The World Hockey Championship is currently underway in the Czech Republic, with 16 countries vying for the 2024 title.
Naturally, we’re keeping a close eye on the tournament’s games, especially those involving Montreal Canadiens players.
Kaiden Guhle (Canada), Juraj Slafkovsky (Slovakia) and Cole Caufield (U.S.A.) are all in attendance, and have all made good debuts with their respective teams so far.
However, a fourth player is also present at this tournament: Finnish prospect Oliver Kapanen.
Kapanen is also currently in the Czech Republic, defending the colors of Finland.
Once again, he’s flying under the radar, as he’s not an active Habs player, nor is he one of the organization’s top prospects, so his performances receive little analysis.
Yet today, Kapanen captured the attention of the hockey world, as he recorded a hat trick in Finland’s 8-0 win over Great Britain.
Great Britain, whom Canada beat 4-2.
Here are Kapanen’s three goals.
In short, Kapanen really stood out in this game, as he was one of Finland’s best players, if not the best player.
He continued his excellent end-of-season form with 14 points (seven goals and seven assists) in 13 playoff games in the Finnish Liiga with KalPa Kuopio.
Watching the Habs prospect play, you realize he’s a lot closer to the NHL than you think.
Grant McCagg believes he could be playing in the NHL right now.
He plays very well in both directions of the rink, and his style of play and hockey IQ could very well allow him to pilot a third or fourth line in the NHL.
Oliver Kapanen and Owen Beck have a very similar style of play and could very well compete for a position with the Tricolore.
It will be interesting to see if the Habs offer their second-round pick (64ᵉ overall) a contract in 2021.
For now, Kapanen is expected to play in Europe next season, when he signed a two-year contract with Timra IK in the SHL (Swedish Premier League).
Kapanen’s father is the team’s general manager.
Let’s see when the 20-year-old prospect makes his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens.
In a gust
– Incredible playing time. It’s a PWHL record.
– Unfortunately, Montreal lost again 2-1 in overtime and trails Boston 2-0 in the 3-of-5 series.
– To be continued.
– So, what do you think?
– Summary of the week with the Habs.
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