The Canadiens have recalled forward Oliver Kapanen from his loan to Timrå IK of the Swedish Hockey League, the team announced. He’ll join the NHL roster and could be on hand for tomorrow’s game against the Bruins. Their active roster will stand at 23 players with the move.
Kapanen, 21, has had an unusual season. The 2021 second-round pick had an exceptional training camp and cracked Montreal’s opening night roster – much to the surprise of Timrå, who planned on him being a core piece of their group this year when they signed him to a two-year contract last summer. Kapanen’s run in the NHL ended in early November, though, and since he’s spent fewer than 60 days on the NHL roster and wasn’t a first-round pick, he had to be offered back to Timrå instead of being sent to AHL Laval. Understandably, Timrå took the opportunity to bring him back into the fold.
Timrå dropped their playoff quarterfinal series to Frölunda HC last weekend, so Kapanen’s season overseas is over – making him free to rejoin the Habs. The 6’0″ center appeared in 12 of Montreal’s first 13 games before being returned to Sweden, recording a pair of assists and a minus-four rating. He managed 13 shots on goal and won 46% of his faceoffs while averaging 11:38 per game. He didn’t factor into Montreal’s penalty kill but did receive some power-play deployment, recording one of his helpers with the man advantage. At even strength, Kapanen only controlled 41.7% of shot attempts and 39.0% of expected goals, letting the Habs know there’s room for improvement in his possession game.
In Sweden, the nephew of ex-NHLer Sami Kapanen and the cousin of the Oilers’ Kasperi Kapanen had a monster year as expected. He was a core piece of Timrå’s fourth-ranked offense out of 14 SHL teams, placing fourth on the club with 15-20–35 in 36 games. He added two goals and an assist in their six-game loss to Frölunda.
Kapanen is one of the better forwards in a loaded Canadiens prospect pool, ranking No. 9 in the system per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. A projectable third-line center with a responsible defensive game, he faces internal competition for the role from 2022 second-rounder Owen Beck (No. 7). They have comparable two-way ceilings. However, when all is said and done, the latter will likely have more upward mobility in an NHL lineup. Beck, who’s back in Laval after an NHL call-up earlier this year, has one assist and a minus-three rating through his first 13 NHL games.
It’ll be the former getting the chance to slot into the lineup for Montreal down their most crucial stretch run in four years. Following last night’s huge overtime win over the Panthers, they sit two points ahead of the Blue Jackets for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 35-30-9 record, but Columbus has a game in hand. Still, the Habs’ playoff chances are over 50%, per MoneyPuck. While he may not slot in down the middle with Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook, Christian Dvorak, and Jake Evans set as their center corps, he could get a chance on the wing over fourth-line enforcer Michael Pezzetta.