Prospect Info: Kasperi Kapanen | Winger | KalPa (Liiga) | 1st round, 22nd overall

[penguins2946*]

I'm hoping Kapanen is the 3rd line RW next year and Sundqvist is the 4th line C. I don't think either of those are unrealistic.

 

[Shady Machine]

I'm hoping Kapanen is the 3rd line RW next year and Sundqvist is the 4th line C. I don't think either of those are unrealistic.

Yeah I think that's reasonable. You never can tell how a prospect will develop, but a year should certainly have both close to making the roster. Bennett would move up with Malkin in this case:

Kunitz-Crosby-Hornqvist
Bennett-Malkin-whoever we acquire
Dupuis-Sutter-Kapanen
Spaling-Sundqvist-whoever

 

[BobCole]

Yeah I think that's reasonable. You never can tell how a prospect will develop, but a year should certainly have both close to making the roster. Bennett would move up with Malkin in this case:

Kunitz-Crosby-Hornqvist
Bennett-Malkin-whoever we acquire
Dupuis-Sutter-Kapanen
Spaling-Sundqvist-whoever

The thought of having two young, cost controlled, homegrown players in our bottom 6 (Kapanen/Sundqvist) is a revelation. It's not a long shot to hope that they could both prove to be above average players in those roles, either.

And the icing on the cake is that Sutter/Dupuis/Spaling are all guys who would also be well-cast in those bottom 6 roles. They'd round out a well-constructed bottom 6. What a departure from a bottom 6 filled with reclamation projects, underachievers, miscast aging vets, etc.

 

[jmelm]

Yeah I think that's reasonable. You never can tell how a prospect will develop, but a year should certainly have both close to making the roster. Bennett would move up with Malkin in this case:

Kunitz-Crosby-Hornqvist
Bennett-Malkin-whoever we acquire
Dupuis-Sutter-Kapanen
Spaling-Sundqvist-whoever

The thought of having two young, cost controlled, homegrown players in our bottom 6 (Kapanen/Sundqvist) is a revelation. It's not a long shot to hope that they could both prove to be above average players in those roles, either.

It's not a long shot, nor unrealistic, but I frankly have concerns about having Sundqvist on the 4th line, getting few minutes and playing with not-so-skilled players. Remember, we're trying to develop Sundqvist into the next Sutter (a guy with offensive upside), rather than the next Goc (merely just a good defensive centre).

The ideal situation would be if Kapanen was ready to step into a 2nd line role next season. That may be too much to ask, it may not. The talent is there, so it's probably more an issue of development and physical maturity. It would really be ideal if we could have him in that role.

And remember, we've got Megna, too. Unless Megna really under-performs or stagnates in his development, he's just got so much speed & skill, that I do think he could be a really good player in a few years time (not saying he will ever be anywhere near as good as a guy like P. Sharp or Kunitz, but could be a guy that blossoms into a very good player later on).

So for next season, this would be ideal:

Kunitz-Crosby-Hornqvist
Bennett-Malkin-Kapanen (or Sundqvist?)
Dupuis-Sutter-Sundqvist (or Kapanen?)
Sill-Goc-Megna

- if Megna doesn't impress by the end of this season or isn't re-signed, then we look to re-sign one of Downie or Comeau

- I like the idea of starting Sundqvist on RW, because it (A) allows him to get adjusted to playing the NHL game and against good players without having the full responsibility of playing centre; and (B) because it allows Sundqvist to get more minutes and with more skilled players than if he was playing 4th line C.

- If both Kapanen and Sundqvist were ready for the NHL, but Sundqvist was better at that stage than Kapanen, I could see him being a good third-wheel on the Malkin line, but ideally would prefer the more-skilled Kapanen is there.

- If one of Kapanen or Sundqvist wasn't ready to play a top-9 RW role, then we would need to fill that spot via trade or UFA.

* note: I know I left Spaling off there, because I think he needs to be traded if Sutter is still here. We're not going to be able to re-sign/extend both of those players for more $ than they are making now, and then put Spaling on the 4th line. So unless Spaling has an absolute breakout year offensively, then I think we should aim to trade him at the draft or in the offseason.

