Oliver Kapanen

May 2022 – Among the centermen the Canadiens drafted in 2021, Joshua Roy and Riley Kidney have gotten all the media and fan attention over the course of this season, as they put up big numbers playing close to home in the QMJHL, but Oliver Kapanen has flown under the radar as a potential bottom-6 center of the future for the Tricolore. His biggest weapon is his shot, which he gets off very quickly in tight spaces; this allows him to excel in a bumper role on the powerplay. While his defensive ability helps project him to a bottom of the lineup NHL role and plays a part in his relatively high floor, his average speed and slightly clunky skating mechanics will need to be further addressed to help smooth the transition to the professional North American game. Kapanen also lacks the dynamism required to make me hopeful of a top-6 ceiling, but he was one of the younger players in his draft class, as a late-July birthday, giving him more time to develop and grow. Fantasy managers could be interested in adding him if they seek a natural center with a lethal release, good defensive awareness, a high floor, and the ability to stitch plays together between his wingers. Sebastian High