I May Be In The Minority . . . But I Believe That Kaapo Kakko Could Be Selected 1st Overall in 2019

[Hokinaittii]

Hard to say where the players are at when one is playing against teenagers and one is playing against men. What I can say is the gap between these two seems to be narrower than it was one year ago, mostly due to Kakko starting to show his capabilities of centering a line and Hughes not exploding offensively like some have expected.

New Years Eve can't come soon enough, it will be fun to see how the players look against each other in U20s.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

I wonder will it affect rankings, say Hughes has a disappointing WJC and Kakko has a great tournament.

 

[izzy]

I wonder will it affect rankings, say Hughes has a disappointing WJC and Kakko has a great tournament.

Probably no change, unless Kakko completely dominates in a way we never see

 

[BB88]

I wonder will it affect rankings, say Hughes has a disappointing WJC and Kakko has a great tournament.

With where the tourney is the odds for that are pretty damm low.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

With where the tourney is the odds for that are pretty damm low.

Ya, not expecting it even though 17 year olds don't often shine in this tournament. I believe last time it happened was Laine and Puljujarvi.

 

[BB88]

Ya, not expecting it even though 17 year olds don't often shine in this tournament. I believe last time it happened was Laine and Puljujarvi.

I'm not expecting it because the tourney is in Canada and Finns seem to get embarrassed in u20 tourneys in NA.

 

[Anardil]

The hashtag I've been seeing is #CooCooForKakko

I prefer #PlayLikeKaka4Kakko, personally.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

I prefer #Crap-o for Kakko

 

[teemussalami1]

And you should learn to analyze hockey better, watching hockey games isn't enough, one needs to actually understand hockey, a lot.
Compared to his last season, Hughes has not made any progress, where as others (Kakko and the rest) have made tons, many of the risers
look like completely different players this season.

I might not have seen Hughes games, but ive seen all of his highlight videos and comparing them to
last season ones, its exactly like the last season, same oll schtick over and over, that what he does now,
won't always work in the NHL, long run. If he isn't able to improve himself, add more dimension in his game...

Not that i believe he wont be a regular NHL:er, that would be a daft thing to claim,
but i don't claim that he is gonna be a elite/franchise player either, something like a 50-60 point player
(with current development...lack of it rather).

Going to end our discussion here.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

I appreciate the work put into the argument. I've wondered which level a prospect Hughes is alot lately. And whether he's going to slam dunk be a C in the NHL or move the wing & be the next Kane/Marner like player. I still have Hughes #1 but Kakko is an intriguing propsect, a clear #2.

I'm going to watch USA in pre-tournament against the Czechs on Saturday. Pretty excited to see the Hughes boys, I don't think I've seen Jack in a game, just highlights, nevermind live.

 

[Canucks1096]

If a center and a winger are close to even, the center is always the choice. This guy would really have to put himself on a tier above Hughes to go 1st

Kovelchuk over Spezza
Ovechkin over Malkin
Hall over Seguin

 

[Boxscore]

Kakko is not better than Hughes, let's be real.

 

[FinnishSniper]

Kakko is not better than Hughes, let's be real.

They’re for sure equal in my opinion, we’ll see how they do in the real games, I’m pretty confident Kakko will outscore him.

I also bet that you’ve watched a ton of Kakko to make a real opinion on the kid!

 

[Rabid Ranger]

They’re for sure equal in my opinion, we’ll see how they do in the real games, I’m pretty confident Kakko will outscore him.

I also bet that you’ve watched a ton of Kakko to make a real opinion on the kid!

Probably about as much as you've seen of Hughes.

 

[Seele]

Considering that Hughes is ranked higher than Kakko, do you think Hughes is also more likely to start his season in NHL next autumn?

 

[Hokinaittii]

Kakko is not better than Hughes, let's be real.

He looks pretty dominant out there though. We will see what's the situtation is at the end of June.

 

[FinnishSniper]

Probably about as much as you've seen of Hughes.

Yeah, for sure, but they really are on the same level, I bet you’ll notice that as well. I’ve watched a lot of shift-by-shift videos of Hughes and was impressed, but he isn’t the ”McDavid” that some have made him out to be.

 

[FinnishSniper]

Considering that Hughes is ranked higher than Kakko, do you think Hughes is also more likely to start his season in NHL next autumn?

Call me crazy, but I think Kakko is way more ready for the NHL for Hughes.

 

[Hokinaittii]

Call me crazy, but I think Kakko is way more ready for the NHL for Hughes.

Not crazy at all. Hughes is still getting pushed around in U20s so I would be surprised if he is able play efficiently next year in the NHL.

 

[thomast]

Kakko wasn’t impressive against Kazaks. I expect Hughes to absolutely destroy them tonight. +3 points incoming fellas.

 

[Hokinaittii]

Kakko wasn’t impressive against Kazaks. I expect Hughes to absolutely destroy them tonight. +3 points incoming fellas.

He was by far the best player on his line and I'm sure he had most scoring chances in the game but just couldn't find the back of the net more than once.

When you keep creating as much as Kakko does in the game, sooner or later the points will come. Scouts will remember that.

 

[FinnishSniper]

He was by far the best player on his line and I'm sure he had most scoring chances in the game but just couldn't find the back of the net more than once.

When you keep creating as much as Kakko does in the game, sooner or later the points will come. Scouts will remember that.

Yeah he was snake bitten, normally he would have scored at least 3 goals there and also Nyman has not been able to finish at all.

 

[FinnishSniper]

Kakko wasn’t impressive against Kazaks. I expect Hughes to absolutely destroy them tonight. +3 points incoming fellas.

Still one of the best players on the ice and created a ton of chances. This was Kakko’s off game and he was dominant, the scouts will see that.

 

[Absolut]

Kakko looks dominant. Hughes is an elite talent though. And Podkolzin is the dark horse. There is something Ovechkin-esque about him.

 

[Plub]

Kakko has been good, but not nearly impressive enough to suddenly put him ahead of Hughes who has only played one game and looked just fine in that one game. I certainly see the difference in the two. Kakko is very assertive and strong to the net, but Hughes hands and skating are ahead by a mile.