Player Discussion Kaapo Kakko: Part IV

[Rempe73]

Yes but what he means is that it was a prediction similar to saying "Soon the weather will improve" when spring is around the corner

My point was that I saw Kakko playing well, and I knew the production was coming. It was in response to people who were giving Kakko shit about his lack of assists, even though he was playing well. Who gives a shit if it was obvious? It wasn’t obvious to some people.

 

[gump116]

He looks really good both at 5-5 and on the pp. Would love to see him in Stromes spot on pp1 or at 3-3 with Strome or Chytil

 

[bl02]

He looks really good both at 5-5 and on the pp. Would love to see him in Stromes spot on pp1 or at 3-3 with Strome or Chytil

Should happen but never will Just like AL never getting a sniff of relevant pp time this year. One can only pray that changes next year.

 

[Scott r]

He's not even on a hot streak (like Blackwell or Kreider earlier), it's just basic, solid play that gets results. Also it's really good production given the low minutes he gets.

Thats good to see...I guess tuencoach wasn't them problem like people on this board said then

 

[True Blue]

Should happen but never will Just like AL never getting a sniff of relevant pp time this year. One can only pray that changes next year.

Just like Kakko will never play more than limited minutes, right?

 

[bl02]

Just like Kakko will never play more than limited minutes, right?

So is he gonna get to see pp1 time over Strome? or some overtime opportunities after being good game after game after game? Cause that was what I was commenting on.
And averaged 12 min over the weekend series vs Islander so yes would like to see him get more minutes especially since the "first" line has been playing like garbage.
I will give the coach credit for putting Kravtsov on the Zibby line. Let's see if he sticks with that for tuesday night.

 

[OrlandK]

Kakko has 6 assists playing 1/2 the season with Bread and Strome. Incredible - Tanner Glass would have at least that many assists playing with them. Time to stop making excuses and admit the obvious - this guy is an anchor on any offensive line he is playing with. Kratsov is going to be so much better. Kakko looks like his realistic ceiling is as a 3rd liner. If anything Quinn has given him too much rope and top 6 time. Where is the accountability for crappy unproductive play.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Kakko has 6 assists playing 1/2 the season with Bread and Strome. Incredible - Tanner Glass would have at least that many assists playing with them. Time to stop making excuses and admit the obvious - this guy is an anchor on any offensive line he is playing with. Kratsov is going to be so much better. Kakko looks like his realistic ceiling is as a 3rd liner. If anything Quinn has given him too much rope and top 6 time. Where is the accountability for crappy unproductive play.

Interesting that you didn't post this when he had 8 points in his last 11 games, but decided to wait for him to go 2 games without a point

 

[Kaapo Bustfreniere]

Kakko has 6 assists playing 1/2 the season with Bread and Strome. Incredible - Tanner Glass would have at least that many assists playing with them. Time to stop making excuses and admit the obvious - this guy is an anchor on any offensive line he is playing with. Kratsov is going to be so much better. Kakko looks like his realistic ceiling is as a 3rd liner. If anything Quinn has given him too much rope and top 6 time. Where is the accountability for crappy unproductive play.

And the Mike Milbury award for the most horrible take of the year goes to...

 

[OrlandK]

Interesting that you didn't post this when he had 8 points in his last 11 games, but decided to wait for him to go 2 games without a point

Steven - he has 12 points in 36 games. And some of his recent points you reference are gimmees playing with Bread/Strome. So who is really cherry picking here - you or me?

 

[OrlandK]

And the Mike Milbury award for the most horrible take of the year goes to...

Let me guess - you were a big Lias Andersson guy also.

 

[Overcast]

Steven - he has 12 points in 36 games. And some of his recent points you reference are gimmees playing with Bread/Strome. So who is really cherry picking here - you or me?

So you're saying the points he's getting don't count because you don't want them to, got it.

