The Montreal Canadiens drafted Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the third overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. He was immediately regarded as a longer-term type of prospect who is tall, but a bit scrawny, one of the younger players in his draft and thus would need some time to develop into a full time NHL player.
However, Kotkaniemi had other plans it would seem. He played well enough in his first NHL training camp that he made the opening night roster for the 2018-19 Montreal Canadiens. There was no guarantee that he would stick on the roster for the entire season, but he continued to play well early in the season and the Habs management team had no choice but to keep him.