BusQuets
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- Jul 16, 2010
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That's weird.. He has good size, great speed and is very dynamic player. Only way I see him busting is that hes hockey sense is near zero and I doubt that when he has Sami Kapanen's genes.
RW Kasperi Kapanen (2014, 22nd, PIT; traded to TOR)
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That's weird.. He has good size, great speed and is very dynamic player. Only way I see him busting is that hes hockey sense is near zero and I doubt that when he has Sami Kapanen's genes.
Kapanen looks very underwhelming in the U-18 tournament...... Kevin Fiala of Switzerland looks miles ahead of him.
Yeah, I´ve never really understood the hype for Kapanen. Skilled winger with potential to be a NHL player, somewhat like Artturi Lehkonen. But not a lock by any means.
This years draft is just pretty weak so I guess thats why he is projected to be a top10-15 pick.
This years draft is just pretty weak so I guess thats why he is projected to be a top10-15 pick.
Hold your horses. The points may not be there but his still done pretty great plays. Coast to coast drives, awesome stickwork, even used his fast skating to break out 2on1 and his been really physical. If there was big cap from Kapanen and Nylander to Fiala that gap has narrowed tho or there isnt that any anymore. Kasperi is a heck of a player and his skating is really top of this draft class. I see a bit selfishness in his game which is not bad but would help that first line if they could pass the puck more.
Circulartheory
Registered User
Honest question looking for honest answer.
Have you seen him play? Because from what I've read, the bolded is not close to being true; Button has noted him to play a Patrick Sharp game.
Sorry, I didnt compare him to Lehkonen style-wise. Just that I see him as same level prospect as Artturi (mid 2nd rounder).
Without the concussions and if he was a couple of inches taller, Lehkonen would have gone earlier. Kapanen is well over 180 cm and hasn't had concussions lately. 1st rounder.
Circulartheory
Registered User
Well then, I don't get the comparison then.
Kapanen plays a Sharp type of game, Lehkonen plays a skill-style game.
Kapanen has decent 6-0 190ish size, Lehkonen is obviously very undersized.
Kapanen had no concussions prior to the draft, Lehkonen had two.
Not sure how your prediction is valid with so many different factors not considered. Other than them being both Finnish, could you please explain other similarities? I haven't seen them play so it would be helpful for me, but nothing I read about the two have indicated any significant correlation.
It would be nice to see him playing with elite playmaker sometime. He has played with average players for the last two years with his club team and national team.
Same level as a prospects, you get that? In terms of HF-grades: Artturi is a 7.0B, Kapanen 7.5D(higher potential based on that he has better speed, has more flash in his game). Both could become 2nd line wingers in NHL, but to me Artturi seems a bit safer pick at this point.
Again, I´m not saying that I see them as a similar players, just a same kind of NHL-potential.
As for Lehkonen, couple of things need to be addressed:
- He is undersized but that is more because his father is a hockey coach and has great amount of knowledge regarding physical training-> He doesnt want Artturi to bulk up suddenly because that might and probably would do harm for his skill and speed. The way Artturi has peformed as a lightweight player in SM-liiga is very impressive. The lbs/kg´s will come, he is just a long term project.
- Lehkonen´s game isnt based purely on skill. Someone did point out, that he has a lot of zachparise in his game. He goes to the dirty areas and is suprisingly effective scorer in front of the goal. He is just fearless player and he certainly showed that in the WJC, when he played with an ankle injury. He was sidelined for a month after the gold medal game.
And yes, I´ve seen them play and apart from few games, Lehkonen has always impressed me more than Kapanen.
McGlassbangers
Registered User
As a fan of KalPa who has seen A LOT of Kapanen and Lehkonen, Kapanen is by far the superior prospect. His skating is from different planet. Kapanen is a lot more physical, Kapanen has a lot better puckhandling skills and his ceiling is notably higher than Lehkonen's.
So far Kapanen has 1 goal in 3 games but by reports he has been dominating games with his skating ability and his line has had a lot of scoring opportunities but they haven't capitalized.
IMO drafting Kapanen @ 7 is kind of a reach. I'm sure that there is better options than him available.
The way I see the draft going:
1. Ekblad (Florida)
2. Reinhart (Buffalo)
3. Draisatl (Edmonton)
4. Bennett (Calgary)
5. Dal Colle (Islanders)
6. Ritchie (Vancouver)
7. Ehlers (Carolina)
8. Nylander (Toronto)
9. Perlini (Winnipeg)
10. Fleury (Ottawa)
11. Virtanen (Nashville)
12. Kapanen (Phoenix)
R S
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Captain Clutch
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I think this is going to be pretty close. I have him going around 10 or 11. A lot is going to depend on individual team prefernces obviously (do you take Haydn Fleury, Kevin Fiala, Kapanen or Barbashev) but I think 7-12 is a pretty good range to think about.
My limited viewings suggest a player with high end skill, decent size and grit to his game. Thats a pretty good combination. As an aside, despite the fact that this draft doesn't have much in the way of superstar talent, it looks really solid to me two rounds deep. Guys like Roland McKeown and Dylan Larkin going in the 2nd half of the 1st round seem like pretty good picks to me anyway.
IPreferPi
A Nonny Mouse
Sergei Shirokov
Registered User
Admittedly I've only been able to catch like 4 games of him all year. Bur he struck me as an intelligent player. He made some smart plays and I remember he held the zone really well on one play and created a good few chances all in the same shift.
What indications do you have of his low hockey sense?
BusQuets
Registered User
- Jul 16, 2010
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From what i've seen I think he has a decent hockey sense but probably won't see plays happen before they happen. Definitely a smart player imo.
rt
Clean Hits on Substack
IPreferPi
A Nonny Mouse
I'm no expert on these things but it looks like he doesn't know which kinda player he is. Sometimes he backchecks like his father, next shift he backchecks like Ovechkin, Sometimes he thinks he's a goal scorer and doesn't make a single pass, next shift he thinks he's a playmaker and next shift he's tries to dangle like Datsjuk.
Uncle Scrooge
Hockey Bettor
Honestly i don't see much similarities between Sharp and Kapanen. Kapanen is more flashy and likes to dangle/use his speed. Like the poster above me said right now he's suffering from inconsistency of some sort. He's not playing his game all the time, which is a determined, fast skill game. It's still unknown whether or not he'll become partly one-dimensional, but i'd guess his defensive game, particularly backchecking will improve through the years. With a family like he has, there's no way his dad and grandad wouldn't try to teach him to be as well rounded as possible.
What i think of him as an NHL player is a dynamic speedster who creates rushes and dangles/snipes on the rush but also backchecks fairly well. But his overall ability will be somewhat lacking, using a lot of energy with his style of play and not great along the boards. I also can't see him as a one-time trigger guy on the PP.
Consistent 20-25 goal, 45-55 pts guy and his best years in the 30 goal, 65 pts range.
But im not an expert on him.
Anthony Mauro
DraftBuzz Hockey
- Oct 3, 2004
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So he's capping off a poor season, with an underwhelming tournament of players his own age or younger.
For the 2-3 nice rushes he made showing off his speed and puckhandling, he had double the selfish, bonehead plays.
The skill is there, the will and head for the game...not so much.
For the 2-3 nice rushes he made showing off his speed and puckhandling, he had double the selfish, bonehead plays.
The skill is there, the will and head for the game...not so much.
Well i dont know how he can have underwhelming tournament, probaply most hits and driven to the net than any other forward in this tournament. Sure his gotto learn to share the puck more and to play with his linemates. He was better than Eichel today anyway.
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