Prospect Info: Oliver Kapanen, RHC, KalPa U20 (U20 SM-sarja), 64th Overall

[ChesterNimitz]

It's getting really crowded... I hate that we may have to pass on trying forwards that actually have potential just because we're stuck with washed vets. Hughes should do every thing he can to dump at least 4 of Pezz, Evans, Anderson, Dvorak, RHP as soon as possible. Barré-Boulet to the AHL, possible call-up. Not a fan of this signing but whatever.

Heineman, Tuch and Kapanen should get looks, Beck is pretty much a lock for the near-future, then you have guys like Kidney, Davidson, Farrell, plus prospects like Hage, Thorpe, Sawyer. We really can't f*** around waiting for this deadwood to finish their contracts. Get them out of this team ASAP.

With the plethora or even wealth of forward prospects we seem to be blessed with, one forward, Davidson seems to being overlooked to a degree. I followed Davidson in the WHL and always came away with the impression that he had pro potential. Davidson has just enough skating, size and skill to be an effective at the NHL level. At Laval last year and early in this preseason, Davidson has shown, at least to this writer, he can play a pro level game. He reminds me a bit of a combination of Mike Keane and Dave Balon: tenacity, good motor and surprising skill level.

I think after this preseason, Hughes and MSL will have Davidson much higher on the team’s depth charts than many here would have predicted. This kid is no mere filler as he stands a good chance of making the team (or some other NHL team) at some time in the near future.

 

[habsfan44]

He’s a perennial sub 50% expected goals guy. Last 100 games low 40s. Giving more scoring chances to the opponent as a center is the opposite of useful.

Good players on bad teams can have negative stats , it's not unusual and it doesn't mean that said player isn't useful in a bottom six role and has no value . I'm sure that if/when Dvorak is moved , then Hughes will get an equal return for him .

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I wouldn't keep Kapanen in the NHL this year unless he is 100% ready to play the ENTIRE Season in the NHL. I was at the game last night, and as I posted earlier he looked great, but it was the first preseason game. There wasn't that much intensity. Teams were giving up both blue lines pretty easily. The stakes were VERY low. The games will get more and more contested as the pre-season continues, and then go even 10x more intense once the regular season starts. Kapanen won't go down to the AHL and the Habs shouldn't try to convince otherwise. Some pretty good prospects needed AHL time the last few seasons: Cole Caufield, Arber Xhekaj, Justin Barron, Jayden Struble, Joshua Roy, Jesperi Kotkaniemi etc.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about this player and think he will be an NHLer probably next season, but don't do the Kotkaniemi / Norlinder thing where he's a maybe and the Habs keep him and then hope he'll figure it out in the NHL. If he struggles at all, send him back for one last year in Europe and pencil him in for next year.

 

[morhilane]

So what happens if Silky plays this way throughout?
I mean people still have him going back at this point.

"Everyone" is sure he's going back because nobody believe Hughes is going to move a player to make a spot for him.

 

[Rapala]

With the plethora or even wealth of forward prospects we seem to be blessed with, one forward, Davidson seems to being overlooked to a degree. I followed Davidson in the WHL and always came away with the impression that he had pro potential. Davidson has just enough skating, size and skill to be an effective at the NHL level. At Laval last year and early in this preseason, Davidson has shown, at least to this writer, he can play a pro level game. He reminds me a bit of a combination of Mike Keane and Dave Balon: tenacity, good motor and surprising skill level.

I think after this preseason, Hughes and MSL will have Davidson much higher on the team’s depth charts than many here would have predicted. This kid is no mere filler as he stands a good chance of making the team (or some other NHL team) at some time in the near future.

I actually said before the game in the GDT.
Jared Davidson flying under the radar.

 

[26Mats]

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I wouldn't keep Kapanen in the NHL this year unless he is 100% ready to play the ENTIRE Season in the NHL. I was at the game last night, and as I posted earlier he looked great, but it was the first preseason game. There wasn't that much intensity. Teams were giving up both blue lines pretty easily. The stakes were VERY low. The games will get more and more contested as the pre-season continues, and then go even 10x more intense once the regular season starts. Kapanen won't go down to the AHL and the Habs shouldn't try to convince otherwise. Some pretty good prospects needed AHL time the last few seasons: Cole Caufield, Arber Xhekaj, Justin Barron, Jayden Struble, Joshua Roy, Jesperi Kotkaniemi etc.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about this player and think he will be an NHLer probably next season, but don't do the Kotkaniemi / Norlinder thing where he's a maybe and the Habs keep him and then hope he'll figure it out in the NHL. If he struggles at all, send him back for one last year in Europe and pencil him in for next year.

Also, Kapanen has a leg up on many as he's already been through training camp, preseason, and the start of the season in Europe. So as you say, we'll see how he looks when the rest are more up to speed at the tail end of trainning camp, and when there are less AHLers in the lineups.

