newfoundland with his dog Saku It also featured a close encounter with a black bear “Close call for Saku with bear and cubs,” Barbour wrote Barbour arrived at Cape Pine on July 22 after 372 days spent almost entirely in the wilderness “With youth-like giddiness, I look forward to sharing the full story. Four seasons of travel living with nature’s rhythms, mostly alone,” he posted. Martin Walsh is a writer and editor for ExplorersWeb Martin spent most of the last 15 years backpacking the world on a shoestring budget touring Cambodia’s medical facilities with an exceedingly painful giant venomous centipede bite or narrowly avoiding various toilet-related accidents in rural China Martin has just about survived his decision making Martin can be found in the jungle trying to avoid leeches while chasing monkeys Sign up to receive ExplorersWeb content direct to your inbox once a week A Studio Bind-produced anime adaptation of the Hana wa Saku, Shura no Gotoku manga, which is written by Sound! Euphonium author Ayano Takeda has been announced with a 2025 premiere date and a teaser visual Ayumu Uwano (VSPO new logo animation PV co-director Ep 6 storyboards and direction et al.; Onimai Episode 7 storyboards and direction) is directing the series which is about a school broadcast club on a small island with a population of 600 Other main staff members include Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (Shangri-la Frontier, Tis Time for Torture Princess) as series composer and Ko Aine (“NekoKaburi Na” music video VSPO new logo animation PV) as character designer a girl who enjoys hosting recitals for the island’s kids Miyuri Shimabukuro plays the other main heroine Mizuki Usurai Shura no Gotoku manga is drawn by Musshu and serialized in Shueisha’s Ultra Jump The series began in 2021 and will release its seventh tankoubon volume on June 19 The obi of the first volume featured a recommendation from popular hololive VTuber Hoshimachi Suisei Sources: @hanashura_PR, Comic Natalie The Montreal Canadiens selected forward Aatos Koivu, son of former captain Saku Koivu, with the 70th overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft on Saturday. Aatos recorded 16 goals and 31 points across 28 games in Finland's U20 SM-Sarja league and will now be a part of Montreal's plans, just as his father was when the Habs selected him 21st overall in 1993. Saku was a Canadien for 13 seasons, captaining the team for a decade between 1999 and 2009. Becoming the first European-born captain in the franchise's history, Saku posted 641 points with Montreal before making his way to Anaheim, where he played five seasons before announcing his retirement in 2014. Canadiens select Russian scorer Ivan Demidov fifth overallCanadiens move up in draft after trade with KingsCOMMENTS When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines Should you violate our submissions guidelines we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time a dog and 700 kilometers of rugged wilderness Justin Barbour along with his trusted sidekick Saku set out on a 68-day expedition across Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador have some of the last truly untouched wilderness on the planet We reached out to Justin to get the inside scoop on his epic Newfoundland crossing I’ve been on adventures for as long as I can remember I lived in a small rural community outside of St I was always outdoors and loved every minute of it Hockey was also a huge part of my life and like many other young players but as we all know the chances are slim and eventually I came back home to study Physical Education and become a teacher it was during university when we studied outdoor activities and survival that I rediscovered that passion from my youth For years I hardly went in the woods because hockey was my focus But I stirred up that feeling of exploring the unknown and freedom that I remembered as a young boy this life and the endless trips there are to be planned is the new focus the indescribable rewards that await and that feeling of being alive and in the moment that can only be felt by being off the beaten track and traveling by your own power I love to live it and share it so that others can be encouraged to dream their wildest dreams and live their lives to the maximum If they get out to appreciate and respect mother nature then that’s a double win I had been doing smaller trips—three or four days including the longer ones because committed partners were difficult to find And also because I sort of got into this on my own time through books documentaries and solo practice whenever I could [ Also read: Story Of A 17-Year Old’s First Solo Canoe Trip ] I was just so enthralled by being out there And one thing I’ll tell you about me is that when I get an idea I wanted to go big and thought this would be a fine way to see the least explored areas of my province’s wilderness most thought it was strange for me to be spending a couple of nights in the bush on my own while there were more important things happening in town that I did not yet know of and I was fine by that I needed to be out there and was super content with my own independence and company I would entertain others when they wanted to join and loved it but no one seemed to have the same intensity of interest So most times it was solo and it became an obsession of my own [ Also read: The One Real Risk Of Solo Paddling Adventures ] I had begun reading books on old Newfoundland and Labrador explorers and trappers Some early Europeans and others the