When the Maple Leafs traded Phil Kessel and brought in Pittsburgh’s first pick, Scott Harrington and Kasperi Kapanen it showed management was set on big changes.

Kapanen has one single goal in 17 regular season games while wearing the blue and white, not exactly huge numbers but he was playing very limited ice time. Kasperi was used predominantly on the fourth line and killing penalties. When the Leafs were cruising along towards the end of the season it was hard for Babcock to change the lines. What the Leafs coach sees in the right handed winger is a very fast versatile player who is hungry to get his feet wet in the National Hockey League and makes his way up the lineup. He’s eager to prove his worth to not only his coach but his teammates and has certainly taken some forward steps after scoring two huge playoff goals in only six games. Of course that was with limited ice time which makes it all that much more impressive.

While playing for the Toronto Marlies in the 2016/17 season Kapanen got hurt which ultimately slowed down his progress and his point’s total. He still managed to ‘finish’ with 43 points in 43 games including eight points in nine playoff games. A solid improvement from his 2015/16 totals which was 25 points in 44 games.

Remember one thing about this Leafs team…two-way play is huge if you want to continue to play for Mike Babcock. Kapanen without a doubt vastly improved his two way play and his attention to detail is something that will help solidify him in the lineup on opening night. It wasn’t always something Kapanen was good at, but with a determined mind and quality coaching staff on the Toronto Marlies things have progressed for the 20 year old Fin.

With the experience Kapanen got towards the end of the season I would think it will be enough to pump his tires and get him eager to work hard this off season and land a spot on the third line to start the season. His speed and tenacity is very noticeable, he just needs to increase his confidence with the puck and keep scoring those clutch goals!

As a fan we should never expect Kasperi to be at a level that Kessel was (in terms of production), that’s not fair as he was only one of the three pieces in the blockbuster deal that was made by Brendan Shanahan.

You have to remember the Leafs also acquired Rychel and Andersen through other trades that were linked to the Kessel deal. Andersen alone was an absolutely monstrous score as he is a game changer for this young Leafs team. Rychel is still a work in progress and could go either way.

When the 2017/18 season begins the Leafs management team will have some decisions to make in terms of what to do with Kapanen, but I do feel he has the best chance out of all of the prospects to make an impact right out the gates. Kasperi will be 21 year of age and has ripened nicely, let’s hope for his sake he has a quality training camp and can be a big piece for the new-look Leafs.

Thanks for reading, have a great day.

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