 

[BobCole]

It's not a long shot, nor unrealistic, but I frankly have concerns about having Sundqvist on the 4th line, getting few minutes and playing with not-so-skilled players. Remember, we're trying to develop Sundqvist into the next Sutter (a guy with offensive upside), rather than the next Goc (merely just a good defensive centre).

The ideal situation would be if Kapanen was ready to step into a 2nd line role next season. That may be too much to ask, it may not. The talent is there, so it's probably more an issue of development and physical maturity. It would really be ideal if we could have him in that role.

And remember, we've got Megna, too. Unless Megna really under-performs or stagnates in his development, he's just got so much speed & skill, that I do think he could be a really good player in a few years time (not saying he will ever be anywhere near as good as a guy like P. Sharp or Kunitz, but could be a guy that blossoms into a very good player later on).

So for next season, this would be ideal:

Kunitz-Crosby-Hornqvist
Bennett-Malkin-Kapanen (or Sundqvist?)
Dupuis-Sutter-Sundqvist (or Kapanen?)
Sill-Goc-Megna

- if Megna doesn't impress by the end of this season or isn't re-signed, then we look to re-sign one of Downie or Comeau

- I like the idea of starting Sundqvist on RW, because it (A) allows him to get adjusted to playing the NHL game and against good players without having the full responsibility of playing centre; and (B) because it allows Sundqvist to get more minutes and with more skilled players than if he was playing 4th line C.

- If both Kapanen and Sundqvist were ready for the NHL, but Sundqvist was better at that stage than Kapanen, I could see him being a good third-wheel on the Malkin line, but ideally would prefer the more-skilled Kapanen is there.

- If one of Kapanen or Sundqvist wasn't ready to play a top-9 RW role, then we would need to fill that spot via trade or UFA.

* note: I know I left Spaling off there, because I think he needs to be traded if Sutter is still here. We're not going to be able to re-sign/extend both of those players for more $ than they are making now, and then put Spaling on the 4th line. So unless Spaling has an absolute breakout year offensively, then I think we should aim to trade him at the draft or in the offseason.

Great analysis. I honestly don't spend 1/4 as much time watching our prospects as many people here do. I read up about them but I rarely get to see them play.

Do you know what the consensus is on Megna? Does the organization share your optimism when it comes to his upside? I've seen enough to know that he has incredible wheels, but I kind of got the feeling that he doesn't think the NHL game as well as he'd need to to play in the top 6, and he's not enough of a checker or shift disturber to carve out a niche in the bottom 6.

When it comes to Sundqvist, I have to say I was blown away by him in the preseason, and I was a little upset that we didn't get to see a few more games from him before sending him back overseas. It is indeed interesting to speculate on his long-term NHL upside...is it as a scoring 3C, a crashing/banging 2nd line winger? In any event, I guess I hadn't considered the implications (vis-a-vis his development) of sticking him at 4C. I want to say I read that he may not come to NA to play such a limited role. I'm admittedly getting too excited about a small sample size, but I get the feeling that in the long-term he could be a very versatile player who you could plug in up/down the lineup.

Kapanen obviously possesses enough skill to play in the top 6 in the long term. I guess it's simply a matter of determining the best method to mold him into that player. Should he keep playing big minutes overseas until we plug him in there, or should we acclimate him to the NHL by playing him on the 3rd line for a season or two? I trust in our staff to answer that question better than I can. All I can say is that I'm excited to finally have 2 players in the prospect pool who will play in the top 6 barring some major disappointing development (the other player being BB).

I agree with you re: Spaling. I'm upset that we couldn't tease a better player out of Nashville with Hornqvist in the Neal trade. Sure, he's versatile and a competent bottom 6 player, but at the end of the day he's replaceable and we can't afford to pay a player of his skill level the $2.5M+ he's due for on his next contract.

 

[cygnus47]

Great analysis. I honestly don't spend 1/4 as much time watching our prospects as many people here do. I read up about them but I rarely get to see them play.

Do you know what the consensus is on Megna? Does the organization share your optimism when it comes to his upside? I've seen enough to know that he has incredible wheels, but I kind of got the feeling that he doesn't think the NHL game as well as he'd need to to play in the top 6, and he's not enough of a checker or shift disturber to carve out a niche in the bottom 6.

