montreal canadiens prospect oliver kapanen via screenshot

The Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings continue with the player voted as the No.7 prospect in the system, forward Oliver Kapanen.

As a reminder, to qualify for our list, Habs prospects must under 24 years old and have fewer than 75 NHL games under their belt. The rankings are based on the votes from almost 10,000 Canadiens fans.

7. Oliver Kapanen, 22, Shoots Right, Centre, Laval Rocket (AHL), 6’1″, 183 lb. Picked 64th Overall (2021)

Fans gave Kapanen a vote of confidence by ranking him as the No.7 prospect in the system, a significant jump from his No.14 ranking last season. It wasn’t the biggest jump of the annual series, that honour belongs to Florian Xhekaj, but it did represent a considerable uptick in perception regarding the Finnish forward.

Kapanen is a cerebral player who knows how to exploit open ice in the offensive zone, while also featuring high-end defensive acumen when called upon. His anticipation and innate hockey skills are difficult to ignore, though it must be said he’s yet to consistently find his offensive rhythm in North America. That’s perfectly normal for a young player who only recently crossed the pond, especially since he had to deal with a lot more variables than homegrown prospects.

Oliver Kapanen’s Hectic Season

While prospects drafted from North America have to adapt to a new league and new teammates once they arrive in Montreal or Laval, European prospects must navigate a labyrinth of new experiences, which range from a lack of familiar food to a dearth of support from family members who happen to live across the Atlantic ocean.

With that in mind, it’s always important to give European prospects a longer runway to acclimatize to North American hockey.

It’s only fair.

And it’s definitely necessary in Kapanen’s case, as he lined up with four different teams last season, including representing Finland in international matchups.

The Montreal Canadiens decided to give Kapanen a roster spot out of training camp, a decision that confused me to say the least. It’s not that I hold any animosity toward Kapanen, but I failed to see why his performance in preseason merited a roster spot. My worry was that he was being rushed into an unfamiliar situation that would overwhelm him, and based on his play in the first dozen games of the regular season with the Canadiens, the concern was valid.

After all, Kapanen played in Finland last season, and the discrepancy in talent between Liiga and the NHL is chasmic.

Statistically speaking, Kapanen’s early-season NHL audition bore very little fruit. I don’t think it’s important to delve into the specifics of his underlying stats, but suffice it to say I wholeheartedly supported the decision to loan him to Timra (SHL), where ample ice time would be guaranteed, due in part to the fact that his father was serving as the team’s general manager.

With first-line usage and a heavy dose of powerplay ice time, Kapanen enjoyed a fantastic season in the SHL, to the tune of 15 goals and 20 assists in 36 games, giving him an NHL equivalency of roughly 48 points in a prorated 82-game schedule.

He featured in three playoff games for the Habs before being assigned to the AHL, where he joined the Laval Rocket in their bid to capture the Calder Cup.

Things started out slowly in the AHL, though it wasn’t a surprise given the circumstances.

At that point, Kapanen had played in three different professional leagues, not to mention three playoff runs in the aforementioned leagues.

The good news is that he eventually found his rhythm in the AHL once head coach Pascal Vincent placed him on a line with fellow prospects Joshua Roy and Sean Farrell. While many of the veterans faded to the background as the pressure started to mount, Kapanen took a step forward, an encouraging sign for a player who dealt with a very hectic year.

Oliver Kapanen gets Laval on the board. More solid work from the newly minted Farrell – Kapanen – Roy line. #LavalRocket pic.twitter.com/QhvkzAWmlC

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) May 29, 2025

It was arguably the first time Kapanen looked completely comfortable in North America, both from a defensive and offensive standpoint. Instead of forcing the play, he used his excellent vision to anticipate the play, leading to long stretches of offensive pressure.

He ended up scoring three goals and three assists in 11 playoff games, but the overall production didn’t matter as much as the increased number of scoring chances he created, which quickly established a heightened level of trust between himself and the coach, and consequently led to more ice time.

Oliver Kapanen scores his second goal of the playoffs, now 5-0 Laval.

Great work by Adam Engstrom at the point. Joshua Roy’s third point of the game. #LavalRocket pic.twitter.com/dIcdB9Y1Sb

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) May 25, 2025

What’s Next For Montreal Canadiens Prospect Oliver Kapanen?

Kapanen finished his hectic 2024-25 campaign on a very high mark, which bodes well for his potential full-time ascension to the NHL. He has surging confidence on his side, one of the most important factors in prospect development.

On the flip side of the coin, we can’t realistically expect him to produce as much as he did in Sweden, at least not initially. He may work his way onto Montreal’s powerplay at some point, and an eventual promotion to the top six is not out of the question, but we can’t lose sight of the context in which Kapanen produced last year.

In that vein, I’d argue that Kapanen would be best off in the AHL next season, as it would allow the organization to maintain some of the ice time perks he enjoyed while playing in the SHL, offering him a semblance of stability from a usage standpoint.

Of course, a strong showing at camp would change my opinion, but I just don’t see the value of having Kapanen playing in a fourth-line role in the NHL at this point in his development, unless the goal is to develop him into a fourth-line centre.

Those precious minutes are more easily found in the AHL.