Montreal Canadiens forward Oliver Kapanen has already had his passport stamped more than most players his age.
The 22-year-old Scandinavian skater, who was selected in the second round of the 2021 draft, has logged time in Finland’s Liiga, crossed into Sweden for a strong SHL run with Timrå IK, and represented Finland in international play. What he hasn’t had, until recently, is much experience in North America.
That’s part of what makes his early success with the Canadiens so remarkable. The journey has been winding, but after opening the season with four goals and three assists in 10 games, the hope inside the organization now is that he’s finally found the place where he’ll stay put for a long time.
Oliver Kapanen’s ‘Hot Start’ Includes Time at Second Line Center for Montreal
Kapanen’s “hot start” was identified by The Athletic as Montreal’s biggest surprise of the season, and with good reason. Few around the NHL expected him to arrive and not only look like he belonged, but possibly fill the team’s biggest hole.
Kapanen wasn’t one of those prospects who carried the pressure of inevitability — he wasn’t a top-five pick, or someone the Canadiens needed to justify by playing early. He was supposed to be a project, a talented player with European polish and North American questions.
Instead, he’s played like someone eager to answer all of those questions at once, potentially even the Canadiens’ top question of the young season: who will be the second line center.
From his first games in the lineup, Kapanen’s details stood out. His reads in the defensive zone have been composed, his off-puck positioning sharp, and his puck-support instincts mature beyond his age.
“His intelligence always puts him in the right place on both sides of the ice,” said Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis.
Oliver Kapanen Has Gone From Preseason Question to In-Season Answer
He doesn’t just skate in straight lines; he anticipates plays, finds quiet ice, and slips into scoring lanes with the kind of subtlety that makes linemates better. That nuance was what made him so effective overseas, and it’s translated surprisingly quickly on NHL ice.
The Canadiens rewarded that trust early, giving him a steady role and watching him respond in his first handful of games. In a lineup that’s been searching for depth scoring, those moments have meant something more than just numbers on a stat sheet — they’ve offered evidence that Montreal’s youth movement might be further along than anyone thought.
The surprise, then, isn’t just that Kapanen made the roster. It’s that he’s making the Canadiens better.
Montreal’s recent seasons have been about identifying which young players can form the foundation of something sustainable. Kapanen has inserted himself into that conversation faster than expected. He brings a calmness to his shifts, a sense of reliability that’s rare for a player still adjusting to the smaller rink and faster forecheck. It’s not hard to imagine St. Louis looking down the bench and seeing someone who can be trusted in more than one kind of situation — a forward who doesn’t have to be protected.
“I think he’s got the potential of being a complete player,” St. Louis said. “I think he’s a guy that could kill [penalties], could play on the power play, but very, very predictable off the puck, defensively, what he’s going to do, manages risk really well. That’s why I say, ‘200-foot player.’ But I feel his offensive game is going to keep evolving because he’s going to get more confident with the pace, the cues. And that’s a normal path for a player of his type.”
Montreal Head Coach Martin St. Louis Praises Oliver Kapanen as ‘A Complete Player’
If this keeps up, the implications for Montreal could stretch well beyond a few good October games. A player like Kapanen can change roster dynamics.
His ability to play both center and wing adds options to a lineup that’s often been searching for combinations that work. His steady two-way play allows the coaching staff to redistribute ice time and reduce strain on more experienced forwards. His emergence also represents something philosophical: that the Canadiens’ developmental model, blending patience with opportunity, is starting to produce tangible results.
That’s not to say the story is written. Kapanen still has to handle the grind of an 82-game season, the nightly physicality, and the inevitable stretch when the puck stops going in.
But there’s something about the way he’s handled each new challenge so far — whether adapting to North American ice or finding rhythm within the Canadiens’ structure — that suggests this isn’t a fluke. What began as a pleasant surprise is beginning to feel like the foundation of something more.
For now, it’s enough that Oliver Kapanen looks at home in Montreal. After years of crossing leagues and continents, the Canadiens hope he’s finally done traveling.
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