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Hockey practice at the Toyota Sportsplex on Coal Street got an extra surge of energy to start the week.
Yes, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are coming off a 3-0 home shutout win on Saturday night against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. And yes, rookie goaltender Matt Murray recorded his record-breaking 11th shutout of the season, second all-time in AHL history, but practice was made extra special with the debut of the Penguins top prospect, right winger Kasperi Kapanen.
The 18-year-old Kapanen, who was the Penguins’ first-round draft pick in 2014, the 22nd pick overall, arrived in Wilkes-Barre after wrapping up his season in his native Finland after his team, KalPa, was eliminated from the postseason.
While playing for KalPa, Kapanen scored 11 goals and notched 21 points in his 41 games this season. Kapanen comes from a hockey tradition, he’s the son of former NHL forward Sami Kapanen. The older Kapanen played 12 seasons in the NHL for the Hartford Whalers, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Philadelphia Flyers.
“It’s just amazing, just being a young kid and being able to tell everyone that my dad is a professional hockey player either in Carolina or Philadelphia. It was a dream and I admire that, but once I grew older I wanted to be like him and I knew I had to work hard,” Kapanen said. “The dream is almost true and I’m getting closer. Just being able to play with him for a season or two was a dream come true for the both of us.”
In total, Sami Kapanen played in 831 regular season games in the NHL and recorded 189 goals, 269 assists and had 458 points during a career that saw him named to two all-star teams and score at least 20 goals or more in five consecutive seasons.
Those kind of stats can put added pressure on a son looking to make a name for himself.
“I just block it out and focus on playing my game,” Kapanen said.
Penguins head coach John Hynes has high hopes that the young Kapanen can contribute and get right into the action by making his much anticipated AHL debut this week, possibly Wednesday night against Lehigh Valley.
“We are not sure yet about Wednesday night, we will see how he does in practice tomorrow and make a decision from there,” Hynes said.
Hynes liked what he saw from his young prospect out on the ice Monday.
“It was good to see him out there even on a skills day, I think you get to see how a guy works and pushes himself,” Hynes said. “It was actually a really good day for him to get on the ice because he gets to work a lot on his shooting and stick handling which is important especially when he hasn’t been able to skate the last couple of days. It was a good day for him and tomorrow we will get him into a regular practice and go from there.”
As the team hits the crucial late-season playoff push with about two weeks to go in the regular season, Hynes believes Kapanen can be a nice addition to the squad.
“We would like him to be able to come in and play his game and really make an impact,” he said. “That’s what you really want this time of year, you want to have depth and competitiveness in your team. We want him to play to his identity and have a strong work ethic.”
Kapanen enjoyed his first experience out on the ice for the Penguins and was happy his hockey gear successfully made it to Wilkes-Barre.
“It got in here yesterday, and it felt good to be in my own skates,” he said. “I feel a little rusty, I got in here on Thursday and it’s been a while since I’ve been on the ice in full gear, but it felt pretty good today.”
With a father who played in the NHL for so long, it’s no surprise what Kapanen considers his strongest asset.
“I think skating is one of my best assets, playing with the puck and scoring,” Kapanen said. “I think those are the things that stick out for me.”
For now, the young prospect will have the same obstacles that all rookies face — getting in step with his new teammates while competing for ice time.
“Definitely, it’s a good team here, and I’m really excited to be playing here,” Kapanen said. “The guys in the locker room are so nice and they really took me in so well, it’s just easy to be here. I think we have a really good shot to go really far this year.”