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Player Discussion Kaapo Kakko: Part II

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Despite his bad +/-, which a lot of people like to point out who don't watch the games - I think he's doing a lot of responsible things out there, which allows Quinn to move him up and around in the lineup.

You can tell he's really thinking the game through which can be detrimental but also necessary at this point in his development. Once he adapts to the speed, systems, competition level and gains some confidence I think we will see a different player. There is absolutely no issue with the kid's drive which is why Im confident we will see a lot of things we saw from him last season.

It's obvious he is adjusting. The conditioning will come around and his skating will improve. It is crazy to think when he's Fox's age he will have already played 3 seasons.
 
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CLW said:
Care to elaborate on what tests exactly?

Nobody is saying Kakko is not going to improve next year.

Nobody is saying Kakko is not in the 'process of adapting to the NHL.'
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Tests in training camp, now can you tell me why Kakko would be behind the pace in Liiga?

These "facts" that Kakko would be behind the pace in Liiga is bs for me.

And also talking about Jursinov's school of icehockey, cmon game has changed from those times.
 
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Kiekura said:
I agree. Kakko is on his best with puck. He has great hands and good shot. He dumps a lot and passes when he could shoot.

Biggest problems i see currently are his skating and that skating specially shows in 5vs5 and at the own end. He constantly loses battles on loose pucks and is late. That is also why i am not worried at all, because that is something he can improve pretty easily. It might take years but after that he will be threat and PPG player atleast.
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He does not have a great shot. His shot is horrible.
 
I love kakko..he's a helluva player..but his game is definitely not about his shot. It's about his vision and ability to create time and space for his linemates.
 
bondra said:
Tests in training camp, now can you tell me why Kakko would be behind the pace in Liiga?

These "facts" that Kakko would be behind the pace in Liiga is bs for me.

And also talking about Jursinov's school of icehockey, cmon game has changed from those times.
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I didn't say it was a fact. It was an observation based on Kakko not moving his feet as fast as last season and looking less agile on top. Any 18 yo who has spent an entire off season training hard should have better scores than before, that's a given. Just saying he has better scores does not mean much.

Yes, the game has changed since Jursinov's time. That's the point. Im not at all certain Rautala's training has evolved with the changes in the game based on seeing Kakko and Rantanen looking clumsy.
 
LeetchisGod said:
No one on this team has a good shot except for Zibby and Panarin.
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Trouba can tee it up sometimes. 98mph+

Speaking of which, with all of the advanced analytics going around in the NHL and in other sports im shocked that shot speeds arent registering up on the telecasts like pitch speeds in baseball. Apologize for the tangent, but its almost 2020.

They utilize some nice visual techs for the strike zone, pitch angles and speeds, exit velocities, homerun measurements, in the MLB, ball arcs and drive distances in golf, serve speeds and boundary calls down to the half inch in tennis... why arent we seeing these things in the NHL? Namely on goals being over the line or not. Gotta be the simplest of things to institute. Sorry. lol
 
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To the extent Kakko's shot or skating looks disappointing, remember that you're comparing him against NHL men. How's his shooting and skating compared to other 18 year olds across the world? There are just four 18 year old hockey players on the planet who were deemed good enough to play in the NHL this season and ours is the most productive. This kid is going to be outrageously good in all facets of the game in a few years as he naturally gets bigger, stronger, and faster. Maybe sooner.
 
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HockeyBasedNYC said:
Trouba can tee it up sometimes. 98mph+

Speaking of which, with all of the advanced analytics going around in the NHL and in other sports im shocked that shot speeds arent registering up on the telecasts like pitch speeds in baseball. Apologize for the tangent, but its almost 2020.

They utilize some nice visual techs for the strike zone, pitch angles and speeds, exit velocities, homerun measurements, in the MLB, ball arcs and drive distances in golf, serve speeds and boundary calls down to the half inch in tennis... why arent we seeing these things in the NHL? Namely on goals being over the line or not. Gotta be the simplest of things to institute. Sorry. lol
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While we’re at it, we should use conservation of momentum (ie factor in player mass) when determining who has the hardest shot in the NHL. I say they completely seriously.
 
Crease said:
To the extent Kakko's shot or skating looks disappointing, remember that you're comparing him against NHL men. How's his shooting and skating compared to other 18 year olds across the world? There are just four 18 year old hockey players on the planet who were deemed good enough to play in the NHL this season and ours is the most productive. This kid is going to be outrageously good in all facets of the game in a few years as he naturally gets bigger, stronger, and faster. Maybe sooner.
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This is a very good post.
 
Crease said:
To the extent Kakko's shot or skating looks disappointing, remember that you're comparing him against NHL men. How's his shooting and skating compared to other 18 year olds across the world? There are just four 18 year old hockey players on the planet who were deemed good enough to play in the NHL this season and ours is the most productive. This kid is going to be outrageously good in all facets of the game in a few years as he naturally gets bigger, stronger, and faster. Maybe sooner.
Click to expand...

Good post, but I would hope this goes without saying in regards to this discussion. I can't imagine anyone around here ISN'T excited to watch him grow into the potential player we all know he is capable of being. But as has already been pointed out, i'm not comparing him against NHL men when I criticize his shot/skating, i'm comparing him to himself in his previous Liiga season and WJC/WC play. IMO it stems from him overthinking the game and putting too much pressure on himself while struggling to adapt to the NHL flow (perfectly acceptable). He is a half step behind the pass habitually and even more often out of position/sync with his fellow forwards. He hasn't been doing a good job opening himself up for a pass and that is limiting his line-mates options when creating offense. For me it's not about age or an absence of skill. Hopefully DQ doesn't blender the lines anytime soon and gives him a chance to gel with his line mates. I'm not worried about him at all, and neither should anyone else be. It's only a matter of time before it clicks.

On the bright side, JH is far more familiar with the NA style game and still producing less :)
 
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Kords said:
Good post, but I would hope this goes without saying in regards to this discussion. I can't imagine anyone around here ISN'T excited to watch him grow into the potential player we all know he is capable of being. But as has already been pointed out, i'm not comparing him against NHL men when I criticize his shot/skating, i'm comparing him to himself in his previous Liiga season and WJC/WC play. IMO it stems from him overthinking the game and putting too much pressure on himself while struggling to adapt to the NHL flow (perfectly acceptable). He is a half step behind the pass habitually and even more often out of position/sync with his fellow forwards. He hasn't been doing a good job opening himself up for a pass and that is limiting his line-mates options when creating offense. For me it's not about age or an absence of skill. Hopefully DQ doesn't blender the lines anytime soon and gives him a chance to gel with his line mates. I'm not worried about him at all, and neither should anyone else be. It's only a matter of time before it clicks.

On the bright side, JH is far more familiar with the NA style game and still producing less :)
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Well, he’s also got a bit of the Andersson problem in that he played a LOT of hockey last year. Would love for him (and Kravtsov, and Chytil, and Andersson) to stay here and buckle down to focus on team-controlled training this summer.
 
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