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)
Kasperi Kapanen, right (Raitis Purins/YIS Photo)
- 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
RW Kasperi Kapanen is #1-ranked Euro skater. Son of former #Flyers Sami has played past 2 seasons w/his father on Kalpa of Finn Elite League
— David Strehle (@DStrehleTFP) January 13, 2014
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)
