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Player Discussion Kaapo Kakko: Part III

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Inferno said:
You're definitely not the only one who wanted Hughes over kakko
Both @Edge and myself were pretty heavy on the Hughes over kakko train. I really like the glimpses I'm getting from kakko. He's been about as meh as Hughes has been this year.. but I'd still take Hughes 10x out of 10
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Yeah, I love Kakko, but nothing has me feeling any different about Hughes being the guy I would’ve taken first overall.
 
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The Crypto Guy said:
Are they? I keep hearing this narrative but 10 of the top 18 scorers are centers. 4 are Left Wingers, and 4 are Right Wingers.

High end players tent to play the center position maybe a bit more but I don't think they are a rare breed compared to a high end winger.
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They are not. I did all his research over the summer with regards to Panarin. Top wings are much more scarce than top centers.
 
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Edge said:
Yeah, I love Kakko, but nothing has me feeling any different about Hughes being the guy I would’ve taken first overall.
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As long as Edge loves Kakko, I'll remain optimistic. :laugh:

It seems like if he was just a tiny bit heavier or his skating a tiny bit improved, he'd be a different player.
 
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Yeah, there is a reason Hughes was 1st pick and Kakko 2nd. That doesn't mean Kakko is bad.
Wouldn't Rangers have picked Hughes if they had first pick?, and Devils picked Kakko?
I believe in Kakko. Just have some patience, he will definitely improve a lot!
 
aufheben said:
As long as Edge loves Kakko, I'll remain optimistic. :laugh:

It seems like if he was just a tiny bit heavier or his skating a tiny bit improved, he'd be a different player.
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I think doing anything in the NHL is somewhat difficult at 18, as we’ve from all three of the top picks in last year’s draft. And with the urge to push kids right into the lineup, it’s even easier to forget how many NHL stars weren’t lighting the world on fire at the same stage, assuming they were even in the NHL
 
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As I've said I dunno...100 times so why not the 101st time, give Kakko a full off season intense training regimen which the Rangers will undoubtedly put together for him, where he can work on his skating, strength training and his stamina issues he's obviously had this year as he looks gassed pretty much 30 seconds into his every shift and we should have no doubt he comes into training camp next September a much more confident Kakko which will translate to a much improved and productive Kakko in the 20-21 season.

It's pretty obvious,, at least to me it has been, what's been holding him back, besides the fact he's just an 18 year old pimple faced kid, as he's shown snippets of it here and there this season that the kid has some serious skills and is enormously talented and will very likely be a star down the road.

We just need, as has been said a bunch of times, a bit more patience with him and he'll eventually become the special player we all expect him to be.
 
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aufheben said:
As long as Edge loves Kakko, I'll remain optimistic. :laugh:

It seems like if he was just a tiny bit heavier or his skating a tiny bit improved, he'd be a different player.
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Kakko with "man strength" will (should) be an absolute terror from the faceoff dots below. I just don't think that'll be until he's 22 or 23. Patience.
 
Crease said:
If anyone is worried about Kakko just remind them that the two elite forwards on the Rangers did nothing of note in the NHL until age 24.
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Kevin Fiala is just breaking out now. He was drafted 6 years ago. It took 6 years for Claude Giroux to become elite. 7-8 years for Zibanejad. Kakko is/was a higher tier prospect than all of them so hopefully he breaks out sooner but people need to realize guys dominating as teenagers is still pretty rare.
 
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I’ve had an issue with Rautalas training method, he’s been praised here in Finland but not really based on merit anymore.

Rantanen and Laine are his 2 clients who remind of Kakko, they just happened to be the 2 most skilled Finnish prospects for years.

I’d want these guys to train with someone who prefers more versatile on ice off ice training, not just off ice training.

Every start of season, ignoring this one Laine has had skating issues, skating has looked heavy, slow, it’s affected his confidence. Take out the shot and he wasn’t a special player by any means.
Rants took few years post draft to really get going.

Kakko doesn’t have the strenght yet to play his Liiga game in the NHL and he’s training under Rautala as well which is immediately a concern to me in regards to his skating improvements.

Also if you take a look around, Pasta, Nylander, Barkov and conpany +3 season is the one to eatch out
 
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LionsHeart said:
This sounds silly, but I like the play he made on the Zibanejad goal. It’s those small plays that make a difference. Takes the puck, skates it in, takes the shot, and it helps setup a goal.
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Samsonov's erraticness in goal certainly didn't hurt. I think they said he's allowed 3 or more goals in 10 straight games... How was he even in the discussion with Shesterkin...

Also, I'd still take Kakko over Hughes. Think he fits in better in our system and he'll probably be a much harder player to disrupt in the postseason once he's a big boy
 
I will say though that he's definitely underwhelmed given my expectations, but not the end of the world. Luckily Panarin and Zib's monster seasons have kind spared him from too much criticism
 
KirkAlbuquerque said:
Kevin Fiala is just breaking out now. He was drafted 6 years ago. It took 6 years for Claude Giroux to become elite. 7-8 years for Zibanejad. Kakko is/was a higher tier prospect than all of them so hopefully he breaks out sooner but people need to realize guys dominating as teenagers is still pretty rare.
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Exactly. The only teenagers in the last 15 years I can think of: Crosby, Ovechkin, McDavid.

So he is not on the same trajectory as them right now. Is that really a problem?
 
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BB88 said:
I’ve had an issue with Rautalas training method, he’s been praised here in Finland but not really based on merit anymore.

Rantanen and Laine are his 2 clients who remind of Kakko, they just happened to be the 2 most skilled Finnish prospects for years.

I’d want these guys to train with someone who prefers more versatile on ice off ice training, not just off ice training.

Every start of season, ignoring this one Laine has had skating issues, skating has looked heavy, slow, it’s affected his confidence. Take out the shot and he wasn’t a special player by any means.
Rants took few years post draft to really get going.

Kakko doesn’t have the strenght yet to play his Liiga game in the NHL and he’s training under Rautala as well which is immediately a concern to me in regards to his skating improvements.

Also if you take a look around, Pasta, Nylander, Barkov and conpany +3 season is the one to eatch out
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Rautala does not train skating...
You must have missed Laines and Rantanen first seasons.
They are flying now.
 
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ThirdEye said:
I will say though that he's definitely underwhelmed given my expectations, but not the end of the world. Luckily Panarin and Zib's monster seasons have kind spared him from too much criticism
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This was one of the reasons (not the main mind you) why the Rangers signed Panarin. JD talked about it. How Panarin (Zib, Kreids too) could help insulate Kappo, Chytil, etc. from the criticism and pressure of playing in NYC with such high expectations. In the end, it has done exactly just that.
 
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