Kapanen as 2C: his excellent defensive game would lighten Ivan Demidov’s load

Indeed, the former Habs scout took the time to explain his arguments in a very nice video analysis of Kapanen’s game, and what he does very well.

Obviously, McCagg isn’t saying that Kapanen is a perfect option, far from it, but he sincerely believes that giving him a chance to pilot the second line would be a very good idea.

Kapanen will turn 22 this summer, and he’s already had three full seasons in the pros (two in Finland and one in Sweden/NHL/HLL).

According to McCagg, the young Finn is almost perfect defensively, while his positioning is almost always impeccable.

In fact, Kapanen’s defensive game is the central element that leads McCagg to believe that he could do well at the center of Ivan Demidov and Zachary Bolduc.

It’s very rare for Kapanen to make a mistake, and McCagg proved it in his video by demonstrating that the Finn has never directly cost the Laval Rocket a goal in the playoffs.

For McCagg, it’s clear that putting Kapanen with Demidov would take an enormous amount of defensive pressure off the Russian prodigy, who would be able to express himself more freely offensively, with Kapanen covering his back.

And in the process, McCagg believes it would also take pressure off the shoulders of Patrik Laine and Kirby Dach, who could play on a third line with Alex Newhook, and thus have less of a defensive role, considering they’d be facing the opposition’s best players less often.

In short, I’m well aware that Kapanen is far from a sexy option for second center, and that the ideal situation would be for the Habs to get their hands on an impact player by practice, but it’s not crazy to think about giving the 22-year-old a chance.

After all, the Habs are all about the future and youth, so giving a young center a chance wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.

Imagine if it all worked out and Kapanen, Demidov and Bolduc had a great chemistry.

Keep this option in mind.