2026 Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #10 Oliver Kapanen

Introduction

After a very successful season with Timrå in the SHL, it wasn’t clear where Oliver Kapanen would line up, and with whom, on Montreal’s opening night of the 2025-26 season. Some on this site proposed that it would be with Ivan Demidov as Kapanen could defer to the dynamic Russian in the offensive zone and go straight for the net.

In the end that was what happened, and Kapanen stayed on the second line for the majority of the year. At the end of the season, Kapanen was third in rookie goal-scoring with 22, behind Beckett Sennecke and Calder Trophy-winner Matthew Schaefer. Kapanen was sixth in points among rookies with 37, 25 behind a certain linemate who was the top scorer with 62.

To say that the season was a success would be an understatement. Many were unsure what Kapanen could bring and thought he would be more of a third- or fourth-line player. The only blemish was that his point production dropped off toward the end, a common theme for rookies.

The season went so well that Kapanen was invited to the Olympics for his native Finland, and while he didn’t play much it must have been invaluable experience for the young forward.

Voting

The panel had him centred around number 10, with four votes in single digits and four 11 and over. The community had Kapanen right on the 10th spot of the list.

The bell curve is almost even with 78 votes at 10th. Some had him as high as four, others as low as 21. His average ranking was 10.111, a few decimals better than the previous two as Kapanen, Gleb Pugachyov, and Adam Engström created a small plateau for themselves.

Top 25 Under 25 History

It is Kapanen’s first visit to the top 10, and he’s been rising since slipping to 26th in 2023.

History of #10

Strengths

As has always been the case, his hockey IQ is good, even very good. While he reads the game well in the offensive zone, he didn’t lead his line to the degree that one would expect from a centre. The defensive end is where his hockey IQ shines most, and focusing more on that aspect is where he can lead the line better.

In an offensive role, his top assets were his hand-eye coordination and his quick-shot release. Those tools benefited him well while playing with a good setup man in Demidov. At one point it did look like Kapanen would win the rookie goal-scoring title, but again fatigue probably caused his production to drop off, along with moving off the Demidov line at times.

Weaknesses

I think it was a great strategy to pair him with Demidov to minimize Kapanen’s weaknesses in the offensive zone: his creativity and deferral to more skilled players. However, this is something that he needs to improve upon, not only for himself but for the team. If he becomes better at leading his line, he can draw more attention from defenders and create more openings for his linemates.

I know that he is building up his body, and hopefully he is working on his conditioning to limit the fatigue down the sharp end of the season at the same time. It’s a work in progress and I expect him to have improved for the upcoming season, but I think this is a long-term project rather than fixing something in one summer.

Projection

The question is if Kapanen can improve and stay up on the second line or not, either as a winger or as a centre. Right now he projects as a third-line player and he will have to take a few more steps to cement his spot behind Nick Suzuki. He showed that he can play an offensive role, but needs to work on more than just finishing plays.

On a team with a young core and a strong group of prospects coming up, he needs to keep improving to keep a high spot in the lineup. With Phillip Danault and Jake Evans in their 30s, there could be spots for Kapanen further down the lineup in the future, but no spot will be guaranteed. He has proven he belongs in the NHL, but there’s work to do to maintain a role on a contending team.