On a night that will be remembered for the near future as the night the Pittsburgh Penguins dumped James Neal for "essentially nothing" in the eyes of some of the fan base, the Pens scored big with their 22nd overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft. Like in 2012, the Pens picked another Finnish player; the last one panned out pretty well in Olli Maatta. Kaspari Kapanen was the young Finn taken with the 22nd pick, so let's take a look at the Penguins newest addition.
The name Kapanen should sound rather familiar to any hockey fan out there. Kaspari is indeed the son of former Carolina Hurricane and Philadelphia Flyer Sami Kapanen. Like his father, Kaspari was drafted by Jim Rutherford; Sami taken by Rutherford's Whalers/Hurricane in the 1995 draft.
The 17 year old Kapanen is slightly larger than his father, coming in at 5'11" to his father's 5'9." He is a quality right handed winger, who played last season with his father's KalPa team in the Finnish Elite League. In 47 games this year, he scored 7 goals and had 14 total points. Not a great season or earth shattering numbers, but his projections are incredibly promising. He has performed well on the international level though, putting up 9 points at the 2013 World Juniors for Team Finland and was selected for this years World Juniors before getting injured just before the tournament started.
Kasperi was one of the elite talents in this years draft and was considered among many to be the best European player available in the draft. He was ranked #10 overall by the Hockey News before tonight's draft. He was projected in some mock drafts to go around there, but fell to the Pens with the 22nd pick. His scouting report has him listed as a great hands and is considered to be a great "sniper." His wrist shot is good and accurate. His on ice vision is amongst the best in the draft and his understanding of the game is great as well. His skating ability and these other characteristics will have some pegging him to be skating alongside Sidney Crosby in a few years time.
Kasperi will not have an immediate impact on the Pens. He is thought to be about 2 years away from making his NHL debut, setting him up for a 2016-17 arrival in the Burgh. He most likely will spend that time playing in Finland but you may see him get some playing time in Wilkes-Barre a year from now.
Though tonight is going to revolve around James Neal discussion, it was a very good night on the draft board for the Penguins. They definitely earned an "A" for their pick at number twenty-two. I wish him the best of luck and for now, let'
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