 

[Andy]

With the plethora or even wealth of forward prospects we seem to be blessed with, one forward, Davidson seems to being overlooked to a degree. I followed Davidson in the WHL and always came away with the impression that he had pro potential. Davidson has just enough skating, size and skill to be an effective at the NHL level. At Laval last year and early in this preseason, Davidson has shown, at least to this writer, he can play a pro level game. He reminds me a bit of a combination of Mike Keane and Dave Balon: tenacity, good motor and surprising skill level.

I think after this preseason, Hughes and MSL will have Davidson much higher on the team’s depth charts than many here would have predicted. This kid is no mere filler as he stands a good chance of making the team (or some other NHL team) at some time in the near future.

Ditto. Davidson flying under the radar. He had a good camp last and another good camp this. Intriguing player. Very quiet on the ice, but does the little details.

 

[BJCOLLINS]

Only Hage, Kapanen and probably Beck can be pencilled in futur lineups as of now, I think. If Kapanen ends up better than Beck maybe Beck won’t be here long term.

Demidov says “Hey”!

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Also, Kapanen has a leg up on many as he's already been through training camp, preseason, and the start of the season in Europe. So as you say, we'll see how he looks when the rest are more up to speed at the tail end of trainning camp, and when there are less AHLers in the lineups.

It was indeed only one game at the start of the pre-season schedule. But its far more comforting that Kapanen was able show well rather than the alternative. If was indeed the alternative, there would have been no shortage of people here screaming: Bust! No doubt, one bad game by Kapanen will have those same people screaming bust.

 

[26Mats]

Ditto. Davidson flying under the radar. He had a good camp last and another good camp this. Intriguing player. Very quiet on the ice, but does the little details.

Yeah, Davidson could be a Jake Evans type of player in the future, but on the wing.

And of course ideally he has a little more offense than Evams at the NHL level.

 

[SlafySZN]

Demidov says “Hey”!

Haha yes you’re right but i just went with who was named in the post!

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

With the plethora or even wealth of forward prospects we seem to be blessed with, one forward, Davidson seems to being overlooked to a degree. I followed Davidson in the WHL and always came away with the impression that he had pro potential. Davidson has just enough skating, size and skill to be an effective at the NHL level. At Laval last year and early in this preseason, Davidson has shown, at least to this writer, he can play a pro level game. He reminds me a bit of a combination of Mike Keane and Dave Balon: tenacity, good motor and surprising skill level.

I think after this preseason, Hughes and MSL will have Davidson much higher on the team’s depth charts than many here would have predicted. This kid is no mere filler as he stands a good chance of making the team (or some other NHL team) at some time in the near future.

Yes. I saw a lot of him too and IMO he was the guy who could be expected to be there when an important goal was needed.

 

[habsfan44]

At worse, no problem in keeping him as 13F and rotate him with Evans/Dvo. He would play 50 ish games in Finland so I don’t see a problem with him not playing all the games to start.

That's a sensible approach , eases the kid into the league with no pressure while gaining valuable experience and also buying time for the team to get to the trade deadline and move a guy like Dvorak or Armia for full value .

 

[TesseractPrice]

Only Hage, Kapanen and probably Beck can be pencilled in futur lineups as of now, I think. If Kapanen ends up better than Beck maybe Beck won’t be here long term.

Kapanen and Beck play very complementary games though as one is a great playmaker with solid physical forecheck while the other has a nasty shot and a mean streak. I think they'd make for one hell of a 3rd line

Also keep in mind that we might lose Newhook or Roy to expansion in a few years

 

[habsfan44]

With the plethora or even wealth of forward prospects we seem to be blessed with, one forward, Davidson seems to being overlooked to a degree. I followed Davidson in the WHL and always came away with the impression that he had pro potential. Davidson has just enough skating, size and skill to be an effective at the NHL level. At Laval last year and early in this preseason, Davidson has shown, at least to this writer, he can play a pro level game. He reminds me a bit of a combination of Mike Keane and Dave Balon: tenacity, good motor and surprising skill level.

I think after this preseason, Hughes and MSL will have Davidson much higher on the team’s depth charts than many here would have predicted. This kid is no mere filler as he stands a good chance of making the team (or some other NHL team) at some time in the near future.

Agreed , there are going to be a lot of tough decisions to be made over the next few years because of the overflow of talent in the organization . It's unfamiliar territory but a nice problem to have none the less .

 

[habsfan44]

It was indeed only one game at the start of the pre-season schedule. But its far more comforting that Kapanen was able show well rather than the alternative. If was indeed the alternative, there would have been no shortage of people here screaming: Bust! No doubt, one bad game by Kapanen will have those same people screaming bust.

Sometimes a keyboard plus anonymity equals stupid , it's the bi-polar nature of some of the posters on these boards .

