Kapanen Practices with Penguins

After Kasperi Kapanen's first practice with the Penguins wrapped up on Monday, he led the stretch at center ice before his new teammates gave him a chorus of stick taps. The 24-year-old winger was thrilled to finally join the team after a "stressful" process that kept him out of training camp and the first three games of the season.

First, immigration issues delayed him from traveling to Pittsburgh from Finland. Then, upon arriving, Kapanen had to undergo a mandatory seven-day quarantine process as part of the NHL's COVID-19 protocols. He was cleared to begin skating on Sunday before taking part in the team session today at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
"I'm just happy to be here," Kapanen said. "I'm happy to be with the guys and hang out and get a good skate in. I felt a little sluggish, but that's to be expected after quarantining and staying inside for a week. Taking everything into consideration, it went okay."

Kapanen skated on the right wing of a line with Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby, and practiced with the penalty kill during special teams work. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan agreed that Kapanen had a good skate despite the circumstances, and said he will be a game-time decision for Tuesday versus Washington.
"He's trying to jump on a moving train, so to speak, but I thought he did a pretty good job," Sullivan said. "His mobility and his skating are very evident. He has good size, he's strong on the puck. I'm sure with each day that he gets under his belt he's going to feel better physically. And he'll also be more familiar with how we're trying to play."
Kapanen, who was originally drafted by the Penguins in the first round (22nd overall) in 2014 before they sent him to Toronto as part of the Phil Kessel trade, spent the last five seasons with the Maple Leafs organization. After the Penguins acquired Kapanen back from Toronto on Aug. 25, he returned home to Finland for the offseason.
"And around October, they told me that I got to apply for my new visa," Kapanen said. "We sent it to the embassy and didn't see it until January. So that kind of sucked, but I got to thank everybody in the organization and everybody that tried to help me get it faster and do everything they can to get me here. It's unfortunate that I missed camp, but just happy to be here now."
After getting to Pittsburgh, Kapanen did his best to make the most of his situation while quarantining. In addition to getting lot of sleep as he recovered from his travel and got adjusted to the time change, Kapanen prepared as much as possible for a new season with his new team.
The Penguins brought Kapanen gym equipment so that he could still work out. He watched Pittsburgh's first three games closely, and had multiple conversations with the coaching staff over the phone and WebEx to learn some team concepts.
"I think it was big for me to talk with the coaches and go over some video and know the system and how we want to play," Kapanen said. "I just want to thank everybody that helped me through that. It's a tough situation, but I'm going to try and be the best I can."

After visualizing those concepts and then experiencing them on Monday, Kapanen feels confident that his style of play will be a good fit.
"I think just looking at the roster and how they've been playing, it's a fast pace," he said. "We have a fast team, which obviously suits me well. I'm going to try to bring my speed and physicality and get on those loose pucks and try to win those races against their D."
Those are the same qualities that could allow him to be successful on a line with Crosby and Guentzel.
"I think it always takes a bit of time whenever you come to a new team or even play with new players," Kapanen said. "But obviously it's a couple of very talented players. They know what they're doing. They've played together for a while now. I'm just going to try and fit in the best I can. I think once we get a couple games and practices in along with some video, I think we can be a really good line."
It's certainly going to be a challenge for Kapanen to jump on that moving train, as Sullivan phrased it. But he's just thrilled to finally play for the Penguins organization, saying he's grown and matured a lot in the years since, and is ready to get started.
"Looking at this team and how they've had three Cups over (13) years, every year you know that they're going to be a contender," Kapanen said. "People expect a lot out of us and so do the coaches, and I think that brings out the best in everybody on the team. Just got to be ready for that from Day 1 and especially whenever I get to play, I've got to be at my best. I've got to be on my A game. That's what I'm looking forward to."