He's still a kid and growing in to the game. He's younger than anyone on the team not named Lafreniere and has started to play like a bull in a china shop this season. Not sure why or how you would be down on the kid.

 

[haveandare]

Kakko has 6 assists playing 1/2 the season with Bread and Strome. Incredible - Tanner Glass would have at least that many assists playing with them. Time to stop making excuses and admit the obvious - this guy is an anchor on any offensive line he is playing with. Kratsov is going to be so much better. Kakko looks like his realistic ceiling is as a 3rd liner. If anything Quinn has given him too much rope and top 6 time. Where is the accountability for crappy unproductive play.

The game isn’t all about points especially for a young player who is contributing off the sheet.

He makes things happen in encouraging ways and is notably better. Yeah, he’ll need to convert that to points more often but this is some dramatic underselling of what he’s done

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

He's very young. Theres a lot of times like last night where he is getting to the net and needs to get a high quality shot off but he holds onto the puck or tries to pass. He'll understand how to get a quick shot off as he develops further. I'm not too concerned about Kakko.

 

[OrlandK]

When I looked at his impressive plays with Liiga and the Finland national team they always seemed to be one on one moves that will be difficult to replicate in the NHL. He never seemed to set up his line-mates. I see the exact same issue since he has been with the Rangers. The first season he was arguably the worst player in the entire league! This year his advanced stats are much better and he looks much better but he still doesn't make anyone he plays with better. I suspect his likely ceiling is 20 goals and less than 20 assists. If he doesn't score even 40 points eventually he will be a huge disappointment.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Lol, it took two games of being pointless to get back to this? Unbelievable.

 

[OrlandK]

Every highly touted prospect is amazing. And if they don't perform well it is due to lack of playing time, poor choice of line-mates to maximize development, bad coaching, etc. etc. And god forbid if one makes an observation that if a prospect's dreadful play is dreadful - all hell breaks loose. What a weak fan base.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

This is Chosen level analysis.

Yeesh.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

I definitely think his game has dropped off a bit lately since being moved back to the kid line, points aside. Part of it is that line just being ineffective and getting stuck in their own zone too often, which is obviously not all on Kakko.

He is not getting much PP time and his 5v5 production has been lackluster despite getting the 4th most TOI among forwards 5v5. He is shooting <7% on the season, among the lowest of regular forwards (DiGi, Gauthier, Howden and Kravtsov are lower but all played less TOI than Kakko). As we all know, he needs to work on his shot. He also is only 7th among forwards in rush attempts / 60...this could be a product of his footspeed plus his linemates plus his usage (starts a lot of shifts in the o zone).

On the positive side, he has been good at winning the puck back when he doesn't have it (2nd at takeways / 60) and not giving it away when he does have it (3rd at giveaways / 60). He is also doing a really good job creating chances - 3rd in individual shot attempts / 60, 4th in individual scoring chances / 60, and 4th in individual high danger chances /60. This combines to give him the 3rd best individual expected goals / 60 on the team.

Hopefully another offseason can help him continue to work on his weaknesses. But to be honest I also question where his confidence is at. It is obvious how much time in the KHL being an key player for his team helped Kravtsov develop. I do wonder if Kakko is best served figuring these things out at the NHL level, but that ship has kind of sailed for the NYR.

Edit - At the end of the day he already looks like a player you are gonna want in your hockey team for a very long time. That can be relied on in key situations and fill a role on a contender. The question will be if he will ever score enough to become the star we all hope he can be.

 

[Kaapo Bustfreniere]

Let me guess - you were a big Lias Andersson guy also.

Wrong, but nice try. I am big Chytil guy though.

Anyway, you are either a great hockey genius or your take is just hot garbage. It has to be one or the other. Either way, I would guess that you are pretty much alone in your assessment of Kakko's ceiling as a 3rd liner.