When it comes to Sundqvist, I have to say I was blown away by him in the preseason, and I was a little upset that we didn't get to see a few more games from him before sending him back overseas. It is indeed interesting to speculate on his long-term NHL upside...is it as a scoring 3C, a crashing/banging 2nd line winger? In any event, I guess I hadn't considered the implications (vis-a-vis his development) of sticking him at 4C. I want to say I read that he may not come to NA to play such a limited role. I'm admittedly getting too excited about a small sample size, but I get the feeling that in the long-term he could be a very versatile player who you could plug in up/down the lineup.

Kapanen obviously possesses enough skill to play in the top 6 in the long term. I guess it's simply a matter of determining the best method to mold him into that player. Should he keep playing big minutes overseas until we plug him in there, or should we acclimate him to the NHL by playing him on the 3rd line for a season or two? I trust in our staff to answer that question better than I can. All I can say is that I'm excited to finally have 2 players in the prospect pool who will play in the top 6 barring some major disappointing development (the other player being BB).

I agree with you re: Spaling. I'm upset that we couldn't tease a better player out of Nashville with Hornqvist in the Neal trade. Sure, he's versatile and a competent bottom 6 player, but at the end of the day he's replaceable and we can't afford to pay a player of his skill level the $2.5M+ he's due for on his next contract.

Megna is an interesting case. He has all the physical skills to be a middle six forward. He's good one-on-one, isn't a small guy, blazing wheels and he can PK too. The one thing he's missing is a flow to his game, he seems to have to work really hard to stay in position. Sometimes he looks great and fast and slippery, and other times he can't seem to get the puck with any speed, or the puck will bounce off his stick all game. He needs to work on his consistency and play some serious minutes.

 

[BobCole]

Megna is an interesting case. He has all the physical skills to be a middle six forward. He's good one-on-one, isn't a small guy, blazing wheels and he can PK too. The one thing he's missing is a flow to his game, he seems to have to work really hard to stay in position. Sometimes he looks great and fast and slippery, and other times he can't seem to get the puck with any speed, or the puck will bounce off his stick all game. He needs to work on his consistency and play some serious minutes.

Yeah, this is basically what I meant when I said that he doesn't appear to think the NHL game well enough. Again, I'm curious to know where the organization stands on him. I personally pegged his odds of earning a roster spot on our team in the long-term at something like 10%. I wonder how the org. feels.

 

[Shady Machine]

It's not a long shot, nor unrealistic, but I frankly have concerns about having Sundqvist on the 4th line, getting few minutes and playing with not-so-skilled players. Remember, we're trying to develop Sundqvist into the next Sutter (a guy with offensive upside), rather than the next Goc (merely just a good defensive centre).

The ideal situation would be if Kapanen was ready to step into a 2nd line role next season. That may be too much to ask, it may not. The talent is there, so it's probably more an issue of development and physical maturity. It would really be ideal if we could have him in that role.

And remember, we've got Megna, too. Unless Megna really under-performs or stagnates in his development, he's just got so much speed & skill, that I do think he could be a really good player in a few years time (not saying he will ever be anywhere near as good as a guy like P. Sharp or Kunitz, but could be a guy that blossoms into a very good player later on).

So for next season, this would be ideal:

Kunitz-Crosby-Hornqvist
Bennett-Malkin-Kapanen (or Sundqvist?)
Dupuis-Sutter-Sundqvist (or Kapanen?)
Sill-Goc-Megna

- if Megna doesn't impress by the end of this season or isn't re-signed, then we look to re-sign one of Downie or Comeau

- I like the idea of starting Sundqvist on RW, because it (A) allows him to get adjusted to playing the NHL game and against good players without having the full responsibility of playing centre; and (B) because it allows Sundqvist to get more minutes and with more skilled players than if he was playing 4th line C.

- If both Kapanen and Sundqvist were ready for the NHL, but Sundqvist was better at that stage than Kapanen, I could see him being a good third-wheel on the Malkin line, but ideally would prefer the more-skilled Kapanen is there.

- If one of Kapanen or Sundqvist wasn't ready to play a top-9 RW role, then we would need to fill that spot via trade or UFA.

* note: I know I left Spaling off there, because I think he needs to be traded if Sutter is still here. We're not going to be able to re-sign/extend both of those players for more $ than they are making now, and then put Spaling on the 4th line. So unless Spaling has an absolute breakout year offensively, then I think we should aim to trade him at the draft or in the offseason.