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

With the plethora or even wealth of forward prospects we seem to be blessed with, one forward, Davidson seems to being overlooked to a degree. I followed Davidson in the WHL and always came away with the impression that he had pro potential. Davidson has just enough skating, size and skill to be an effective at the NHL level. At Laval last year and early in this preseason, Davidson has shown, at least to this writer, he can play a pro level game. He reminds me a bit of a combination of Mike Keane and Dave Balon: tenacity, good motor and surprising skill level.

I think after this preseason, Hughes and MSL will have Davidson much higher on the team’s depth charts than many here would have predicted. This kid is no mere filler as he stands a good chance of making the team (or some other NHL team) at some time in the near future.

I agree that he'll be an NHLer, but I think he'll end up proving himself on an expansion team in the next few years. He'll be a victim of the numbers game here unfortunately.

 

[habsfan44]

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I wouldn't keep Kapanen in the NHL this year unless he is 100% ready to play the ENTIRE Season in the NHL. I was at the game last night, and as I posted earlier he looked great, but it was the first preseason game. There wasn't that much intensity. Teams were giving up both blue lines pretty easily. The stakes were VERY low. The games will get more and more contested as the pre-season continues, and then go even 10x more intense once the regular season starts. Kapanen won't go down to the AHL and the Habs shouldn't try to convince otherwise. Some pretty good prospects needed AHL time the last few seasons: Cole Caufield, Arber Xhekaj, Justin Barron, Jayden Struble, Joshua Roy, Jesperi Kotkaniemi etc.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about this player and think he will be an NHLer probably next season, but don't do the Kotkaniemi / Norlinder thing where he's a maybe and the Habs keep him and then hope he'll figure it out in the NHL. If he struggles at all, send him back for one last year in Europe and pencil him in for next year.

All excellent points and I for one wouldn't be disappointed if this actually happened .

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Yeah, Davidson could be a Jake Evans type of player in the future, but on the wing.

And of course ideally he has a little more offense than Evams at the NHL level.

Davidson may not be as fluid a skater as Evans, but he plays a much heavier game. But Davison has gained that all necessary half-step in speed that he lacked when he played in the WHL. He also displays greater leadership traits than Evans. Davidson is the type of player who you want to go to war with when you play those heavy teams like Florida, Boston and Vegas on the road in the playoffs.

I’m sure Davidson is on Hughes’ and MSL’s radar. As he should be.

 

[Trabdy2]

Kapanen looked excellent. If he keeps this level of play up through the preseason, I'd expect Hughes keeps him over here.

Davidson seems to have enough skill and hockey sense to make teams pay for their mistakes. If he can continue to develop his pro habits a bit and be more consistent with execution, I can see him finding a way into a 4th line role eventually, building a game around opportunism and tenacity.

 

[Egresch]

Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about this player and think he will be an NHLer probably next season, but don't do the Kotkaniemi / Norlinder thing where he's a maybe and the Habs keep him and then hope he'll figure it out in the NHL. If he struggles at all, send him back for one last year in Europe and pencil him in for next year.

KK or Norlinder were not at the same level. Kapanen already dominated in Liiga,playoffs and World Champs.
It was a pre-season game and he is fighting for the spot, but so were 10 other players on the ice and he was absolutely dominant.

 

[Trabdy2]

delete

 

[JianYang]

Let's keep in mind this was the Flyers C squad. Let's wait a little longer before sending off some vets to Siberia

The preseason is weird like that. It's not always easy to predict the game just based on roster quality.

Teams that have no business playing in the nhl beat the so called cream of the crop teams often enough in exhibition that I don't really put any stock into it other than an opportunity to see some new toys in action.

But you're right, you don't make any decisions based on one preseason game. For the young guys, their job is to make their story at camp and move themselves onto the radar moving forward and just make the decisions more difficult for management. If they have done that, then they have had a great camp regardless of whether they make the opening roster or not.

On the other hand, I put no weight on how a player who has locked down a spot already looks in the preseason, whether it's good or bad.

 

[Rapala]

Kapanen and Beck play very complementary games though as one is a great playmaker with solid physical forecheck while the other has a nasty shot and a mean streak. I think they'd make for one hell of a 3rd line

Also keep in mind that we might lose Newhook or Roy to expansion in a few years

I've taken to calling them Silky Kapanen and Steely Beck.
You aren't wrong it will be interesting to see if Beck receives any accolades for his completely different style of play.

 

[YukonCornelius 5thOA]

Let's keep in mind this was the Flyers C squad. Let's wait a little longer before sending off some vets to Siberia

I always remember a Zednik, Bulis, Rucinsky line leading the league in preseason scoring...

So yeah, I take it with a grain of salt and note that even the games against other teams are just practice.

I've taken to calling them Silky Kapanen and Steely Beck.
You aren't wrong it will be interesting to see if Beck receives any accolades for his completely different style of play.

I noticed Steely Beck earlier and had a good chuckle. Thanks for that.