Oliver Kapanen is one of the CH’s most underrated prospects, says Grant McCagg

When you think of Canadiens prospects, you automatically think of Logan Mailloux. We think of Lane Hutson. We think of David Reinbacher. In short, we think of the big prospects, who were drafted early in their draft year, and with good reason.

But what about the more underrated prospects? Because, at the moment, they have one thing in common with the big prospects. What’s that, you might ask? Well, they still don’t have a place in the team’s line-up. They’re all still “hopefuls”, and on an equal footing in that respect.

Underrated prospects include Adam Engstrom, but also Oliver Kapanen.

On Tony Marinaro’s excellent podcast, guest Grant McCagg had nothing but good things to say about the Finn, and admitted that Kapanen is the most underrated prospect with second-center potential.

Grant McCagg: Oliver Kapanen is the most underrated Habs prospect with 2C upside@grantmccagg joins @TonyMarinaro to discuss the #Habs prospects.

Full pod👇
Watch: https://t.co/KuNSoYlXpn
Listen: https://t.co/GaAm7pmDyC#GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast pic.twitter.com/aKuN8AaoNe

– The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) July 27, 2023

It’s a big statement, but McCagg has never been shy about admitting that Kapanen is vastly underrated. The proof: how many experts, analysts, fans, etc. have Kapanen in their top-5, even top-10, team prospects?

I know one, and it’s McCagg. The former Tricolore scout doesn’t just have him in his top-5, he has him in his top-4. Only three defensemen, Logan Mailloux, Lane Hutson and David Reinbacher, are ahead of the center in his ranking.

So, in his opinion, Kapanen is the club’s best forward prospect. He’s ahead of guys like Owen Beck and Joshua Roy.

Oliver Kapanen, Kasperi Kapanen’s cousin, isn’t the Montreal prospect who makes headlines every day. He does his own thing and is very effective. In 2022-2023 in SM-liiga, he collected 27 points in 55 games. For a 19-year-old, that’s far from catastrophic.

The lad also took part in the last two World Junior Championships, where he represented his country, Finland. In 12 games with his team, he collected five points.

In short, Kapanen may be a name we should be paying more attention to. I can’t wait to see if Grant McCagg’s optimism about the youngster will be explained in a few years’ time.

In Brief

– Did the Kraken ruin his development?

– Cry me a river.

– He didn’t do anything wrong.

– Once again: quite a player!

– Good news.