Btw, the jersey number is 24, not 21. Just to make sure. Because I really think we have been watching a different Kakko recently, you and I.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Every highly touted prospect is amazing. And if they don't perform well it is due to lack of playing time, poor choice of line-mates to maximize development, bad coaching, etc. etc. And god forbid if one makes an observation that if a prospect's dreadful play is dreadful - all hell breaks loose. What a weak fan base.

Maybe because you're insanely biased and are looking at everything through a negative lens? You're judging him by his lack of production but when someone brings up recent production you ignore that. Heads I win, tails you lose.

 

[Rongomania]

He looks great, .3 P/PG aside - we have to remember Krav is like a year older than him.

It is beyond aggravating watching this kid come flying off the bench for the last 20-40 seconds of a PP.

Next year Kakko, kid is gonna tear the roof off. The entire objective of us as a fan base is 'waiting'. It's excruciating at times but when you step away, and really think about where we are currently as a team, we should all be extremely impressed with the progression here - against so many odds nightly.

 

[TheDirtyH]

When I looked at his impressive plays with Liiga and the Finland national team they always seemed to be one on one moves that will be difficult to replicate in the NHL. He never seemed to set up his line-mates. I see the exact same issue since he has been with the Rangers. The first season he was arguably the worst player in the entire league! This year his advanced stats are much better and he looks much better but he still doesn't make anyone he plays with better. I suspect his likely ceiling is 20 goals and less than 20 assists. If he doesn't score even 40 points eventually he will be a huge disappointment.

Watches highlight collection and is surprised to see only highlights...

 

[Harbour Dog]

I definitely think his game has dropped off a bit lately since being moved back to the kid line, points aside. Part of it is that line just being ineffective and getting stuck in their own zone too often, which is obviously not all on Kakko.

He is not getting much PP time and his 5v5 production has been lackluster despite getting the 4th most TOI among forwards 5v5. He is shooting <7% on the season, among the lowest of regular forwards (DiGi, Gauthier, Howden and Kravtsov are lower but all played less TOI than Kakko). As we all know, he needs to work on his shot. He also is only 7th among forwards in rush attempts / 60...this could be a product of his footspeed plus his linemates plus his usage (starts a lot of shifts in the o zone).

On the positive side, he has been good at winning the puck back when he doesn't have it (2nd at takeways / 60) and not giving it away when he does have it (3rd at giveaways / 60). He is also doing a really good job creating chances - 3rd in individual shot attempts / 60, 4th in individual scoring chances / 60, and 4th in individual high danger chances /60. This combines to give him the 3rd best individual expected goals / 60 on the team.

Hopefully another offseason can help him continue to work on his weaknesses. But to be honest I also question where his confidence is at. It is obvious how much time in the KHL being an key player for his team helped Kravtsov develop. I do wonder if Kakko is best served figuring these things out at the NHL level, but that ship has kind of sailed for the NYR.

Edit - At the end of the day he already looks like a player you are gonna want in your hockey team for a very long time. That can be relied on in key situations and fill a role on a contender. The question will be if he will ever score enough to become the star we all hope he can be.

The Kid Line has definitely been lacking these last couple of games. Honestly though, I think that Kakko and Lafreniere's confidence are both higher than they have been at any other point. They aren't afraid to drive, or to shoot, or to look for a risky pass; but they're also drawing guys down low and then getting it to the points with space.

I see three kids in Lafreniere-Chytil-Kakko who are having some trouble getting chemistry together. All three want to carry the puck into the zone, and they are actually pretty good at cycling and hounding the puck carrier. But it doesn't feel like they read well enough off each other offensively to create dangerous chances with their passing.

Any reservations about Kakko's scoring shouldn't be that he will only be a 20-20 guy. That would be wacky. He'd basically have to plateau now, as a young 20-year old in his second NHL season. He's going to be dropping 60 points in his sleep. Wondering whether he is able to get to 70+ points feels more reasonable to me. Which, if he is only putting up 60, but playing Selke-level defense... that's still pretty good.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Good post @Harbour Dog