After sitting out the home opener, Oliver Kapanen will get his baptism of fire on the ice tonight facing the Boston Bruins.
Oliver Kapanen watched the home opener from the press gallery, but this morning, Martin St-Louis said, "Oliver Kapanen, come on down!".
Kapanen, drafted 64th overall in the 2021 draft, made the headlines at the last world championship, scoring six goals in Finland's eight games. This Summer, Kent Hughes signed him to a three-year entry-level deal.
However, the Finn is signed to a contract with Timra IK in the SHL, and should the Canadiens cut him, he'll return to that league to play his season rather than go to Laval with the Rocket.
There is no deadline for the Canadiens to send Kapanen back overseas, but if and when they decide to do it, Timra IK coach former NHLer Olli Jokinen has said he'd get first-line minutes and special units play as well. Hopefully, he means it, unlike Roman Rotenberg, who has been benching Ivan Demidov more often than not these days, but that's a story for another time.
Coach St-Louis explained that while Emil Heineman played a good game yesterday, he would be the one to make way for Kapanen, and the move was planned in advance. He has looked good in almost every situation since the start of camp, and tonight, we'll see what he can do against a complete NHL roster and a number one goaltender.
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