Oliver Kapanen has been a gem for Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens entered this season with high expectations after the young club qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a surprisingly excellent season a year ago.
Now, the standard is making the playoffs and doing something when they get there, and it’s a reasonable one with the amount of talent on the roster. Even with a high-upside group, there were a few key spots on the roster where there were some question marks.
One of those was at second-line center, where Oliver Kapanen is flanked by Alex Newhook and talented rookie Ivan Demidov. Through six games, Kapanen has looked well equipped to handle the responsibilities that come with playing the position in an NHL top six, and he’s put up three goals along the way.
On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton were joined by Daily Faceoff Associate Editor and Prospect Analyst Steven Ellis to discuss what Kapanen’s breakout means for Montreal.
Tyler Yaremchuk: I look at Oliver Kapanen in Montreal. A second-round pick from 2021, this is a guy who was drafted four years ago now, and he played in LIIGA. He played in Sweden. He had a cup of coffee last year, but now he’s coming out playing middle six minutes for the Habs. How surprised are you at the impact he’s having four years after he was drafted?
Steven Ellis: What we’re seeing from him is this guy who can play a second or third line role and be really good at it. He really came alive a couple years ago at the World Championship where he had six goals in eight games with Finland, and at the time he was still a young player… not many people knew what type of impact he was going to have, but he looked really good in the Finnish pro league. Then last year, he starts in the NHL, doesn’t produce a lot and doesn’t play a ton, goes to Sweden and looks fantastic. All the signs at every level show that this guy can produce, but that’s not really his game. It’s more about being this player that can get to the front of the net… It doesn’t seem to matter who he plays with, he’s making something happen.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…