Young people of the world: Oliver Kapanen, tireless worker capable of creativity

Moncton – It is often said of professional athletes that the best in their discipline are in complete control of their emotions.

As the saying “never high, never low” implies, there is no point in getting carried away in sports, after success as well as in failure.

Analyze for a few moments Oliver Kapanen’s body language in his post-match comments on Monday and Tuesday; You will see that there is absolutely nothing different.

But his debut in front of reporters came minutes after one of Finland’s most embarrassing losses in the last 15 Young World Championships.

The other, just twenty hours later, came after he was named man of the match in a more spectacular display from his country, With a score of 5-2 against Slovakia.

Certainly, the 19-year-old center isn’t the most talkative or outspoken player in the Canadiens prospect pool.

So apart from his veteran status from the last edition of the tournament in August, there must be a good explanation for Tommy’s touch of his appointment to inherit the ‘C’ wear responsibility of the Scandinavian coaching.

“Oliver is a tireless worker. Her drive never stops. He may not be the captain who speaks the most, but his actions speak volumes,” said Touch during an interview with RDS.ca, after his club’s first win in the competition.

“He’s a really good guy. He treats everyone the same, and leads by example at all times. You couldn’t ask for a better teammate to be around you,” forward Brad Lambert, a first-round draft pick for the Winnipeg Jets last July, confirmed.

Conservative like many of his teammates, Kapanen rolled a triple on Tuesday that was completed on the left by Vil Koivonen, and on the right by Joachim Kimmel.

Kapanen and Kimmel in particular combined efforts to dazzle the Slovak defence, especially from a second period that dominated 3-0.

Creativity…but also a little bit of everything

Most Habs fans will remember Kapanen’s deft maneuvering of the Slovakian defender to gain speed behind the net and execute a classic revolving-door goal, making it 3-1.

However, the match began to unfold near the cage of the Finnish goalkeeper Aku Koskenfo.

Despite being near his defenders in support at the time of the zone exit, the No. 27 offered himself as an option on the wing in the neutral zone.

Upon receiving the puck, the 6-foot-1 forward challenged his coverage on the offensive blue line and, with a great combination of balance on the skates and strength, taunted him. , before he succeeds in a move that is far from the Kabanin family.

“It was improvised. But I think it might have been a nod to my cousin.” [Kasperi] ‘ He gave us a smirk.

In 2016, at the same World Junior Championships, Kasperi Kapanen scored the golden goal in the same way, allowing Finland to knock down Russia in overtime in the final.

The goal of this creation is to show that the 64th overall pick in the 2021 draft is slowly but surely gaining confidence in his ability to make great offensive plays against the best in his age group.

During the 2021-2022 season, it was difficult for him to store this crucial confidence, as he was relegated to a secondary role with KalPa, in the SM-Liiga.

It was also not helped by the fact that he developed within four different teams, both in SM-Liiga and Mestis, the second division circuit.

Halfway through the season, a year later, we become more aware of the qualities that defined the former CH crew.

“Basically, Oliver has a great sense of the game. It helps him be successful. He wins his fights, and does a very good job in face-offs,” insisted the Finn coach. “I expect the rest of his tournament to look like this.”

After 31 games in that league, which still prioritized defensive play, Kapanen scored seven goals and added six assists for a total of 13 points.

Something to remind people of his existence who might have stopped being excited about him, compared to future CH players.

Lin went on to bat for it

Kapanen was not an option that was made by the staff headed by Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes.

However, Kapanen readily admits that the man who insisted on being selected once the second round was over still works for the Montreal organization.

Hanu Lin [NDLR : qui épie les espoirs finlandais pour le club, en plus d’avoir vu son mandat s’agrandir à l’ensemble de l’Europe sous Hughes] He spoke to me several times during the season. “I knew he liked my style of play,” he recalls.

Was the veteran scout of 22 seasons with the Canadiens the one to claim?

revealed “I think so”.

Since Casperi Kapanen’s heroic grid six years ago, the Finns have only finished at the top of the podium again, in 2019.

In Edmonton five months ago, Kapanen and his countrymen had to satisfy a bitter taste of money, and dropped the flag for Team Canada Junior.

After the unexpected foul against Switzerland, is Finland back on track?

Oliver Kapanen hopes so, and remembers that a round robin serves, among other things, to make amends.

“We reaffirmed some important details that had escaped us. I think that paid off, but basically, we really had every incentive to go back,” he explained.

Now let’s see if the Finns, who are always tough when the stakes are high, will be able to use Monday’s poor performance as an example of the danger that awaits them, should they once again stray from an elaborate game plan. for a name.

We will see Finland (1-1-0) play on Thursday, in Group B, during a duel against Latvia (0-1-0), at the Center Avenir in Moncton.