NHL Draft War Room: Kasperi Kapanen

Kasperi Kapanen

THW’s NHL Draft War Room Rankings: #10 (Feb 2014)

THW’s NHL Draft Rankings – The Next Ones Edition (aka Chris’s List): #11 (March 2014)

• Hashtag/Nickname: #TheFinnishSniper
• Team: #42, KalPa, SM-liiga
• Position: Left Wing
• Shoots: Right
• Height: 6’0
• Weight: 180 lb.
• Born: Kuopio, Finland, 23-Jul-96
• Twitter: @kasperikapanen

Stats

Other Rankings

• 6 – NHL Combined – Mid-term, Jan-14
• 9 – Bob MacKenzie, Jan-14
• 12 – ISS, Feb-14
• 14 – Craig Button, Jan-14
• 15 – Future Considerations, Feb-14

Worth Retweeting

https://twitter.com/DStrehleTFP/statuses/422770764375662592

http://t.co/dTmaEKMf2A
#12 Kasperi Kapanen @kasperikapanen
Developing as one of KalPa's top fwds… Excellent off. upside w/ speed & strength.

— ISS Hockey (@ISShockey) February 26, 2014

Years ago Kasperi Kapanen almost ran me over in Flyers locker room with belly scooter. Now he's top draft prospect – http://t.co/Mn8NcMjCuR

— Adam Kimelman (@NHLAdamK) January 13, 2014

Profiles

• Profile 1: Bryant44 at ontheforecheck.com
• Profile 2: Mike Repertorio at Pro Puck Prospects

[For all the prospects profiled in the THW NHL Draft War Room series check out

the 2014 NHL Draft War Room: Prospect Profile Index]

Quotable

• Goran Stubb, NHL Director of European Scouting, at NHL.com,

“Kasperi is at present the No. 1 European prospect.  He’s a regular with Kalpa in the Finnish league and is off to a good start. He’s a sniper who will play for Finland at the 2014 World Junior Championship. He possesses excellent vision and has great skills … he’s a star in the making.”

From the War Room

• Eldon MacDonald, THW: A few words on Kasperi Kapanen:
  • Offense – High-end sniper with the speed, dangle and shot to really make things happen.
  • Compete – Top level, always in the mix.
  • Genes – Plays with his Dad, 13 year NHL veteran Sami Kapanan. And no, he doesn’t play with his grandfather, Hannu Kapanen, who also played in the SM-liiga in the seventies.
  • Improvements to Make – Like most players his age, his defensive game is still a work in progress. Also, he needs to sacrifice himself a little more to make plays succeed.  
  • Draft Placement – Most have him in and around the top 10. He could go higher to a team in love with his sniper abilities or he could slide a bit, like another relatively slight Finnish sniper,  Teuvo Teräväinen, the excellent Chicago Black Hawks prospect in 2012.

Video

• Video 1: Wowser goal from IceHockey0nly

• Video 2: Goal from habakoski

About NHL Draft War Room Series

This series is compiled by Eldon MacDonald and edited by @ChrisRalphTHW)