Can Oliver Kapanen Be a 2nd Line Centre?

On the surface, Kapanen doesn’t have the skill level to be a 2nd line centre, but sometimes all it takes is a glue guy that has chemistry with more skilled players like Demidov to make the best version of a scoring line. This is where someone like Kapanen comes in and is a good fit on a 2nd line. A lot of the reason for that is Kapanen has proven to have elite hockey IQ and is a very solid 200-foot player.

The 22-year-old centre may not be the play driver that most 2nd-line centres would be, but when he has a star linemate like Demidov that can be the main puck handler, Kapanen doesn’t need to be that guy. Sure, it would be great to have a centre that can drive play, and eventually someone like Michael Hage could become that guy, pushing Kapanen down to the 3rd line, which would be the ideal spot for someone of his abilities, but as of now he’s a good fit to play on a line with Demidov.

Although Demidov has proven to have good chemistry with other players like Alex Newhook (out 4 months) and Juraj Slafkovsky, there hasn’t been a centre that he has clicked with nearly as well as he has with Kapanen. It seems like he is able to find Kapanen with such ease on the ice, which leads to many scoring chances and has allowed his linemate to be the current leader in goals among all NHL rookies with 8. It is actually rather surprising that Kapanen is able to be such a good scorer on the Habs this season. He is currently tied for 3rd in goals among all Habs players with captain Nick Suzuki.

Demidov has shown just how incredible he is as a playmaker, as he never seems to fail to find Kapanen in the slot for prime scoring chances. It’s not all Demidov’s doing, as it does take a lot of hockey IQ to always be in the right spot to receive the passes that Kapanen gets for his scoring chances. Therefore, with the mix of incredibly elite passing abilities from Demidov and Kapanen’s amazing hockey IQ, they form a deadly duo on the Habs’ 2nd line.

Kapanen may also have an unusually high shooting percentage, but given the quality of shots he is taking, it makes sense that he has a success rate with the majority of his shots on goal around the slot. He currently is scoring on 21.7% of his shots, which is 3rd on the team behind only the injured Newhook and Kirby Dach. It may go down a little as the season goes along, but he should stay around the top of the team given the quality of shots he gets by playing with someone as elite as Demidov.

Despite Kapanen’s ability to be a very responsible two-way player, the Habs still don’t trust him and Demidov to play big minutes when they are trying to protect a lead. It may come with time as the season goes along, but they will usually play about 14-16 minutes on an average night. Demidov gets the minutes on the power play, while Kapanen gets minutes on the PK and the 2nd PP. It’s clear that Kapanen has got some trust in defensive roles from St. Louis; therefore, maybe their line should be trusted on the defensive end later in the game. Demidov may not have the defensive abilities of his linemate, but he’s not a liability either.

Currently, the Habs’ 2nd line doesn’t have a 3rd guy that fits well with them, as Slafkovsky has returned to the top line after the struggles of Zack Bolduc on that trio. Then, Kapanen and Demidov also miss the presence of Newhook’s speed, but maybe with Alexandre Texier, the Canadiens can replace some of the speed that they have lost since Newhook went down, but it’s still too early to know if he connects with them on a chemistry level after just 1 game.

It will be interesting to see how he does in that spot on the 2nd line until Kirby Dach comes back. Also, Texier being a good defensive option could help them gain more responsibility, giving them more ice time than they have in recent games, when Slafkovsky would go up to play with Suzuki and Caufield in the later moments of recent games where they had the lead. During that time, Kapanen and Demidov were sitting on the bench.

With all this being said, Kapanen definitely has the ability to be a 2nd-line centre for a temporary period, but he’s likely not the end-all be-all option for the Canadiens if they want to win the Stanley Cup in the future.