aboriginal people of our province success and fascination in the splendors of nature I also read and watched trips from more modern outdoorsmen and explorers With that all digested I had the itch to plan an expedition of my own so looking at the whole of Newfoundland one evening I decided that traveling its width Newfoundland and Labrador have so much wilderness It’s some of the last true wilderness left in the planet Living on the island portion of our province I thought why not go the distance and cross it all If I started in the west I would get the prevailing winds at my back when I paddled and I would finish near my home on the most easterly portion of the island I planned to first cross 100 kilometers of the Long Range Mountains by foot, then paddle and portage the remaining 600 to the end. My boat was a 6-pound Alpacka Raft. In the last days leading up to the expedition start, I added a sled to pull my gear over the mountains on snowshoes because snow levels were still extremely high due to a late winter [ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: View all packrafts ] So much is happening when you’re always moving forward Walking through the Long Range Mountains (an extension of the Appalachian Chain here in Newfoundland) pulling a sled was memorable We started at sea level and climbed about 1,800 feet and then back down the other side We were blessed with some warm and sunny late spring days but the albedo effect was strong off the high mountain snow I forgot sunscreen and had none until my first resupply at the 100-kilometer mark Hitting some real productive fishing holes that were deep in the country was also a treat Wetting a line is a big joy for me on these trips A learning experience and a not so good highlight came when I flipped the raft in whitewater and lost plenty of gear Amazingly I have footage of this on the YouTube series Challenges are what make trips interesting my body held up pretty well and in my mind I just kept breaking the trip down in small chunks to minimize the feeling of distance One actual situation was when the snow was melting and I was still pulling a sled I had to break camp at first light to get hard crusty conditions because by afternoon you would sink to your chest even with snowshoes on on this trip I had to wait unexpectedly for over a week for lake ice to thaw and during that time all food had to be rationed down even further.” Another big and interesting challenge on this expedition was trying not to eat all my food You get really hungry out there grinding solo through the conditions and only have limited rations Many evenings I stare at the food bag wanting more but know I am only eating into the next days’ rations Over time your body adapts and you can run on less but some evenings you still you get that craving to eat more once supper is finished I’m that tired I can’t even cook and just end up eating a few handfuls of trail mix and diving into the sleeping bag on this trip I had to wait unexpectedly for over a week for lake ice to thaw and during that time all food had to be rationed down even further Drinking tea and coffee helped curb my hunger and I relied on fish to fill the void Ultimately your three biggest challenges on any expedition are managing your food getting from point A to B and staying safe while doing it Doing a trip with Saku was everything I could have asked for I find it hard now to think of doing an expedition without him though I know it is a reality Especially if I want to get into longer winter treks which is a strong desire I have But Saku is always the silver lining out there When things get rough and the daily grind and distance are wearing me down I look to Saku for motivation from the jump in his step It’s contagious energy to see him so excited The security around camp and his scent is good for marking your territory and decreases the chances of any unwanted animal visitors He is also entertaining and has become my best friend and wilderness traveling companion If there was one disadvantage it would be dealing with his food weight which were longer sections in between resupplies I would have to carry some of his extra food and of course his first aid because he only has limited room in his pack But that’s okay because it’s worth having him there and I’m pretty hardened to it now Overall there are really no negatives to taking a dog on any wilderness adventure if they are suited for it Started the trip in Robinson’s Newfoundland April 19 2017 and ended in Cape Broyle Newfoundland June 25 [ Plan an adventure of your own using the Paddling Trip Guide ] Last summer I paddled 1,000 kilometers across Labrador and into Northern Quebec with Saku I had hopes of going 1,700 kilometers and reaching Hudson Bay Nature had other plans though and we were cut short by an unusually early October winter So now I am leaning toward a winter expedition to maybe finish that But nothing’s in stone and ideas are always rolling so all I can say is that more adventures are to come I am about to begin my first speaking tour here in Newfoundland presenting the 1,000-kilometer Labrador trip Last year I visited 30 venues and schools presenting the 700-kilometer Newfoundland journey I also have a book coming out in September on the Newfoundland expedition and Saku has a children’s book being released by a local author at the same time I plan to release a new documentary series on the Labrador-Quebec trip So it’s exciting times and I am looking forward to moving forward Find Barbour’s book, Man and Dog, and