RW Kasperi Kapanen (2014, 22nd, PIT; traded to TOR)

[Man Bear Pig]

If i have to comparising William Nylander and Kasperi Kapanen i'll say Nylander is much better.
Kapanen didn't impressed me at all in world juniors in Montreal and Toronto.

Kapanen was one of those big disapointment's in Finland's team last WJC U20's.
Kasperi Kapanen is 3rd generation pro hockey player ( after his grandfather Hannu father Sami and uncle Kimmo).
And he isn't even close that level where his father Sami was in his prime.

Kasperi has his weaknesses and strengths but sometimes he can be arrogant and selfish player who causing headaches to coaching staff.
We Finns call that syndrome to edari syndrome ( edari is Finnish hockey word using in hockey community and it means player is selfish)

He's 18

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

He's 18

I know that damn well.
But i'm not sure can Kasperi be better than his father.
If you followed Kasperi in last world juniors, you'll know that he wasn't that good player to Finland what expected.

 

[snizzbone*]

I read an article today talking about how he didn't have a bad WJC, point wise he did but that's it. Also very stupid to judge a player on 5 games versus his entire career.

 

[Zybalto]

I know that damn well.
But i'm not sure can Kasperi be better than his father.
If you followed Kasperi in last world juniors, you'll know that he wasn't that good player to Finland what expected.

As bad as Kapanen's WJC was, Leon Draisaitl's was worse.....and I don't think many are still holding it against him.

Kapanen looked good transitioning to the AHL and I think he'll have a much better tourney this year (as Draisaitl would have had if Edmonton had not foolishly kept him off the German team)

 

[Bravid Nonahan]

Honestly who even cares about the WJC. For all the talk on this site about sample size, you'd think people would actually understand the insignificance of 5 games.

 

[Leafs at Knight]

Honestly who even cares about the WJC. For all the talk on this site about sample size, you'd think people would actually understand the insignificance of 5 games.

JFJ cared about the WJC and it costs us Rask.

 

[snizzbone*]

Article on Kapanen's WJC

https://toddcordell.wordpress.com/2...afs-on-kasperi-kapanen-and-the-world-juniors/

A few thoughts on those numbers:

– Kapanen may not have produced much in terms of points but it wasn’t because he was playing poorly or chasing play in his own zone. Finland generated 56% of all shot attempts at even-strength with him on the ice during their five-game run. The teams Finland went up against: Canada, USA, Slovakia, Sweden and Germany. The Germans were a poor team but beyond them Kapanen was facing some pretty stiff competition.

– Kapanen started shifts in the offensive zone more often than his own zone but it wasn’t as if he was spoon fed OZ starts. If you include NZ starts 42 of 62 zone starts came outside of the offensive zone. He wasn’t always put in positions to create offense immediately and he had to do some driving.

– He was very good through the neutral zone gaining the line with possession 18 times in 23 attempts. He struggled against the Americans (0-for-3) but overall had an excellent tournament in that regard.

Observations

– After singling out Kapanen every shift for a handful of games I have no reservations about his ability to become a top-6 forward. Time will tell if he develops into one but the talent is certainly there.

– He’s not a big guy at 6’0″ and ~180 pounds but he’s not afraid to throw his weight around. He has some feistiness in his game and connected on a few pretty big hits.

– You’ll see it some of the vines below but Kapanen is very elusive in space and he’s crafty with the puck. Combine that with his high-end speed and he’s a tough guy to stop.

– Kapanen loves to work from just outside the hashmark on the left side. He setup some nice chances from there — particularly on the man advantage.

– He’s a bit of a puck hound. He can be relentless after it on the forecheck and he often comes back pretty hard on the back check. I think that’s an underrated aspect of his game.

 

[Countryjunkie]

Why arnt you listening to Pitts fans? One would think they have a better idea of how he did in their teams camp last year and not you, no? They are not talking bad about him, just being honest and reporting what they saw. Isnt that what this website is all about? Maybe you feel like you know better about one of their former prospects? Lets not take it personally.

99% of Pens fans, Leafs fans, and any other team fans don't have a clue about how prospects are doing. People can talk like they know better, but the truth of the matter is that unless they are out at the arenas watching on a regular basis for themselves, they have no real idea of what's going on.

