Sami Kapanen: this is the situation of the injured Patrik Bartosak

Injuries have plagued the Pelicans during the preseason. The worst blow was when the Lahti team’s star goalie Patrik Bartosak got injured.

At the league’s media event on Tuesday, SuomiKiekko asked Pelicans head coach Sami Kapanen about Bartosak’s situation.

– He didn’t play the last game, and he won’t play today. We’ll see the situation day by day, or week by week, Kapanen says.

Kapanen does not rule out the possibility that Bartosak could recover in time for the Pelicans’ season opener on September 4.

– We’ll see. With him, anything is possible.

Also on the injured list all summer has been veteran defenseman Mikko Kousa. His injury was known back in the spring. Throughout the summer, his rehabilitation has progressed well on schedule, but he still has sick leave ahead in any case.

– The progress has been quite good. He probably won’t be available for the season opener, but we’ll see what the final return date is, Kapanen says, estimating that Kousa could be fit to play by September.

Swedish defenseman Carl-Johan Lerby has also suffered an injury during the preseason. According to Kapanen, Lerby may play in the last preseason game against KooKoo, and it’s not a long-term issue for him.

Last season, Patrik Bartosak helped the Pelicans reach the quarterfinals. Photo: All Over Press

A significant boost in firepower for the offense

Last season, the Pelicans found success with their defensive style of play and strong goaltending. The weakness was the lack of offensive firepower, which has been addressed for this season.

One of the Pelicans’ new acquisitions is center Oleksii Myklukha, 23, who holds passports from Slovakia and Ukraine. Last season, he recorded impressive stats of 17+38=55 in 51 games in the Slovakian top league.

– Oleksii Myklukha is a very clever, crafty, and well-moving smaller center. Of course, we will work with him on overall play, but he has the ability to create plays and is very good with the puck. We can expect a lot of good things from him during the season, Kapanen describes the new signing.

Liam Hawel, 27, arrived at the Pelicans from Kalmar HC in HockeyAllsvenskan. The Canadian winger scored 13+32=45 in 51 games last season.

– Hawel is a big player, but he plays skillful hockey. He reads the game very well, is good with the puck, perhaps more of a playmaker than a goal scorer. What has positively surprised me is his skating power. When looking at his test results regarding maximum skating speed, his legs move well for a larger player. We will need to be a little patient with him since he has had some minor issues. We haven’t been able to fully test and measure where he stands yet, Kapanen explains.

Gabriel Fortier, 26, transferred to Lahti from SHL team Leksands, where he scored 6+10=16 in 44 games. Previously, he has recorded decent stats in the AHL and played a few NHL games with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

– A traditional craftsman. Really good movement, quick, straight-line speed is very good, plays towards the goal, is hardworking, competitive, and has good overall play. He has shown in the preseason games that he can also produce numerical results, and through this, we have quite high expectations for him, Kapanen says.

In the Lahti hockey circles, expectations for Fortier are high, but elsewhere in Finland, the Canadian forward has not received the same attention and hype.

– Yes, he will be a good all-around player for us in the top six, who can create loose pucks with his speed and work ethic. He can also hold onto the puck. What is positive for me is that he has shown he has puck patience and can create plays and finish on the power play. Scoring ability is something we wanted to increase from last year. He has shown that he can score from around the net as well. That has been a very positive signal for us, Kapanen says.

– And I don’t care what others think about him. What matters to us is what we see and whether he can meet our expectations.