Saku’s children’s book, Saku’s Great Newfoundland Adventure and website in this browser for the next time I comment Inspiring paddlesports participation through quality coverage of the people trends and events that make paddling something you'll do for the rest of your life He will also miss the Canadiens’ development camp starting Tuesday Here’s what the team’s codirectors of Amateur Scouting thought about his selection and how the Montreal fans reacted to that pick While Martin Lapointe and Nick Bobrov felt like Ivan Demidov was the steal of the draft they looked pretty chuffed about selecting Koivu with the first of the team’s two third-round picks He also added that Koivu would be a center in the NHL but would need to improve physically to get stronger and the organization was confident he could do that Bobrov mentioned the young man has lived in a household used to pressure As for the Canadiens’ prospect, he said: Koivu describes himself as a two-way center who can play responsibly in both directions. He adds that his strengths are his skating, his shot, and his ability to read the game. As for who in the NHL best fits his style, he opted for Sebastian Aho. It looks like the Canadiens will finally get an Aho….in a way Koivu is a well-liked and respected player Even though he never took the Canadiens to a 25th Stanley Cup If some criticized him for not speaking French many fans couldn’t have cared less about that fans hold memories of his dad close to their heart and courage in the face of adversity have cemented his reputation as one of the greats in Montreal and there have been many greats with the Canadiens in the past 115 years Related: Canadiens Can Add Next Generation of Koivu in 2024 NHL Draft This might explain why social media was ablaze with reaction after the Canadiens selected the younger Koivu Even if most of them probably hadn’t even seen him play The simple mention of the name had them talking and 85% of the followers who replied to my homemade survey said they were happy with the pick he’ll immediately experience what pressure is The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey commentary and features from hundreds writers worldwide our articles are read millions of times every month Saku City in Nagano Prefecture is aiming to attract new residents They've started a system to subsidize transportation costs for those living and working remotely in the area while making work trips out to urban hubs Officials hope to curb the effects of population decline review the construction "A to B no aida" (between A and B) and learn expressions related to "hikkoshi" (changing residence) and "ijuu" (relocation) Welcome to "Learn Japanese from the News." Join us as we learn Japanese and about the country Saku City in Nagano Encouraging "Dual Residency" Saku in Nagano Prefecture is a city of about 100,000 located roughly 150 kilometers from central Tokyo and is a great place for winter sports in the colder months really envy the people who get to live there "transportation expenses," or in the context of this story is thinking of various ways to increase the number of people moving to the city the city started a system that provides a travel allowance to those who make a living traveling back and forth between Saku and Tokyo and other cities Saku City is about 1 hour and 10 minutes from Tokyo by shinkansen If you register as a resident of Saku City the city will provide up to 20,000 yen per month for the shinkansen "More people are working remotely from home We want to encourage people who want to live in a place with abundant nature to come here so that the population doesn't decrease." The commuting subsidy mentioned in the story is open to all residents of Japan Saku City has set up sites for remote working so that residents can work from home comfortably now let's review the following phrase from the story those who make a living traveling back and forth between Saku and Tokyo and other cities "Saku-shi to Tokyo nado no aida o ittari kitari shite seekatsu-suru hito" Here the word "aida" refers to the space between two points between Saku City and Tokyo and other areas so if you're gonna use "aida," it would be.. "Aida" refers to is the area between here and here but also a specific period of time or interval So you could say something like: "Shichi-ji kara juuichi-ji made no aida ni "Shichi-ji kara juuichi-ji made no aida ni depending on whether "aida" is followed by the particle "ni." Well that would mean I intend to do laundry for that entire period The meaning changes depending on whether you use "ni." So watch out I think a lot of us aspire to splitting our time between the city and the countryside; I certainly do it's important to find a community that fits you and any family members you have Let's hear from someone who's living the "two-residence" lifestyle he's been splitting his time living between Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture and the Minamiboso area in Chiba Prefecture and on his days off he goes to Minamiboso with his family he searched for options within a 100-kilometer radius of his city home Minamiboso was just 90 minutes away by car He attended a workshop on "dual residency" hosted by the local government That led to an opportunity to buy a roughly 15,000-square-meter plot from a resident at a very reasonable price There's a clear divide between how we spend our weekdays and our weekends It's a lifestyle you can't experience in the city Municipalities across Japan are trying to address those concerns in a