Watching youtube clips, stat watching, and reading articles does not make anyone on these boards an expert about any of the prospects. And going out to a couple of games during the hockey season doesn't actually count either, but at least it's better than sitting at home watching highlights from a computer screen.

 

[TheFinnishTrap]

I know that damn well.
But i'm not sure can Kasperi be better than his father.
If you followed Kasperi in last world juniors, you'll know that he wasn't that good player to Finland what expected.

Well no one can be sure if he'll be better than his father until he has reached that level, duh. And holy sample size, Batman! Now that's some quality cherry picking. You take 5 bad games from WJC, but disregard a whole good season in Liiga. And if you are a fan of small sample sizes, how about those 7 games and 5 points in the AHL playoffs?

 

[SchennSational1022*]

Article on Kapanen's WJC

https://toddcordell.wordpress.com/2...afs-on-kasperi-kapanen-and-the-world-juniors/

Basically just all a bunch of advanced stats, that guy Cordell is the worst.

 

[snizzbone*]

Basically just all a bunch of advanced stats, that guy Cordell is the worst.

and viewing.

Kapanen's WJC wasn't as bad as everyone claims. (Some) people were labelling him a bust because of a 5 game sample size.. when the sample wasn't even bad. I mean he was one of the youngest guys drafted in 2014, and he was playing in a 19 year olds tournament.

 

[jaa]

and viewing.

Kapanen's WJC wasn't as bad as everyone claims. (Some) people were labelling him a bust because of a 5 game sample size.. when the sample wasn't even bad. I mean he was one of the youngest guys drafted in 2014, and he was playing in a 19 year olds tournament.

This. And the whole Team Finland played pretty bad, Rantanen was the only player of the team that played according to (my ) expectations (statistically).

Kapanen is a typical boom or bust prospect in my opinion, has many tools but in many games he seems lost and lacking motivation. Interesting to see what he can do in TML organisation.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I've only ever read that he has strong hockey sense but an inconsistent motor.

It's actually a bit of both, like I said the best comparison is his father. He's also very easy to knock off the puck and doesn't know when to pass off the puck when he's in danger, so he causes a lot of turnovers in the offensive zone.

But you know, that was when he was a Penguins prospect.


Lord knows what intangibles he just attained in the trade alone.

 

[BlueBaron]

It's actually a bit of both, like I said the best comparison is his father. He's also very easy to knock off the puck and doesn't know when to pass off the puck when he's in danger, so he causes a lot of turnovers in the offensive zone.

But you know, that was when he was a Penguins prospect.


Lord knows what intangibles he just attained in the trade alone.

He probably got slower, stupider, blind, lazy,became a locker room cancer and a baby killer the moment he got traded. That is the other side of the coin . Let's not pretend only Leaf fans have perception changes when players come to us.

 

[DraberlyakMcHallkins*]

Basically just all a bunch of advanced stats, that guy Cordell is the worst.

ya measuring statistics that no one else does for public viewing and then forming an opinion. terrible.

 

[Atomos2]

He probably got slower, stupider, blind, lazy,became a locker room cancer and a baby killer the moment he got traded. That is the other side of the coin . Let's not pretend only Leaf fans have perception changes when players come to us.

His give a **** meter took a nosedive.

 

[PJJ]

Wow he looks pretty skilled.

 

[Tripod]

Man people are quick to judge a kid and think think they know his whole future. Let him develop for a few years like every other mid-late 1st rounder and see how he pans out.

 

[buttman*]

I know that damn well.
But i'm not sure can Kasperi be better than his father.
If you followed Kasperi in last world juniors, you'll know that he wasn't that good player to Finland what expected.

He's better than his father at the same age. His point totals in SM-liiga sugggest as much. As does his draft position.

He also, almost made the Penguins last year despite having just turned 18. His Dad didn't even make the NHL until he was 22 -- spending much of that season in the AHL.

His Dad had a nice career but there is absolutely nothing to suggest that Kasperi isn't ahead of that pace right now.

 

[#1GuinFan]

He's better than his father at the same age. His point totals in SM-liiga sugggest as much. As does his draft position.

He also, almost made the Penguins last year despite having just turned 18. His Dad didn't even make the NHL until he was 22 -- spending much of that season in the AHL.

His Dad had a nice career but there is absolutely nothing to suggest that Kasperi isn't ahead of that pace right now.

