ST. PAUL, Minn. — The shadow was cast 12 years ago, when Saku Koivu was drafted 21st overall by the Montreal Canadiens and Mikko Koivu was the 10-year-old kid brother of a future NHL star.
During the past decade, the comparisons never ceased as Saku built an all-star resume and soared to celebrity status in their native Finland while Mikko struggled to carve out his identity before and after the Minnesota Wild selected him sixth overall in 2001.
The brothers were born nearly 8 1/2 years apart. They helped Finland win a silver medal at the 2004 World Cup.
"I still remember that moment when Saku first left for Montreal," Mikko said. "It's been quite a road from there, and now we're here."
Saku, 31, and Mikko, 22, took parallel paths to the NHL, choosing to finish school, complete military service and play two years professionally in Finland before moving to North America.
Yet their skills, physique and playing styles are quite dissimilar. Both are centers blessed with great vision, a playmaker's touch and leadership genes.
Saku has softer hands; Mikko plays with a slightly harder edge. Mikko is 3 inches taller and 14 pounds heavier than his older brother.
They were raised in Turku, their country's oldest city (population 175,000), the sons of a nurse and a hockey coach.
Jukka Koivu played 30 games in the Finnish Elite League in 1972-73 before a coaching career that included a season as Mikko's boss on their hometown TPS team. His run concluded last spring, when a loss in the Elite League finals. Now he is a coaching consultant at the Finnish Sports Institute and color commentator for the national network.
Saku Koivu debuted with the Canadiens in 1995-96 and became their 27th captain in September 1999. He has represented Finland nine times in international competition and is the undisputed captain of the national team — the youngest member of his country's hockey triumvirate behind Teemu Selanne and Jari Kurri.
Finland's reverence for Saku grew exponentially after he overcame abdominal cancer that forced him to miss all but three games in 2001-02. He was diagnosed three months after the Wild drafted Mikko, who shuns reliving the episode while acknowledging the adversity strengthened the family bond.
"Every family has their own problems. So did we," he said. "That brought us much closer to fight through that. Inside the family, it's always clear. It doesn't matter if you score 10 goals or zero, we don't care about that. It's always been a place where you can go."
Mikko enjoys equal family standing amid the whirlwind of celebrity that surrounds his older brother.
"They're very close, and the Koivu parents did their best to protect Mikko from the media when Saku became a star," said Reijo Suikki, a hockey magazine editor and former media director of the Finnish Hockey Federation.
Mikko's rise through the amateur ranks in Finland and his developing career in Minnesota has been framed by Saku's success, a reality he reconciled with long ago.
"It's understandable. He's been a good player for many years, and that's how it goes," Mikko says. "It doesn't bother me as much anymore. Now, I have my own name here."