variety of ways Tokushima Prefecture is actively pushing its "dual-schooling" program kids must attend a school in the area they're registered as a resident But Tokushima's system lets kids outside of the prefecture go to a local elementary or junior high school without having to change their registration And a legal revision was made this past May that will allow municipalities to potentially receive subsidies to repair vacant houses and set up sites for remote work Today's story contained the word "hikkoshi." "Ijuu" means to move or relocate with the intention of settling long term It also refers to migration or immigration And when you speak of "ijuu," there's another term that you hear quite often "Yuu-taan" is when a person who moved away from home for study or for work It's mostly used in reference to someone who was raised in the city here's a word to know when looking for a new place to live where municipalities list vacant local properties available for rent or purchase most take a little bit of renovation work to make them the perfect home there's really something special in these old houses And it's actually something I'd like to do myself someday.. The series between Lausanne and Langnau is characterized by home wins Saku Mäenalanen helps the Tigers to a belle - which the Finn could miss The Finn scored 18 points in 27 appearances for the SCL Tigers in the past National League qualifiers And yet the 30-year-old is an important part of the Emmental's team structure closes holes and works consistently at the back not even a minute had been played in Game 6 of the playoff quarter-final series against Lausanne when Mäenalanen nevertheless put on a show on offense and put the underdogs ahead after 58 seconds And when Oskars Lapinskis increased the lead to 2:0 just over a minute later the Tiger on the Ilfis was dancing for good "We got off to a good start," says Mäenalanen "That was very important." He knows that this early cushion gave all Langnau players confidence for a game in which nothing less than the rest of the season was at stake it came as little surprise that the intensity of the game was high right from the start After a hard check by Aurélien Marti against Juuso Riikola the Tigers' Finnish defenseman was taken to the dressing room early in the first period It was a scene that must have made many a level-headed Emmental player jump out of their skin as the Lausanne defenseman's elbow check was actually directed at the opponent's head Saku Mäenalanen probably also had this action in mind when he went for a hard check on Marti behind the goal in the third period which first sent him flying into the boards and then bouncing onto the ice The referees' whistle remained silent Mäenalanen doesn't want to dwell on it after the game It's my job to play hard." And yet it doesn't seem out of the question that Ryan Gardner will have more work to do before Game 7 on Tuesday The league's Player Safety Officer has had to deal with controversial decisions on several occasions during this surprisingly competitive series The fact that he refrained from retrospectively suspending the Lausanne defenceman after a check by Gavin Bayreuther against a linesman at the end of Game 4 earned Gardner a lot of criticism It will therefore be interesting to see whether proceedings will be initiated against Mäenalanen and Marti which could mean that both players will not be able to take part in the all-important Game 7 in Lausanne on Tuesday While the sovereign qualification winner LHC has to avert a frighteningly early end to the season in this Belle the SCL Tigers have a historic opportunity: In their third playoff appearance the Emmentalers could advance to the semi-finals for the first time ever Regardless of whether he will be able to lace up his skates or not one thing is clear for Saku Mäenalanen: "We have no pressure Finland – Saku Koivu is sitting in the bleachers at Leaf Arena in Turku as 22 young men play in front of him But Koivu is not sitting in the bleachers of a hockey rink and they are members of TPS Turku’s U-20 hockey team He is the director of player development for his former SM-Liiga club in his hometown overseeing the progression of the program’s young players all the way down to the little kids Koivu took some time out from his duties Monday morning to chat with The Athletic and answer some questions including those submitted by our subscribers that come toward the end of the conversation I think a lot of people in Montreal would be curious to know what you’re doing so what is your role with TPS Turku as director of player development and we have full-time coaches (for each team) But what we never had before was that nobody really knew what was going on from (age) 8 to 10 There’s a different coach every year and they did their own thing So right now we’re trying to build more of a structure of what TPS Turku is all about The skating is our base for the house and the program we’re now creating We have a clinic starting Monday for four different age groups they have off ice for half an hour and then they go on ice for about 45 minutes and it’s pure skating; getting the balance and finding where the stride starts We have a guy who’s responsible for that and also for the physics we actually write it down then after a year we have an overall picture I’m on the ice with them three times a week; once with the U18 as of right now and then twice with these guys (U20s) in the mornings we talk to the national team coach for the U18s What’s missing for them to take the