After a stellar start to the season, it comes as no surprise that Montreal Canadiens prospect Oliver Kapanen has been named to Finland’s U20 team that will go to Ostrava, Czechia to play Sweden and Czechia.
Oliver Kapanen named to the Finnish U20 squad for the tournament in Czechia. The #Habs prospect has had a strong start of the season, and will be relied up on to take a big role for the mini Lions before the WJC. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/WH6F0hcIm8
— Patrik Bexell (@Zeb_Habs) October 31, 2022
Petteri Nurmi, who played for Finland at last year’s World Juniors, is no longer eligible for the U20 team.
Kapanen, who had a goal in the first game of the season, has followed up with a strong October where he has seven (3G-4A) points in 10 games, and is second among junior players scoring in Liiga in goals behind only Ilves’s Jani Nyman, who is also in the U20 squad, and has the same number of points, but a goal more than Kapanen.
The tournament is the last tournament and camp before the the World Junior Championships in December.
Previously Kapanen has taken a mainly defensive role during his time with the U20 team and the one thing to follow in Ostrava will be his offensive output and opportunities against his peers. With a breakout season in Liiga, he will look to carry that over to the junior national team.
