Sunday was the third day of the World Junior Summer Exhibition, which is designed to determine the rosters of the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship to be held in Ottawa from Dec. 26-Jan. 5.

PLYMOUTH, Mich. — Aatos Koivu’s only wish is to be on the Finnish Youth National Team roster and experience the tournament his father participated in twice.

The 18-year-old right-shot center (1.85m, 177kg), selected in the third round (No. 70) by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2024 NHL Draft, is in the early stages of doing just that, having been invited to represent his country at this week’s World Junior Summer Exhibition at USA Hockey Arena.

“I know (Saku Koivu) enjoyed that time and he told me how special the World Junior Championships were,” Aatos said of his father. “He reminded me to just go out and have fun. These are huge tournaments and not everyone can be here, even if they want to be, that’s for sure.

“Having the chance to be here is something very special for me and I want to enjoy it and make the most of it.”

Selected by the Canadiens in the first round (No. 21) of the 1993 NHL Draft, Saku Koivu represented Finland at the WJC in 1993 and 1994. He had 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 14 WJC games but never took home a medal.

Aatos had 53 points (25 goals, 28 assists) in 48 games for the TPS U-18 and U-20 teams last season. He also played four games for TPS in the Liiga, his country’s top professional league, and will start there this season.

But before that, she wants to dazzle at the Showcase.

“It’s a huge thing for me, to earn a spot on the Under-20 World Junior team,” he said. “I definitely want to show the coaches, the staff, everybody that I want to be on the team and I believe I can be a special player and a good player.”

Three things we learned on Sunday: