Montreal Canadiens fans don’t get a lot of breaking news in the month of August so here at A Winning Habit, we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 31 prospects currently in the Habs organization. Each player was carefully deliberated by our writers and ranked accordingly. Today we continue with the 9th ranked prospect Oliver Kapanen.
The Canadiens chose Kapanen with the last pick of the second round in 2021. At 64th overall, he was the third player taken by Montreal that year after first round choice Logan Mailloux and fellow second rounder Riley Kidney.
The selection of the 6’0”,178 lb center went largely unnoticed as the Habs were busy doing damage control from the Mailloux backlash. It was a sign of things to come as Kapanen has remained firmly off the radar among top Habs prospects in the two years since.
Hockey runs deep in the Kapanen family. Oliver’s uncle Sami Kapanen played 12 seasons in the NHL from 1995 to 2008 and his cousin is current NHLer Kasperi Kapanen. Though the nameplate on his back is recognizable, Oliver Kapanen is determined to create his own legacy.
His path through the development process has been anything but a straight line. Coming up the ranks for KalPa Kuopio of Liiga he was loaned out to different clubs and demoted to their junior squad on several occasions while also battling a slew of injuries. Kapanen persisted though and was able to put together a solid season in a full-time role with the team this past season. His 12-15-27 totals in 55 games are impressive for a 19 year old at that level.
Kapanen also represented Finland at both the 2022 and 2023 World Junior Hockey Championships. In 2022, he played a depth role contributing one goal and one assist in seven games en route to a silver medal win.
In his second tournament appearance, he was named captain and tasked with centering the Finns top line. Kapanen more than held his own against the other team’s top pivots as the Canadiens draftee displayed the rigid defensive play he is known for but also drove offense better than expected. He only managed a modest two goals and one assist in five games but Finland was noticeably more dangerous when Kapanen was on the ice.
Kapanen projects to be a solid all around center who can contribute offense as a secondary scorer. He is a high IQ player that can be used in all situations. A good skater with excellent quickness, he can be very elusive in tight spaces.
Kapanen also possesses a good motor and competes hard, making him an ideal fit in the middle six of an NHL lineup. It should make for an interesting battle for the 3C role down the road. With the likes of Kapanen, Alex Newhook, Owen Beck and Sean Farrell, there will be no shortage of options.
Kapanen is likely headed back to KalPa for the 2023-24 season where he should continue his development while playing a bigger role. As a result, he presumably won’t get much ink again this year relative to the other prospects in the organization.
Kapanen is a name we know due to his lineage but it’s also one we should keep in mind because he quietly remains an integral part of the future of the Montreal Canadiens.
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