Oliver Kapanen

Oliver Kapanen (born 29 July 2003) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a centre for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 64th overall, by the Canadiens in the 2021 NHL entry draft.

Early life Kapanen was born in Timrå, Sweden, on 29 July 2003 to Finnish parents while his father, ice hockey player Kimmo Kapanen, was playing there for Timrå IK. In 2005, the family moved to Finland when Kimmo signed with KalPa, which also became Oliver's youth team.

Playing career Kapanen was drafted in the second round, 64th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2021 NHL entry draft. He made his professional debut for KalPa during the 2021–22 season.

Following three seasons with KalPa, Kapanen opted to continue his development in the neighbouring Swedish Hockey League (SHL), joining Timrå IK on a two-year contract on 9 May 2024.

On 15 June 2024, Kapanen signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Canadiens. Thereafter, Kapanen was named to the Canadiens' opening night roster for the 2024–25 season. After being a healthy scratch for the first game of the season, he made his NHL debut on 10 October, replacing Emil Heineman on the team's fourth line. He recorded an assist on Josh Anderson's third period goal for his first career NHL point. Following 12 appearances with Montreal, Kapanen was loaned back to Timrå IK on 6 November 2024. Appearing in 36 regular season games with the foregoing, registering 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points, he would rejoin the Canadiens on 2 April 2025. A month later, following his team's elimination from the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, Kapanen was assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Laval Rocket, for the duration of the Calder Cup playoffs. He scored his first AHL goal, the game-winner, in the opening contest of the North Division Final against the Rochester Americans on 14 May.

Entering play for the 2025–26 season, Kapanen would score his first career NHL goal, a shorthanded one, in the Canadiens' season opening matchup versus the Toronto Maple Leafs on 8 October 2025. With this, he became the fifth player in franchise history to accomplish the feat, and the first since Chris Chelios in 1984.

International play

Kapanen first represented his country as part of their national under-18 team at the 2021 IIHF World U18 Championships where he appeared in four games. He likewise represented the Finnish national junior team at the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships winning a silver medal, and again in 2023. That December, Kapanen, along with Liiga team KalPa, were selected to participate in the annual Spengler Cup tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. For his part, he registered one assist during the quarterfinal matchup with Team Canada which was ultimately won by the opposition.

In May 2024, Kapanen made his senior debut for the Finland national team at the IIHF World Championship in Prague, recording a team-leading six goals in tournament play.

In the midst of his successful 2025–26 season in the NHL, Kapanen was named to the Finnish team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. He was unused for most of the tournament, but following an injury to Mikko Rantanen in the semi-final, Kapanen took the ice for the third-place game against Slovakia. Finland prevailed by a score of 6–1, winning the bronze medal.

Personal life Kapanen comes from a hockey playing family. He is the grandson of former professional hockey player Hannu Kapanen and the son of Kimmo Kapanen. He is the great-nephew of , nephew of Sami Kapanen and cousin of Kasperi Kapanen and .

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2019–20 KalPa FIN U18 44 23 27 50 28 — — — — — 2019–20 KalPa FIN U20 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 2020–21 KalPa FIN U20 37 25 16 41 26 — — — — — 2020–21 Jokipojat Mestis 5 3 2 5 12 — — — — — 2021–22 KalPa FIN U20 11 7 8 15 0 10 5 6 11 14 2021–22 KalPa Liiga 16 1 1 2 2 — — — — — 2021–22 IPK Mestis 8 1 3 4 2 — — — — — 2021–22 Kärpät Liiga 2 0 2 2 0 — — — — — 2022–23 KalPa Liiga 55 12 15 27 28 7 0 1 1 6 2023–24 KalPa Liiga 51 14 20 34 32 13 7 7 14 6 2024–25 Montreal Canadiens NHL 18 0 2 2 2 3 0 1 1 0 2024–25 Timrå IK SHL 36 15 20 35 12 6 2 1 3 6 2024–25 Laval Rocket AHL — — — — — 11 3 3 6 2 2025–26 Montreal Canadiens NHL 82 22 15 37 22 7 0 0 0 2 NHL totals 100 22 17 39 24 10 0 1 1 2

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2021 Finland WJC18 4th 4 0 0 0 2 2022 Finland WJC 7 1 1 2 4 2023 Finland WJC 5th 5 2 1 3 0 2023 KalPa SC 6th 3 0 1 1 4 2024 Finland WC 8th 8 6 0 6 4 2026 Finland OG 3 0 0 0 0 Junior totals 16 3 2 5 6 Senior totals 11 6 0 6 4