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Oliver Kapanen will not take part in the Habs rookie tournament

 David Miller
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Oliver Kapanen will not take part in the Habs rookie tournament
Credit: Getty Images

Oliver Kapanen is a relatively unknown prospect in the Canadiens’ youth bank. The fact that he’s been playing in Europe since he was drafted obviously works against him.

The Finn has mainly played in KalPa in the three years since he was drafted (2021, Marc Bergevin’s and Trevor Timmins’ last crop), but it’s in the last few months that he’s started to make noise.

And why? Because he finished the season well, was excellent in the playoffs and caught the eye at the World Championship.

This led to the Canadiens offering him his first NHL contract, but it also led to him signing a two-year deal in Sweden to play under his father (GM) and coach Olli Jokinen.

The important thing to know is that the young man will be at the Canadiens’ camp. And if he doesn’t make the Habs roster, he won’t be able to play with the Rocket: he’ll have to go back to Sweden.

Given that the Rocket will have plenty of youngsters on hand, it’s not the end of the world if he’s not eligible to go to Laval in 2024-205.

But hey. As Marco D’Amico, who wrote about the youngster for Responsible Gaming, reports, to make his mark, he’ll have to bank on training camp. Why? Because he won’t be at rookie camp.

As D’Amico reports, he’ll only be present at the real Habs camp.

Obviously, even if people in Sweden sing his praises, it won’t be easy for him to break into the Habs lineup. With all the centers on the roster (Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, Christian Dvorak and Jake Evans, among others), there’s a lot of congestion.

Staying in Sweden and continuing to develop could do the trick.

Especially since, even if his Swedish club has a plan to replace him (the club knows he’ll have to move and expects Kapanen not to play at Timra), seeing him play big minutes in Sweden could help the 21-year-old hopeful.

Here, he’ll be used on the first line, with playing time on the power play and short-handed. – Olli Jokinen

I wonder if it’s really in the Habs’ interest to bring him in right now. After all, as long as we’re eating up minutes here, why not have him play like a star in Sweden and bring him to Quebec in 2025?

After all, in a year’s time, Christian Dvorak will be gone, Jake Evans might be too… and Kapanen will really be fighting with the Owen Becks of this world for a place in the sun.

You know as well as I do that a prospect can’t stay too long in a league where the objective is to develop. Seeing him dominate in Sweden could be excellent for the Habs.

But at the same time, if he’s as good as everyone says he is at camp… we’ll have to think about keeping him.


Overtime

– Great to see.

– Yes, yes, yes.

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