MONTREAL — Josh Morrissey of the Winnipeg Jets is one of the best defencemen in the world. He finished fourth in Norris Trophy voting last season, seventh the year before that.

When Alexandre Texier got the puck in the neutral zone with about six minutes left in the second period of a game the Montreal Canadiens were trailing 2-1 and eventually won 3-2 in a shootout Wednesday night, he rimmed it around the boards with enough pace to make it to Morrissey’s side of the ice.

It was also Ivan Demidov’s side of the ice. A rookie against a Norris-calibre defenceman.

Oliver Kapanen watched this situation unfolding, and his initial instinct was the correct one. But so was his second instinct.

“Demi might not be the biggest and most physical guy, but he’s smart out there and he wins those battles,” Kapanen said. “I was kind of prepared to play some third guy (high) defence, but I saw him with the puck so I jumped to the middle and I kind of knew the pass was coming there anyways.”

Just watch Demidov handle this forecheck against the great Morrissey, how he uses his body to shield the puck, how his head is up as soon as he secures possession of the puck before delivering a pass that would tie the game.

91 🎯 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/WZIH7kUEE9

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 4, 2025

Those are two NHL rookies combining on that goal. But they are also two players with professional experience, one season of it for Demidov in the KHL, but four seasons of it for Kapanen in Finland and Sweden and Montreal and Laval.

Kapanen is not a typical NHL rookie. And he’s not playing like one.

Last season, when Kapanen returned from his top-line centre role for Sweden’s Timrå IK under then-coach Olli Jokinen, Alex Newhook was asked about playing with him. Newhook immediately noted how easy it is, because Kapanen is always in the right spot and has a very predictable game, which, at the NHL level, is the biggest compliment you can get from a teammate.

And whenever Martin St. Louis is asked about Kapanen, the Canadiens coach constantly refers to the 22-year-old’s high-end computer, which is the biggest compliment he can give.

Demidov’s talent is obvious. It pops, just as it did on that goal with that forecheck, that body positioning, that vision. Kapanen’s talent is less obvious: it pops less and is more subtle.

Elite positioning can be harder to see, but it is immensely important. That Kapanen had it in his mind he would be the third forward high on that dump in shows how well he understands positioning, as was the fact he recognized the likelihood that Demidov would secure that puck against one of the best defencemen in the world and went into aggression mode as opposed to conservative mode.

Kapanen understands the game, and perhaps it is time for people watching him to recognize the extent to which he understands it. His teammates certainly do.

“I think he’s just got really good self-awareness,” said Jake Evans, who is perhaps the best reference for appreciating NHL positioning. “And he’s driven, he wants to get those extra minutes, get those extra starts, whether it’s O-zone or D-zone, he wants that. When you’re smart and you’re driven, it’s pretty easy to get going.”

Get those extra minutes? Kapanen got the most ice time of any Canadiens forward against the Jets, playing a career-high 20:07, one second more than Nick Suzuki.

Il a égalisé la marque
Il a gagné le joueur du match

Game: Tied it
Player of the Game: Won it#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ODopZq0HEg

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 4, 2025

Kapanen and Demidov had been playing with Juraj Slafkovský for seven games. But St. Louis put Slafkovský back on the top line with Suzuki and Cole Caufield for this game because the Jets have a similarly top-heavy attack with Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabe Villardi driving their offence. The two top lines in this game needed to play to a draw, but the Jets’ top line won its matchup at five-on-five, 2-0.

Therefore, the Canadiens needed to win the other matchups, and the Kapanen-Demidov combination allowed them to do that. Demidov’s ability to do it is obvious, but we have reached a point where Kapanen’s value also needs to be acknowledged.

The overwhelming narrative around the Canadiens’ future has been entirely focused on the need for a second line centre.

Kapanen might not be ideally suited for that role, but he probably has more potential to eventually fill it than most people recognize. He has lots of professional hockey experience for a player his age. He has a two-way game that is admirable for someone with Calder Trophy eligibility. He understands the game at a high level.

On the next shift after Kapanen converted Demidov’s elite feed to tie the game, Demidov flipped the puck into the Jets end from the neutral zone. Morrissey was once again the tasked with collecting that puck, and Demidov once again won it. As the Canadiens worked around the offensive zone, Demidov eventually wound up with the puck on the left side of the ice and as soon as he got it, Kapanen cut toward the back post.

Demidov made the read and zinged a pass toward Kapanen that bounced off his stick instead of bouncing into the net. It was Morrissey who got a piece of the puck and prevented it from being the go-ahead goal.

“I was ready for that, but then the D-man got a little piece of the puck and it kind of stopped the speed,” Kapanen said. “I was preparing for the hard pass, but then it changed direction and speed a little bit, so it was hard to handle.”

This Kapanen-Demidov combination might seem temporary. But while people are salivating over Demidov’s potential and Lane Hutson’s potential and Slafkovský’s potential, there might not be enough saliva generated over Kapenen’s potential.