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

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Kapanen is Finnish.

All you gotta do is finnish your chances!

What is that, some kind of pastry?

 

[Andy]

He’s interesting as a player. I find him physically weak still

 

[Dagistitsyn]

He’s interesting as a player. I find him physically weak still

Yeah, similar category to a lot of our current tweaner prospects IMO. Might, hopefully, be a good 3rd line guy at some point but is not NHL caliber yet. If one of Beck, Kapanen, Roy pan out to be a full time 3rd line NHL player for us I'll take that as a win. I don't view any of this 3 as highly as some here.

Kapanen seems like the most likely of the 3 to be a good 3rd liner IMO but definitely needs to get stronger. Not sold on Beck or Roy being anything more than really good AHLers who struggle to find their game in the NHL

 

[Habssince89]

I think he has the frame to become more physical/robust, but I think for now he will be an asset for his skating, ability to play both C and W, and his IQ. He might not be the most exciting player right now, but he's going to be a reliable foot soldier for us the rest of the year. Smart move by Hughes to make use of our entire depth chart. Hopefully sets a precedent of having our Euro prospects go back and forth as needed for development.

 

[DAChampion]

Hopefully sets a precedent of having our Euro prospects go back and forth as needed for development.

That's a very good point.

 

[Habssince89]

That's a very good point.

The NHL is deadset on being as global as possible, and I think its probably their intention to make it more like soccer and having multiple domestic leagues increase in their stature so that a proper champions league could be developed in the future.

For now, I think it would be a smart move beyond just development. Creating closer ties with European Teams could help with scouting and free agency, and it could help develop the quality of those teams, which in turn provides a better development effect when we would send prospects there.

I really hope we can continue to have that connection with Finland, seems like the Habs are always involved with them. Love the tenacity and team play of the Finns historically.

 

[tooji]

Good IQ and instincts, just needs to hit the gym. He kept the play moving in the right direction and made very few mistakes

 

[Adam Michaels]

I think he has the frame to become more physical/robust, but I think for now he will be an asset for his skating, ability to play both C and W, and his IQ. He might not be the most exciting player right now, but he's going to be a reliable foot soldier for us the rest of the year. Smart move by Hughes to make use of our entire depth chart. Hopefully sets a precedent of having our Euro prospects go back and forth as needed for development.

Kapanen will never wow us because he's not a flashy player, but he will be one of those effective players that are primordial for teams to have success. It's not easy to be just under a PPG player as the 1C in the SHL (35 pts in 36 GP). So there is skill there. He will just have to adjust to the NHL game, which I am confident he will. You can look at Heineman and see a player who at the start of the year was still adjusting, and now he's a full-time NHL'er.

As for the back-and-forth with Euro prospects, the Habs have had that approach already. They did the same with Norlinder and Heineman. They sent both back to Europe and they then came back to join Laval/Montreal. The difference with Norlinder and Heineman is that they both got hurt at camp and them going to Europe was delayed.

 

[HabsMD97]

Look at the move he makes at 6:26. He has a veeeery high skill level. I think he might have a small chance at being a 2nd line center. Had like 3 scoring chances in the slot last night, I thought he was really good.

 

[bleuetbio]

Few shifts were gold. I just wish he's at least taking Pezzeta spots. We need thus guy to establish himself as a permanent asset and as a righthanded, he's maybe a part of the long term solution

 

[EtLeBut2]

I thought he was better than he was early on in the season. He's not a player who's going to immediately take the league by storm and he definitely needs strength but I'm relatively confident in his chances to make it, he's figured it out at every level so far.

 

[DAChampion]

But will he have a higher ceiling than Kasperi?

 

[Egresch]

He only played less than 8 minutes, but he was pretty active. I like that he parks in front of the net, he has been very effective in that area for couple seasons.

 

[TT1]

he's gonna become a gem in a few seasons

 

[Scriptor]

Good game yesterday. Early on, before he was drafted, he was expected to become the better Kapanen.

 

[ahmedou]

#91. #92.

Two Finnish.

Two brothers

Play these two. Together. Please.

 

[Jorma Heart]

Good game yesterday. Early on, before he was drafted, he was expected to become the better Kapanen.

He's always been better than Konsta, who unfortunately doesn't look like a future NHLer. I haven't really seen anyonen to compare him to Kasperi, because of age cap and they are so different kind of players

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

I hope he stays in the lineup when Heineman comes back. Give Armia a rest or whomever needs it

 

[Adriatic]

Not bad at all, but still a baby though. He needs to add some man pounds in the off-season !!

 

[Yukon Cornelius Habs]

Not bad at all, but still a baby though. He needs to add some man pounds in the off-season !!

Avatar checks out.

 

[26Mats]

So far, 2 games and at least 1 grade A scoring chance in each. Hopefully he becomes more comfortable, gets more ice time, and starts burrying them.

I hope he gets a shot next to Newhook and Laine at some point.

 

[Tyson]

So far, 2 games and at least 1 grade A scoring chance in each. Hopefully he becomes more comfortable, gets more ice time, and starts burrying them.

I hope he gets a shot next to Newhook and Laine at some point.

Way more NHL ready than Beck at this point. Playing in the SHL has really helped him.

 

[Garbageyuk]

But will he have a higher ceiling than Kasperi?

I don’t want to make any predictions, but they are dramatically different players.

Kasperi was a buttery-soft finesse player who liked to stay on the perimeter. He had hands, a good shot, and fancy skating, but lacked the IQ to fully utilize them. He was also poor defensively and his compete level was very lacking.

Oliver is pretty much the inverse of all that. Doesn’t really have high-end hands, shot, or skating (although none of these are bad), but he’s got some grit to his game, likes the dirty areas, is good defensively, and hustles and competes hard. His hockey IQ is one of his best attributes. He works hard at the little things like faceoffs, board play, etc, and he seems to have a strong work ethic.

Who knows what will happen, but I like Oliver’s game a lot, and I believe he’ll be a good NHL center.

 

[rahad]

Not bad at all, but still a baby though. He needs to add some man pounds in the off-season !!

Yeah, he is going to learn very quickly how physical it get in the playoff. (if we make it)

 

[jaa]

But will he have a higher ceiling than Kasperi?

Totally. Kasperi has physical gifts that many don't have, but lacks drive and IQ. Oliver's game has always been more versatile, has some edge in him also, better IQ and motivation to be better.