Introduction

When Rafaël Harvey-Pinard went down with an injury last summer Oliver Kapanen had the opportunity to play with the Montreal Canadiens earlier than expected. He had been on the ice with Timrå for over a month and played pre-season games against quality opposition. Heading to North American in game shape, he played 12 games and had two assists in the opening month of the NHL season.

Timrå didn’t know what the plan for the season was with Kapanen, and in the end had to ask Montreal to clarify its position on the Finnish player. After that discussion, Kapanen returned to Timrå and made his SHL debut.

He went on an absolute tear in Sweden on a line with Jonathan Dahlén and Filip Hållander (now with the Pittsburgh Penguins). At the end of the season all three hovered around the point-per-game mark, a very respectable number in the SHL.

Listed as a centre on the lineup sheets, Kapanen usually took that position in the defensive zone but could at times look like a floater, not really engaging especially in the board battles. One has to wonder if it had to do with the adjustment from NHL-sized rinks to Olympic-sized ice and trying not to be drawn out of position. However, he was Timrå’s best player in the playoff series against Frölunda, a series the team lost and made Kapanen available to the Canadiens once more.

In his second stint in Montreal and finally with the Laval Rocket, he looked fully involved in the action, more in tune with the game, and gave a solid impression of what management can expect from him this season.

Voting

Kapanen has a tight spread among the panellists, mostly between 13 and 16 with a couple of placements a few spots outside of that group.

The distribution of Kapanen’s community votes is exactly the same: a normal bell curve, with one solid peak at 15.

Top 25 Under 25 History

Kapanen debuted at 16th on the list in 2021, but was actually outside of the Top 25 in 2023. The last two years have seen a steady climb as he finished his Liiga tour with KalPa on a strong note before moving to the SHL. He’s proven more over a longer period of time, including playing in both the NHL and AHL, something that has raised awareness of his skill set.

History of #13

Year
#13

2025
Oliver Kapanen

2024
Michael Hage

2023
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard

2022
Lane Hutson

2021
Josh Brook

2020
Jesse Ylönen

2019
Cale Fleury

2018
Jesse Ylönen

2017
Michael McNiven

2016
Noah Juulsen

2015
Martin Réway

2014
Dustin Tokarski

2013
Artturi Lehkonen

2012
Yannick Weber

2011
Ryan White

2010
Ryan White

Strengths

Hockey IQ is often spoken about, but Kapanen has it in spades. He reads the game well, especially in the defensive zone even if there were some momentary concerns during his SHL time. He tries to create passing lanes though the neutral zone, both as a passer and a receiver, working to stay open and incorporating his speed to gain the needed separation.

He had a 53.3% win rate over 708 faceoffs taken in the SHL last year, finishing 13th in the league with that percentage. He won just over 56% of them in the offensive zone and just below 52% in his own end. It is a strength, and he has worked hard to get even better. Observant readers pointed out that he swaps sides sometimes, and when asked about it he pointed out that (paraphrasing) ‘an opponent did it to me, so I started to do it myself to throw them off.’ It remains to be seen if this is this something he can keep up in North America. The technique is there but I expect him to have to work on his strength to maintain the same effectiveness.

I always point out his hand-eye coordination, and that will help him find offensive success with deflections and rebounds, and likely helps to explain his faceoff prowess as well.

Weaknesses

It was nice to see Kapanen lead his line in the AHL playoffs. In both Liiga and the SHL he deferred to linemates most times. He needs to be more involved in the offensive play rather than a net-front presence.

It is tough to say I want more offence as he was hitting just below a point per game in a very strict and tactical league like the SHL. The goals came from everywhere, but the assists were one-third primary and two-thirds secondary. With partners like the aforementioned Dahlén and Hållander, it was easier to pick up the third point on the play. To hold a spot in the NHL, he needs to be more involved in the goal-scoring setup.

Projection

His waivers-exempt status might mean that he ends up going to Laval this season. I am not against that and I don’t think it should be taken as a negative if it happens. The situation is different compared to last year when it was NHL or SHL. For a more complete role and for a better development path I think playing in Laval might do him good, and in the long run it might service the Canadiens even more than expected.

He looked like a centre in the AHL and that is good to see, as that was the question that needed to be answered in my review of his SHL season. There is another question lingering though: is there a roster spot for him at centre with the Montreal Canadiens?’ If there is, how far up in the lineup can he play?

The steps that Kapanen has taken over the last year-and-a-half are promising, and as a bit of a late-bloomer it is encouraging to think that there is a lot of runway left before his big takeoff.