next step then we make a plan for the next three weeks to a month Our environment is you get up in the morning and you work for something which I like because it still gives me the freedom is I’m not specifically responsible for one team I don’t have to be with them every morning or every night or every game So it kind of gives me a bit of a flexible calendar but that I would have done a little differently Then the other thing is I don’t think anywhere there’s nobody really anywhere that knows and plans what you’re doing with the whole club So I guess it’s to see if we can do something differently It’s interesting to hear you say maybe you would have done some things differently because you obviously had that knee injury in 1996 when you were at the peak of your game and had injuries throughout your career or the way you were told to prepare for your career do you think it led at all to those problems We did off ice completely differently than kids nowadays You don’t see kids at 16 or 17 really doing much heavy lifting Obviously you have to be strong enough to battle but it’s more about the recovery and that type of thing Do you ever think, because I have, that you would thrive in today’s game? Not that you didn’t thrive, but I get the sense that when you came to the NHL the big thing was your size and you were probably told to get a lot stronger I think if you came in the league today they wouldn’t worry about that at all You do things with the knowledge that you have it’s more for a European type than it was in ’96 If you look at the ’96 World Cup and what the game was there versus what it is now So with that we can give them some advice that what we did but I would do it this way and we can tell them why Do you follow much what’s going in Montreal I still have friends that I talk to in Montreal so I get more of an inside look When you win five in a row things are good You obviously had some difficult seasons in Montreal while you were captain it’s not necessarily the most fun to play in Montreal when things are going like that What made it more challenging to be captain of those teams than it would be to just be a regular player on those teams you don’t have to come up with the reason why we didn’t do something Sometimes you don’t have a reason for that And when you get asked that over and over again And then obviously it kind of wears you down when that happens on then it happens on a Wednesday then it happens on a Friday Then it becomes that there’s only a few people who answer questions versus when you win there’s more people in the locker room and it’s more positive like how you would react if you go into work on a Monday but it was really interesting and I learned a lot And what helped me was my core group with (Craig) Rivet and (Sheldon) Souray and those guys; it wasn’t just me even though it maybe looked (from the) outside like it was just the captain It was the guys I was surrounded by that made it easier for me I learned to kind of draw the line between the public figure and the private one and there’s a big difference between those two even though it’s not easy to do that and kind of try to wipe it out and forget it and go on But they’re not blaming and not saying things about you as a person They’re saying things about you as a captain and about your team you had some things said about you that were talking about you as a person but if I put it in a different perspective a captain that didn’t speak a word of Finnish it would be In a way they had every right to say these things But I honestly didn’t take it personally that they were on me about it and afterwards now being almost 45 years old (he’s 43) if I had known now that I would play there for 14 or 15 years when I started as a 20-year-old and the first two years it was really to get comfortable with English and be OK with that you don’t know if you’re going to be there a year or two years or three years And then half the team was Anglophones from Europe or the States and they didn’t speak French But it was one of those subjects where I didn’t have the right answer that everybody would be happy with but I’m from Finland and I’m here to play hockey My teammates selected me as captain because of who I am for me to be fluent in French would be great he was the foundation president at the hospital So the people that I worked with are not there as much anymore but there’s nothing actively happening right now I have my foundation here in Finland now that I’m here full time In English it would be called the Morning Foundation It’s nationwide for children’s cancer research and prevention Now, before you have to get back to work, I want to make sure I get these subscriber questions in. So here’s the first of three, and this was asked by many people after seeing the photo of you and Jesperi Kotkaniemi together in Rauma it was to know if you can come work for the Canadiens I’m a part of the Finnish national federation board And then I’m on the ice with these kids three times a week So I get a perspective of a lot of different areas of the game right now it’s actually eye-opening that you see things and how it’s done and all the things that go on So this is good right now because I’m on the ice so I kind of get a sense and feel of where the game is going and how the kids are getting better what are the things they still need to work on I talk to the people that see the top level international game all the time But to be a coach with my kids being 12 and 14 (his daughter this is good right now that I’m not stuck