Make the 4th line Spaling-Sundqvist-Megna and you don't have to worry about a skill issue for him. The beauty is we can truly roll 4 lines. Sundqvist can shift up and down the lineup as necessary. He's playing another full year in Sweden so I don't see the skill issue as a problem next year.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Make the 4th line Spaling-Sundqvist-Megna and you don't have to worry about a skill issue for him. The beauty is we can truly roll 4 lines. Sundqvist can shift up and down the lineup as necessary. He's playing another full year in Sweden so I don't see the skill issue as a problem next year.

If this team is truly committed to 3 scoring lines, there's no way there's enough ice time to truly roll four lines. Nor should there be.

If we're rolling three scoring lines, and you have to think that's where we're headed if we add Bennett, Kapanen, Sundqvist and a potential new winger for Geno into the current mix, then the fourth line should continue to feature specialists: Sill, Spaling, maybe Comeau/Downie, maybe we land a tough guy, etc.

 

[ProgOg]

Kapanen just had another primary assist in the first few minutes of the game. Third point in 3 games.

 

[Shady Machine]

If this team is truly committed to 3 scoring lines, there's no way there's enough ice time to truly roll four lines. Nor should there be.

If we're rolling three scoring lines, and you have to think that's where we're headed if we add Bennett, Kapanen, Sundqvist and a potential new winger for Geno into the current mix, then the fourth line should continue to feature specialists: Sill, Spaling, maybe Comeau/Downie, maybe we land a tough guy, etc.

Long term, I'm fine with that. Just saying inserting Sundqvist on line 4 doesn't necessarily stunt his growth.

 

[ProgOg]

Just had a pretty goal. 1-3-4pts in 3 games now.

Those missing Neal will like Kapanen.

 

[Jacob]

Thanks for the updates.

 

[sf expat71]

Just had a pretty goal. 1-3-4pts in 3 games now.

Those missing Neal will like Kapanen.

Not really missing Neal, but really liking what I'm hearing! Is he playing top line minutes, or second line? Much obliged for the updates.

 

[ProgOg]

Not really missing Neal, but really liking what I'm hearing! Is he playing top line minutes, or second line? Much obliged for the updates.

2nd line according to the lineup. The goal and assist came from the powerplay, both were real snipes. The other assists in earlier games came from EV.

Had 6 shots, and 18:49 min TOI today. He is getting a lot of PP time. The official 1st line is only getting under 16 min.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Thanks for the free lunch .

I'm not beaten yet

1) How is it the players in Finland are men, but the men in WBS / opponents are not men? Apparently evryone in the AHL is 19 years old.

2) Based on this recent quote alone, Benefit 4: He gets more chics in NA hanging out with Sid and Geno!

 

[deakka]

http://liiga.fi/videot/2014/10/17/huippuhetket-kalpa-pelicans-171014

The higlights from the game.
Assist wasnt anything extra. Shot from Kapanen and rebound was put home.
Pretty nice goal tho. i like his coolness with the puck on the PP and he seem to always look up and pick a corner with his wrist shot.(not all pro players does that, believe it or not).

 

[ProgOg]

Insight from the Prospect board:

Yeah he seems much more involved in the game, instead of floating around like he did last year. Of course icetime (over 18 minutes per game) and linemates might have something to do with that.

Also he seems to keep his head up more and looking at his options rather than trying to deke around everyone.

Looking good so far, let's hope that he can keep this up.

 

[flaneur]

Insight from the Prospect board:

sounds like promising improvements... guess he took a lot away from his preseason stint with the pens. if he keeps it up he may be of use to the club in the spring.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Not that it matters a whole lot, ultimately, but is Kapanen playing left or right wing in KalPa? Is he playing both?

Just curious.

 

[jmelm]

Do you know what the consensus is on Megna? Does the organization share your optimism when it comes to his upside? I've seen enough to know that he has incredible wheels, but I kind of got the feeling that he doesn't think the NHL game as well as he'd need to to play in the top 6, and he's not enough of a checker or shift disturber to carve out a niche in the bottom 6.

