Montreal Canadiens promising young forward leaves team mid-season to go play overseas
21-year-old young prospect Oliver Kapanen of the Montreal Canadiens has left his NHL club, packed his bags, and headed to Europe.
One of the stars of the Montreal Canadiens training camp was Oliver Kapanen, who was picked 64th overall in the 2021 draft. Coming into camp with a mandate to make the NHL club, Kapanen recorded four points including one goal in four preseason games. He looked like he was ready for more in the organization.
The decision wasn't simple regarding Kapanen since he couldn't join the AHL, so it was either an NHL roster or going back to Europe. After 12 games in Montreal, during which he scored two points, playing on average about 10-12 minutes per game, Kapanen didn't get better as many thought, so management wasn't convinced he was ready for the NHL.
In the end, the Canadiens have decided to send Kapanen back to Europe, where he'll rejoin Timra IK in the SHL for the rest of the year. That gives Kapanen more time to develop in a competitive league and opens up a spot on the Canadiens' roster.
To fill the roster spot, the Canadiens called up Laval Rocket captain Lucas Condotta. The 27-year-old forward has a small amount of experience in the league, recording one goal in four games played, and has been a real driver in the AHL this season, recording four assists in nine games. Leading their division via a seven-game winning streak, Laval has a few players knocking on the door for an NHL opportunity, with Condotta chief among them.
While some might've wanted to see top prospect Joshua Roy come up, the Habs elected Condotta to fill in a bottom-six role. The elite playmaking of Roy could have added firepower to the crippled offense of the Canadiens, but this move has Montreal looking to continue building depth and experience in the lineup.
