One member of the Montreal Canadiens may just have done enough this season to earn an opportunity with Team Finland at the next Olympics.
Last year, when the NHL paused to host a best-on-best tournament, two members of the Montreal Canadiens were asked to play for Team Finland: Patrik Laine and Joel Armia. The latter is no longer a member of the organization, having signed with the Los Angeles Kings over the offseason, while the former is still part of the team but, once again, sidelined by an injury.
According to the timeline provided by the Canadiens, when he underwent core muscle surgery, Laine could be back either in January or February. Even if he were back in January, would it be realistic to try to play in a best-on-best tournament? Probably not.
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There is, however, another member of the Habs who could have earned himself a spot with the Finnish national team thanks to his season debut: rookie center Oliver Kapanen. The 22-year-old is currently playing on a line with Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky, after skating alongside Alex Newhook for the 17 games he played before his injury.
In 21 games, the youngster has put up 11 points, but he’s also been an essential part of the Canadiens’ penalty kill. Armia and Christian Dvorak’s departure created a need for the Canadiens in that role, and Kapanen jumped on that opportunity.
The center is currently fourth in rookie points with 11 and in a three-way tie when it comes to goals with seven.
The Canadiens’ coach describes him as having an elite NHL-level computer, praising his ability to read the game and the plays, which make him a very responsible two-way forward, precisely the kind of forward you need if you want to stand a chance in a best-on-best competition. The Finns will already be without one of the best two-way forwards in the game because of Aleksander Barkov’s injury, not that Kapanen can replace the Florida Panthers’ captain, but no one can replace Barkov.
Finland took the gold medal at the last tournament, but that was without NHL players competing. The last time NHLers skated in the event, at Sochi in 2014, the Finns left Russia with the bronze medal, and they’ll no doubt be aiming for the podium again.
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