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Canadiens European Prospects Making Waves At WJC

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1 year ago

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Canadiens prospect Oliver Kapanen

The 2023 World Junior Championship is in full swing, and two Montreal Canadiens prospects have quickly found their rhythm, a crucial aspect of enjoying success in a short tournament.

With Joshua Roy failing to hit the scoresheet in Canada’s surprising 5-2 loss to Czechia, and Lane Hutson being held scoreless in the USA’s 5-2 win over Latvia, Canadiens fans were fortunately treated to a very encouraging start from a pair of European prospects.

Adam Engstrom

The 92nd overall pick in the 2022 Draft is enjoying a breakout season in the SHL, which is impressive as a standalone story.

Earning a spot on a team’s top pairing in a professional league as an 18-year-old is a rather difficult task, one that Engstrom has tackled with aplomb.

Thanks to his creativity in the offensive zone, his smooth skating and his vision, Engstrom has quickly established himself as one of the Canadiens’ most exciting prospects.

And while it’s always entertaining to see a prospect play against a heightened level of competition, the World Junior Championship provides fans and analysts with an opportunity to gauge a player’s overall development.

Engstrom earned two assists in Sweden’s 11-0 shellacking of Austria, finishing the game with two shots and a +4 rating.

Oliver Kapanen

Kapanen quickly turned the page on Finland’s surprising 3-2 overtime loss to Switzerland in the opening game of the 2023 World Junior Championship.

Finland’s captain scored a fantastic goal off an individual effort to give Finland a two-goal lead against Slovakia on Wednesday morning and was consequently named the player of the game for his country.

Much like Engstrom, Kapanen has faced a very stiff level of competition this season by playing in a professional league, and though he leads all U-20 in scoring, the World Junior Championship is the perfect opportunity for him to spread his wings against similarly aged opponents.

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