“I think the Canadiens see Anton Lundell in Oliver Kapanen.”

Félix Forget
“I think the Canadiens see Anton Lundell in Oliver Kapanen.”
Credit: David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Oliver Kapanen had an unusual rookie season. The young center, who found himself playing center on the second line by default, had his ups and downs.

He still managed to score 22 goals and 37 points… but one has to wonder to what extent that production was due to Ivan Demidov's impact.

At times, Kapanen looked like he was in over his head. He didn't play much in the playoffs, but we can chalk that up to fatigue. It was (by far) the longest season of his young career, after all.

Except that the Habs, since the start of the summer, haven't added a center to their roster. So as things stand, Kapanen is likely to resume his role as the second-line center this season… and Félix Séguin, appearing on the Sick Podcast, noted that he sees Kapanen as a short-term solution.

Because, in his view, the Canadiens see Kapanen as a player in the mold of Anton Lundell.

We know that Lundell has been playing in the shadow of Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett in Florida for the past few years. That said, he's seen as an excellent third-line center who can, if needed, hold his own on a second line.

He notably had to do just that last season, when Barkov missed the entire campaign.

It's also worth noting that Lundell, unlike Kapanen, has never scored 22 goals in a single season. The Panthers forward averages around 40 points per season (which is more than Kapanen, who had 37 last year), but he has never scored more than 18 goals in a single season.

Lundell, however, excels in the playoffs—which wasn't the case for Kapanen last season (though Kapanen is younger than Lundell, so he has time to continue developing).

Kapanen, in reality, is probably not the ideal solution at center on the second line. But perhaps the Habs, in reality, see him as a third-line center who will be their least-worst option to fill in on the second line.

And since the team doesn't have the luxury of two top-tier centers (as the Panthers do with Barkov and Bennett), that forces Kapanen to take on a bigger role than he should. That might be the biggest difference between the two players.


Quick Thoughts

– Hehe.

– That's right.

– Interesting.

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