Olympic projections: Oliver Kapanen in a bigger role than Nick Suzuki

Félix Forget
Olympic projections: Oliver Kapanen in a bigger role than Nick Suzuki
Credit: Getty Images

The 2026 Olympic Games are now underway, with competitions getting off to a flying start in Italy. And in a few days, men's hockey will take center stage.

Obviously, this competition will be closely watched as we see the return of NHL players. Four Canadiens players will be taking part: Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovský, Oliver Kapanen, and Alexandre Texier.

In the case ofSlaf andTexier, we expect to see them play a big role. They are both the best forwards in their countries and will see a lot of ice time.

But in the case of Suzuki and Kapanen, it's a little less clear. That's why it's interesting to look at the NHL website's projections on this subject.

For Kapanen, we see that the young man is projected to play on the wing of the second line, with Sebastian Aho and Artturi Lehkonen.That would be a line made up of three guys who were members of the habs organization, hehe.

Obviously, this would be a big role for Kapanen, who would find himself in the top six of his national team.It would be a great honor for a rookie who was probably not part of Finland's plans before the start of the season.

And what we see is that this role would be greater than the one projected for Nick Suzuki with Canada. We know that the competition is stronger within the Canadian team (which explains the difference), but we note that Suzuki is projected to play center on his national team's third line.

His wingers in that projection? Brad Marchand and Tom Wilson, two players who are unpopular in Montreal.

Of course, we'll have more concrete information in the coming days when we see what the lineups will look like during practice before the tournament begins. But for both Kapanen and Suzuki, these projections point to some very interesting developments.

Now let's see if they come to fruition.


Overtime

– Speaking of the Olympics.

– Jack Finley claimed by the Blues.

– Joël Teasdale heads to Europe.

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