wild/nhl

Mikko Koivu tries not to draw attention, but he can show up anywhere at anytime.

If you look carefully, you can find the Wild's third-year center moseying around St. Anthony Main or enjoying a cup of joe and blueberry muffin at one of his favorite coffee shops in Nordeast or the Warehouse District.

You can spot him speedwalking across the Stone Arch Bridge, where he marvels at the gorgeous Minneapolis skyline and takes pleasure in the stunning scenery that engulfs and borders each side of the Mississippi River. He often roams Nicollet Mall aimlessly and pops into his favorite store, Len Druskin, where he plops down a credit card for the latest in cool, stylish threads.

Yes, Koivu can show up anywhere at anytime, but you'll have to really, really look. With headphones in and music blaring, Koivu usually is in a trance trying to escape into a world of his own thoughts so his entire life isn't consumed by one-timers, body checks and wins and losses.

"The amount of games we play and we practice a lot, I just need to get away from that," Koivu says as he bites into a muffin and washes it down with a sip of dark roast.

"I like to watch some games, but my first year here, I got the NHL package on TV and that was way too much for me. I couldn't handle that anymore.

"Now, I just like to get my mind off hockey."

On the ice and at the rink, Koivu, who hails from Turku, Finland, also attempts to avoid the limelight. Besides being incredibly modest, Koivu is cautious, frightened that speaking in a second language could mean his words be misconstrued.

He has witnessed this firsthand his entire life, watching how anything older brother, Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu, says can blow up into Quebec's Controversy of the Week. Look no further than last month when Saku had to hold a news conference to clarify comments he made to the French newspaper, La Presse, before training camp.

Saku was quoted as saying the Canadiens could make the playoffs but not win the Stanley Cup, which turned into a weeklong firestorm in Montreal.

"After watching my brother, I just kind of learned how to be careful. I learned to keep a distance," Mikko Koivu said.

As reluctant as he is though, by the look of things (see exhibition hat trick vs. Chicago while wearing captain's 'C'), the 24-year-old is readying to burst into the spotlight.

After a 20-goal, 54-point sophomore campaign (which doesn't include his league-leading eight shootout goals) that was good for the second-largest point increase in the NHL, Koivu begins the 2007-08 season tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks armed with confidence, one of the team's most significant roles and a desire to lead the Wild to a deep playoff run.

The Wild is so convinced of Koivu's maturation, the team more than tripled his salary by signing him to a four-year, $13 million deal in June.

"The last half of last year, you could see the player he's turning into," veteran Wes Walz said. "He just does everything well. He's good on faceoffs, he's good defensively, he's got an outstanding shot, he can make a play, he plays with an edge, he can play in any situation you want.

"I know if I coached a team, it'd be pretty exciting to have a player like him, because he can do absolutely everything. He's got so much more confidence now. You can just see the way he carries the puck now; there's a different swagger about how he approaches the game, about how he plays."

Koivu says the reason is simple. He's finally at ease in Minnesota, not only on the ice and at the rink, where he knows and adores his teammates, but away from the rink where he has become accustomed to life in a foreign country.

Starting to feel like home