Oh, Brother.

Last January, I had the privilege to attend a “Wild Unplugged” event. Two members of the Minnesota Wild appeared at a local eating establishment, and fielded questions from the fans. At that event, Branko Radivojevic and Mikko Koivu (who undisputedly has the “Most fun to say” name in the NHL) took the stage. Someone asked them whom they would pick, out of anyone in the NHL, to play for the Wild. Radivojevic picked Sidney Crosby. Mikko immediately picked his big brother, a guy you may have heard of: Montreal Canadiens’ Captain Saku Koivu.

Tonight, in St. Paul, the Brothers Koivu will appear in the same NHL arena at the same time--just on different teams--when the Montreal Candiens face the Minnesota Wild. Both brothers will also wear the letter “C” on their chests, designating them as captains of their respective teams. This is the first time brothers have been captains of their respective teams since 1987, so it’s nothing to sneeze at. (This was not known until the season begin, because the Wild name a new captain every month; although Koivu the Younger is the permanent Alternate Captain for the year.) They’re brothers; they’re both excellent hockey players, and have the leadership skills to be captains of a professional team.

But the Brothers Koivu didn’t grow up playing hockey together all the time. Saku is eight and a half years older than Mikko; Mikko was 10 when his big brother was drafted, and 11 when Saku left home to start his professional career. As adults, they’ve played on the same teams in Finland, but obviously never in the NHL. They play in different divisions and under different systems but I decided to compare their first three NHL seasons (note: NHL rules have changed through the years, which could affect same stats).

Saku was 20 when he made his NHL debut, while Mikko was 22 (when Mikko was 21, the NHL was in a lockout, so it’s hard to say whether he would’ve made his debut or not). In their first three years, they played nearly an equal number of games (201 for Saku, 203 for Mikko). Saku holds the edge in most categories: goals by 14, assists by 27, points by 41 (easy math!), power-play goals by 1, power-play assists by 10, short-handed goals and assists by 3 and 1 respectively, and game-winning goals by 4. Mikko leads his big brother, through the first three years, in points by 2 (+10), and penalty minutes by 14. Saku was the better player--possibly--through the first three years. Unfortunately, I couldn’t locate stats such as “minutes played” and as in most sports, defensive stats are hard to find, usually because they’re harder to calculate.

As for their leadership, Saku was named captain in his fifth year, while Mikko was named captain in his fourth. Again, that’s not a comparable fact, because Mikko was older entering the NHL. Even more important is the timing. The Canadiens name captains for the year, where the Wild name captains by the month (it does not have to change. Reports are surfacing that Mikko will hold the captaincy of the Wild in November as well). There would be more chances for Mikko to be named Captain than for Saku.

Tonight: Brother versus Brother. More importantly, which brother will Mr. and Mrs. Koivu be rooting for in St. Paul? It should be noted that Saku was in St. Paul last night to go out to dinner with his parents. Mikko was in Dallas playing in a hockey game.