San Jose Sharks prospect Kasper Halttunen is rewriting the Ontario Hockey League’s playoff record book for import players as he and the London Knights set their sights on a Memorial Cup championship.
After recording hat tricks in two consecutive games for London, Halttunen entered Wednesday with an OHL-best 15 playoff goals, setting a new league record for players born outside of Canada or the United States.
The Helsinki-born Halttunen, a 6-foot-3 and 215-pound winger with an NHL-ready shot, was drafted in the second round, 36th overall, by the Sharks last year.
The old record was 13, shared by five players, including St. Louis Blues forward Alexei Toropchenko. In 2019, the Russian had 13 goals and six assists in 24 playoff games for the Guelph Storm.
In his best postseason game, Halttunen had three goals and an assist for London in its 7-6 double-overtime comeback win over the Oshawa Generals on Monday in Game 3 of the OHL championship.
The Knights trailed Oshawa 6-2 after 40 minutes but scored four goals in the third period before defenseman Henry Brzustewicz scored two minutes into the second overtime. Halttunen picked up the secondary assist on the winner and also scored goals 1:51 apart during the third-period comeback.
INSTANT CLASSIC pic.twitter.com/aWrqFhYkRd
— London Knights (@LondonKnights) May 14, 2024
Halttunen also had a hat trick in London’s 9-1 win over Oshawa in Game 2 of the league championship series and has 23 points in 17 playoff games. Game 4 of the series is Wednesday night, with London looking for the series sweep.
The OHL champion advances to play in the Memorial Cup, which also features the champions from the WHL, QMJHL, and the host city. This year, the tournament is being held in Saginaw, Michigan.
Rather than return to Finland for his first post-draft year, Halttunen, who signed an entry-level contract with the Sharks last July, decided to join London, which selected him 41st overall in the 2022 CHL Import Draft.
In his first full year on a smaller ice surface in North America, Halttunen had 61 points in 57 regular-season games for the Knights.
“He’s got a skill set. The hands are big time and his shot, it’s scary how easy he makes some of those goals look,” Chris Morehouse, the Sharks’ director of amateur scouting, said just before Christmas. “His shot is very, very dangerous.”
Halttunen’s lethal shot was obvious during his short stint during the Sharks’ training camp last fall. But it was clear that he needed to work on his skating and become more familiar with the quicker pace of the North American game.
While hardly a finished product, moving overseas appears to have been the right move for Halttunen, especially considering his and London’s postseason success.
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“This was an 18-year-old kid that’s lived at home, playing men’s league, and all of a sudden decided, ‘I’m going to move across the world to go to London and play in Major Junior,’ because he wants to be a hockey player and he thinks it’s the best thing for his development,” Morehouse said.
“There’s obviously tons of things that still at 18 years old that he’ll get as he matures and grows. But he’s taken all the right steps to get to this point, and we’re really excited about him.”
ELSEWHERE: Defenseman Luca Cagnoni, the other Sharks draft pick still competing in the CHL playoffs, has had a remarkable season, although it might soon be ending.
Cagnoni, 19, and his Portland Winterhawks are down 3-0 in their best-of-seven series against the Moose Jaw Warriors in the Western Hockey League championship. Moose Jaw won the first two games of the series in Portland, then won Game 3 in overtime at home on Tuesday.
Cagnoni, taken by the Sharks in the fourth round, 123rd overall, in last year’s draft, has 12 points in 12 playoff games for Portland. Game 4 is Wednesday night.
Cagnoni, listed at 5-9 and 180 pounds, finished the regular season with 90 points in 65 games, becoming the first WHL defenseman in over 30 years to record 90 points in a season. Shane Peacock had 102 points in 65 games with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 1992-93.
“Yes, he’s small. He’ll have his challenges,” Morehouse said of Cagnoni. “But in terms of hockey IQ and being able to think the game in at a really high level offensively, there’s lots to like there.”
