Why Isn’t Oliver Kapanen Getting More Love in the Calder Trophy Race?

There’s something about rookies in Montreal. If they arrive with fireworks, billboards, and a pre-written legend, we notice. If they arrive quietly, do the work, and stack results without much noise, we tend to look past them. Oliver Kapanen falls squarely into that second category—and I’m starting to wonder why.

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Why Doesn’t Kapanen Look Like a Rookie Sensation?

At 22, Kapanen doesn’t look like a typical rookie sensation. He doesn’t play loud and doesn’t hunt the spotlight. He just keeps showing up on the scoresheet and in the hard parts of the game. As of this week, he sits at the top of the NHL rookie goal list with 15 and fourth in rookie points overall. That’s not a footnote. That’s production.

What makes it more interesting is how he’s doing it. Kapanen isn’t being fed sheltered minutes or protected matchups. He’s centring Montreal’s second line at times, killing penalties, and working the second power-play unit. He’s among rookie leaders in even-strength scoring, leads the entire rookie class in shorthanded points, and is tied near the top among forwards in blocked shots. That’s not flash—that’s trust.

And that trust didn’t come easily.

Kapanen Does Many Things Well for the Canadiens

Kapanen’s path to this point was anything but straight. Finland. Sweden. Laval. Montreal. Back again. His ice time was inconsistent, his role was undefined, and his learning curve was steep. For stretches, it felt like he was always auditioning. What he did instead was absorb the game. He learned the North American pace, smaller ice, and quicker decisions. The payoff is what we’re seeing now: a player who wastes very little.

Nine of his goals have come from high-danger areas. He’s not firing pucks from bad angles and hoping for rebounds. He’s getting inside, reading plays early, and arriving in the right place to score goals. Add in his speed bursts—he’s among the rookie leaders there too—and you start to see a modern two-way forward taking shape.

There’s lineage here as well. The Kapanen name carries weight in hockey circles, especially in Finland. Kimmo. Sami. Kasperi. Speed, structure, and intelligence tend to follow that family around. Oliver wears it lightly. You can see the Finnish discipline in his defensive reads, the Swedish influence in his calm puck play, and just enough edge to make opponents uncomfortable.

So why isn’t he a bigger part of the Calder conversation?

Is Playing in Montreal Harming Kapanen in the Calder Conversation?

Part of it is market noise. Montreal’s rookie class is deep, and Ivan Demidov quite rightly draws attention. Part of it is style. Kapanen doesn’t scream “star.” He whispers “reliable,” and that doesn’t always sell. And part of it is that the Calder often favours offence without context—points divorced from usage, role, and responsibility.

But if the award is truly about the best rookie season—not just the flashiest—then Kapanen deserves a longer look.

For an old guy like me, this is the kind of player I trust. He’s already playing a mature game on a very young but emerging team. He blocks shots, kills penalties, and scores timely goals. And he does it without asking for applause.

Maybe that’s why he’s overlooked. But maybe, by season’s end, he won’t be overlooked anymore.

Related: How Important Are the Canadiens’ Goalies in the Playoffs?