with one program and schedule and I don’t have to be there both days on the weekend and Monday morning So if (my kids) have something I can be with them When the kids are out of the house, and it’s just me and my wife, then it might be time for something else. When I retired from the Ducks they asked me if we were going to stay and if I wanted to do something (for them) We stayed another year just to see if the life for us was in the States or back in Finland and we decided we wanted to bring the kids back here So right now to move and take the kids again to a different environment But everything kind of opens up again depending on what they do so it’s something you would be interested in eventually The only thing is that the longer you’re away from there So if you had the option you would go more towards the action side than the management side because I like where I am on the management side right now and doing all the planning but what’s good right now is I’m on the ice with the kids three times a week But I feel like there’s more for me to give on the actual game side than in management I don’t think you’d have trouble getting a coaching job as an assistant I don’t think anyone would bring up your lack of experience… Yeah but there’s a difference between an actual coach and running the whole thing and being a player I understand them getting the hooking and obstruction and that away His game was that if you wanted to go to the net Especially when you talk about playoff hockey and we’re getting away from that a little bit because they’re trying to call everything so you get more time and more speed for the skill The physical part of the game seemed to bring the best out of you Just as a line it would Recchs (Mark Recchi) and umm… (long pause to think about it) the line I had with Brian (Savage) and Recchs I was thinking of (Richard) Zednik and some of those guys Yeah. I haven’t seen him a while, the last time I saw him was in Pittsburgh and that was two years ago during the World Cup. But I haven’t been to the States since then and he hasn’t been here. He’s busy with the Penguins (as an assistant coach) but what I like right now is having the freedom to do something else as well If you get involved with coaching then it’s hockey and really there’s nothing else we haven’t spoken about it and things are really good here Arpon Basu has been the editor-in-chief of The Athletic Montréal since 2017. Previously, he worked for the NHL for six years as managing editor of LNH.com and a contributing writer on NHL.com. Follow Arpon on Twitter @ArponBasu Dec 9, 2019 10:36 AM ESTNewfoundland-based adventurer Justin Barbour has no problem recruiting a companion for canoe and packraft expeditions in the wilderness of eastern Canada. His dog, Saku, is always up for an adventure “The trips I do are kind of unheard of here Everyone thinks I’m crazy,” says Barbour “I try to get my friends involved but after a day they’re done with it So I’ve become really content with my independence When you travel alone no one’s complaining It’s hard work but it’s worth it I just started doing it on my own and now I’ve stopped looking for people I don’t want to sacrifice my independence.” Newfoundland adventurer Justin Barbour man and dog attempted their most audacious expedition yet starting at the North Atlantic and traversing Labrador and into northern Quebec by canoe Barbour and Saku pushed upstream on hard waterways In nearly three months’ travel they encountered no other humans — until Barbour was forced to call in a helicopter to end the trip deep in the Quebec wilderness when snow ice and incessant winds arrived earlier than expected “Saku is meant to be out there and moving,” says Barbour “I didn’t know if I was going to make it.” He adds “But when I saw [Saku] going like a mad dog that gave me the motivation to carry on.” came to the outdoor adventure after playing elite-level hockey into his early 20s He took his first canoe trip in 2012 as an undergraduate student as a part of his studies in physical education “It put the hook right in me,” recalls Barbour “Then I started reading stories about the old Newfoundland and Labrador explorers and it was a snowball effect from there.” Man and Dog: Barbour and Saku in northern Quebec One of Barbour’s first teaching jobs was in the remote community of Cartwright in coastal Labrador He conceived his 2017 Newfoundland crossing — the first-ever “by woods and waters” — as a means of sharing the wilderness of his home island to the world Barbour called the 2018 attempt to transit the Labrador Peninsula from the Atlantic Ocean to Hudson Bay “the perfect challenge for the restless Saku and I [in] one of the last remaining true wildernesses in the world.” and a children’s book by Newfoundland author Marie-Beth Wright Barbour's sense of humor and adventure has made him a popular speaker This summer Barbour is anticipating more local adventures by packraft in Newfoundland. Meanwhile, he keeps coming back to his unfinished business in northern Quebec “I just get locked on things,” he says “There was a week [after ending the expedition] when I was hard on myself I thought maybe I should’ve brought in a sled and waited for freeze up Mostly after 83 days I didn’t want to come back to the normal life I am going to get over this quick.” - The Crossing: The story of a sea kayak epic across the Straits of Florida - Round the world adventures prepare to tackle the Northern Forest Canoe Trail - More Eastern Adventure: Connections Across Maine Part 1, Part 2, Part 3