I think its already been pointed out by Pens fans that he didn't almost make the team. He was a late cut, but the Pens do that year after year with their top draft choices to get them as much NHL exposure as possible.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

We had high hopes for him, but we were realistic with his development and short comings, my goodness how much all of that changed the moment he switched teams, it's absolutely absurd.

Also, Kapanen was a late cut, Sundqvist ALMOST made the team. The team was really torn on sending Sundqvist back, it's why he's going to get a great shot at making the team again this year in the bottom 6 to start there.

Kapanen isn't short, but he plays smaller, is quick, but he is not strong so he's easily knocked off the puck, he also tends to over handle the puck when he gets pressured, he's a decent player at both ends of the rink, but mostly because he actually comes back, not so much because he's such a defensive stalwart. He has a solid shot as well. But his problem with playing smaller than he is, is what he really needs to work on, he's taller than his dad, but plays like he's his dad's size.

At best, he'd be lucky to have the career his dad had.

 

[Ewan McGregor*]

We had high hopes for him, but we were realistic with his development and short comings, my goodness how much all of that changed the moment he switched teams, it's absolutely absurd.

Also, Kapanen was a late cut, Sundqvist ALMOST made the team. The team was really torn on sending Sundqvist back, it's why he's going to get a great shot at making the team again this year in the bottom 6 to start there.

Kapanen isn't short, but he plays smaller, is quick, but he is not strong so he's easily knocked off the puck, he also tends to over handle the puck when he gets pressured, he's a decent player at both ends of the rink, but mostly because he actually comes back, not so much because he's such a defensive stalwart. He has a solid shot as well. But his problem with playing smaller than he is, is what he really needs to work on, he's taller than his dad, but plays like he's his dad's size.

At best, he'd be lucky to have the career his dad had.

This guy went from "Kapanen is an elite prospect" who the Pens can't afford to lose to "Kapanen is a bust" in a span of two weeks. It is embarrassing.

 

[Red Piller]

99% of Pens fans, Leafs fans, and any other team fans don't have a clue about how prospects are doing. People can talk like they know better, but the truth of the matter is that unless they are out at the arenas watching on a regular basis for themselves, they have no real idea of what's going on.

Watching youtube clips, stat watching, and reading articles does not make anyone on these boards an expert about any of the prospects. And going out to a couple of games during the hockey season doesn't actually count either, but at least it's better than sitting at home watching highlights from a computer screen.

People were talking about how he almost made the Pens last year out of camp, Pens fans coming in saying no he did not. I think i will take a Pens fans word for it, people who probably were following how he was doing in camp, over someone elses word.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

People were talking about how he almost made the Pens last year out of camp, Pens fans coming in saying no he did not. I think i will take a Pens fans word for it, people who probably were following how he was doing in camp, over someone elses word.

To echo what Pens fans have said here - Kapanen was close to making the Penguins, but that was because of a complete lack of talent on the wings and not because he had a great camp. He had an okay camp and one really nice goal, but he didn't look anything near NHL ready. He was drafted as a project, that's what he was in September, and today he's one season closer.

This is like the old 'Paul Bissonnette almost made the Penguins as a 4th round 18 year-old defenseman' tag...it's more of a statement against the depth of the position than it is a glowing endorsement of the player. He was young for his draft class and fairly raw...anyone expecting him to be in the NHL before he was 20 was/is fooling themselves. His game isn't near NHL-ready, but I don't expect him to need 3 years in the AHL to be ready. He's still 18 for another couple weeks...you gotta keep that in perspective.

Considering I also follow KalPa I feel like I'm in a unique situation to speak about him, I can't tell you how ecstatic I was when the Pens drafted him. A spade is a spade. Not being NHL-ready at 18 is in no way saying he's approaching bust status.

 

[billybudd]

This guy went from "Kapanen is an elite prospect" who the Pens can't afford to lose to "Kapanen is a bust" in a span of two weeks. It is embarrassing.

Nobody's saying he's a bust. It might be one more year, two more years or four more years before you know what you've got with him. And there's a decent chance (though certainly not a guarantee) he scores 25 or 30 goals in a single season one of these years. His shot is very impressive.

All we're saying is he was not ready (or close to it) last fall, regardless of what Penguins PR was putting out there. Expecting an overripe-by-a-year Gus Nyquist to show up to camp in a Kapanen sweater would be a mistake.