Beginning burst breaks news that this Koivu kid can play

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: October 18, 2008 - 10:27 PM

TAMPA, FLA. — The secret that is Mikko Koivu is out, thanks to the fast start that had him sitting atop all NHL scorers with nine points entering Saturday.

"I said in the meeting today, 'I think Koivu is one of the five best young players in the game,' " Lightning coach Barry Melrose said before the Wild beat Tampa Bay 1-0 in a shootout. "He's an unbelievable player. He's got size, skating ability, goes to the front of the net, plays fast -- all things very important in today's game."

Most impressive about Koivu's five-point game Thursday at Florida is it came with Marian Gaborik, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Owen Nolan out. Somebody needed to step up, and Lightning assistant coach Wes Walz, who played 2 1/2 seasons with Koivu, wasn't surprised it was him.

"He's a born leader," Walz said. "We saw these qualities in him when he first got here. It's like his brother [Canadiens captain Saku Koivu]. It's just the way these guys are wired. They're team first, themselves second, and those are the type of guys you build your team around."

With Mikko wearing the Wild's "C," Mikko and Saku Koivu are the first brothers to be captains of their respective teams since Brian (St. Louis) and Darryl Sutter (Chicago) from 1982 to '87, according to TSN Research.

"He's such a smart hockey player," Walz said of Mikko. "He plays exactly the way a pro should play. He prepares for the games, he's an intense individual and he practices harder than probably anyone on the ice.

"I'm proud watching him develop into the player he is. He always soaked everything in the first couple years, and now it's his time and you can see he's taken his game to another level."

Koivu said Walz should be proud.

"Walzie's taught us [Wild core players] the rules and how to handle different things, and we respect that and we want to keep that on this team as long as we're here," he said. "We owe it to guys like Walzie to keep [the tradition] they helped create. And when things went wrong, it was always Walzie stepping up and saying and doing things -- on the ice and off, before and after practice.

"He taught us well."

Duties near and far

Lightning strength and conditioning coach Kevin Ziegler's other job is as a Minneapolis firefighter for Rescue 1, Station 6 near the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Ziegler, on three-month budgetary leave, will return to Minnesota in December to resume his normal shift schedule but will travel back and forth to Tampa.

"I love working with the Lightning, but I miss the crew at the fire department. They're my family," said Ziegler, who also trains hockey players at Eden Prairie's Velocity Hockey Center.

Ziegler turned down a job with the Lightning in 2000 to become a firefighter.

"Both my parents passed away, and my dad, who was dying of lung cancer, grabbed my arm and said, 'Whatever you've ever wanted to do, go do it,'" Ziegler said. "I wanted to be a firefighter since I was a kid, and I'm very fortunate the city gave me the opportunity."

Etc.

• Nolan (leg) skated Saturday morning, but Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said, "It's not perfect," so they will shoot for a Thursday return vs. Buffalo. Gaborik (lower body) rode the bike Saturday morning.

• Melrose has had cameos in two movies. On "Mystery, Alaska": "Very underrated movie." On "Slap Shot 2": "Let's not mention that one."

• The Lightning plans to sign defenseman Marek Malik, but he is not yet in shape. Joked Melrose, "Must have been altitude problems in the Czech Republic."