Pittsburgh Penguins Select Finnish Winger

The Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t wait until their selection at 22 to make some noise at the draft. Before the 10th pick of the draft they pulled the trigger on a trade that sent James Neal to Nashville for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling. And when their turn came up with the 22nd pick they didn’t waste anytime in drafting the player they wanted. That player was right winger Kasperi Kapanen.

Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Kasperi Kapanen puts on a team sweater after being selected as the number twenty-two overall pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Kapanen was projected as the No. 1 European skater by NHL Central Scouting, Kapanen was rated the 10th-best prospect by The Hockey News. One of Kapanen strengths is his skating, but like most 17 year olds his defense needs some polishing.

While Kapanen will try to win a roster spot coming out of training camp, it is more likely that he will play another season in Finland working on his skills.

Kapanen surprised the Penguins falling to them at the 22nd position. “We had him No. 7 on our list,” Rutherford said.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Kapanen has starred internationally many times for Finland, scoring five goals at the 2013 World Under-18 Championships, including the game-winning marker in the bronze-medal game. At the 2013 World Under-17 Challenge, Kapanen led Finland in scoring with nine points (3G-6A).