Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Kasperi Kapanen discussed his July 1 trade from the Penguins with the Pittsburgh media on Sunday and admitted he was surprised by the move.
Kapanen was a part of the deal, which landed the Penguins Phil Kessel.
“I think it was a shock for everybody,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ahead of the Leafs’ prospects game against the Penguins. “I didn’t expect it.”
The 19-year-old was hanging out with friends in his native Finland when he got the news.
“I was just with my buddies, and I saw that my Twitter was exploding,” he said. ”I read some of the tweets and didn’t really think too much about it, but then my agent called me, so I thought something was going on.”
Originally the Penguins’ 2014 first-round selection (22nd overall) Kapanen joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League in April and appeared in four regular season games scoring a goal and an assist. He added three goals and two helpers in seven Calder Cup playoff games.
With the trade behind him, the 5-foot-10, 171-pound forward said he has no hard feelings towards the Penguins organization.
“I don’t hate them, or anything like that,“ he said. “Hopefully, I’ll just be a better player now. Their loss.”
Kapanen, a long shot to make the Leafs out of camp, will likely start the season in the AHL with the Marlies.