I don't quite agree with that last spot. Megna is an aggressive forechecker, and he's got the kind of elite, disruptive speed to cause havoc on the forecheck; as well as the potential to be a GREAT penalty killer who can be a threat offensively, and he's not afraid to use the body (even if it's more about him leaning on people/bumping them, rather than running them over). We don't need to have a 4th line that has all three skaters being very physical. Having 2 of the 3 guys being very physical (i.e. Sill + Comeau), plus one guy who is a speedster is a perfect combination for creating momentum, grinding the other team and drawing penalties with that combination of speed & physicality. I think that would be a line that could really produce a lot of offensive zone time.

Regarding Megna's mind/hockey sense: I honestly think we cannot say, and won't be able to for a few more years, whether he does/doesn't have good hockey IQ, or if it's more an issue of him just being a guy who is on a different development timeline/late bloomer. He just has way too much skill, versatility and decent size (especially cause so many of our F prospects are 5'11 or less) to give up on him unless he's absolutely awful. This is a big year for him, and I look forward to seeing what he can do as a top-line player & leader for WBS. He had a goal, 3 shots, +1 and first star tonight. Let's hope that's a start of a good year.

Make the 4th line Spaling-Sundqvist-Megna and you don't have to worry about a skill issue for him. The beauty is we can truly roll 4 lines. Sundqvist can shift up and down the lineup as necessary. He's playing another full year in Sweden so I don't see the skill issue as a problem next year.

This....(below)

If this team is truly committed to 3 scoring lines, there's no way there's enough ice time to truly roll four lines. Nor should there be.

If we're rolling three scoring lines, and you have to think that's where we're headed if we add Bennett, Kapanen, Sundqvist and a potential new winger for Geno into the current mix, then the fourth line should continue to feature specialists: Sill, Spaling, maybe Comeau/Downie, maybe we land a tough guy, etc.

Agreed. I think we will have enough skill to have 3 scoring lines, with at least 2 of them being really good defensively (KCH, and Dupuis-Sutter-whoever). We need to, then, have some muscle & physicality on the 4th line. That means Sill + Comeau, as a good example. Megna would be a great fit on that line, either as a C if he's ready, or as a winger with Sill at C.

Long term, I'm fine with that. Just saying inserting Sundqvist on line 4 doesn't necessarily stunt his growth.

I will stunt his growth. It may not "ruin" him, but there is zero chance he would develop as well as 4th line C in Pitt versus 1st line C and 1st line PP unit in WBS. As I said, I don't want Sundqvist here next year unless he's playing in the top-9, and that likely means as a RWer.

I don't, however, have a concern about Megna. He already has GREAT offensive skills, so we're not trying to cultivate that with Megna like we are with Sundqvist. With Megna, we're trying to cultivate his offense. Rather, we're trying to cultivate his defense and just have him learn/adapt to pro hockey in general. That can be achieved with Megna even on the 4th line or even as a 13th forward. Having Sunqvist on the 4th line wouldn't just be bad (or at least sub-optimal), but would also leave Megna without a roster spot. I would like to see Sundqvist either as a middle-6 RW in the NHL, or 1st line C in WBS for next season.

 

[Shrimper]

If we had injuries to our wingers we couldn't bring him over could we?

 

[ProgOg]

If we had injuries to our wingers we couldn't bring him over could we?

I think they would go with some WBS guy before recalling him.

If I understand it correctly, and if they plan to only have him play 9 games so his ELC doesn't kick in, they can only recall him once (i.e. they can't play him for 3 games in the middle of the season, and 6 games at the end of the season).

So if the "AHL and maybe even NHL after his season in the Liiga" thing is true, and they want to have a look at him at the NHL level after developing further playing in Finland and at WJC, recalling him before wouldn't be too good.

And that is before even knowing if it would work out with his contract with KalPa. Maybe someone knows more about this.

 

[Stad]

Kapanen scored the first goal of the game today, I still haven't seen it yet though.

Edit: He just scored again according to KalPa's twitter lol.

 

[ProgOg]

Kapanen scored the first goal of the game today, I still haven't seen it yet though.

And he just scored his second.

First goal was pretty.

So Kapanen has 6 points (3+3) so far in 4 games. For reference: the top U20 scorer in the Liiga has currently 7pts in 13 games.