Player Discussion Kaapo Kakko

[NickyFotiu]

Laf needs to shoot more, no doubt. Something like that would be a good goal for him. Kakko has gotten tons of chances, just like Buch did before he broke out. But yes, goals are always important no matter how big or small.

I think part of the issue is they know if their shot gets blocked and goes the other way for a goal or chance against could result in having their minutes reduced. Other young top prospects on franchises with room to grow get steady top 6 time plus 1st unit PP work, regardless of their actions, which allows such a player to achieve said goals.

So its a chicken and an egg thing. Going back to your original post of if its on the player and having nothing to do with the coach. This isnt the perfect scenario for them to develop in regardless of who you want to blame.

I don't blame anyone. Sometimes things are just what they are. Did you ever see the movie Days Of Thunder? Harry the coach said "Tim, take a look at that hound over there. That's the best coon-dog I ever seen or heard about and I didn't have to teach him a damn thing." The Oilers NHL coaches didnt make McDavid. McDavid made McDavid. Ditto Hughes. Ditto Fox. KK has room to grow. The size and skill are there. I have seen sucky skaters score a goal every other game and great skaters score 3 goals a game. A lot of it is mindset. What is the most goals KK ever scored in a season before the NHL at any level? How about Hughes? KK can score more goals. He just needs to get there mentally. Remember Brandon Pirri? That guy probably did not have NHL level skills. There is very little that Brandon Pirri had on KK in terms of physical skills but when he got the puck he was a danger to score because that was his mindset.

You measure players at specific ages to get as clear a sense.
D-1 is an age not a level. He was playing against men in the LIIGA. He outscored barkov, and laine I believe.

I'm not sure you understand my point but how many levels did KK score more than a point a game?

 

[IDvsEGO]

I don't blame anyone. Sometimes things are just what they are. Did you ever see the movie Days Of Thunder? Harry the coach said "Tim, take a look at that hound over there. That's the best coon-dog I ever seen or heard about and I didn't have to teach him a damn thing." The Oilers NHL coaches didnt make McDavid. McDavid made McDavid. Ditto Hughes. Ditto Fox. KK has room to grow. The size and skill are there. I have seen sucky skaters score a goal every other game and great skaters score 3 goals a game. A lot of it is mindset. What is the most goals KK ever scored in a season before the NHL at any level? How about Hughes? KK can score more goals. He just needs to get there mentally. Remember Brandon Pirri? That guy probably did not have NHL level skills. There is very little that Brandon Pirri had on KK in terms of physical skills but when he got the puck he was a danger to score because that was his mindset.


I'm not sure you understand my point but how many levels did KK score more than a point a game?

Kaapo Kakko at eliteprospects.com

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Kaapo Kakko, 2001-02-13 Turku, FIN Finland. Most recently in the NHL with New York Rangers. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

Every single one until playing against men, and then he was .75 ppg

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I don't blame anyone. Sometimes things are just what they are. Did you ever see the movie Days Of Thunder? Harry the coach said "Tim, take a look at that hound over there. That's the best coon-dog I ever seen or heard about and I didn't have to teach him a damn thing." The Oilers NHL coaches didnt make McDavid. McDavid made McDavid. Ditto Hughes. Ditto Fox. KK has room to grow. The size and skill are there. I have seen sucky skaters score a goal every other game and great skaters score 3 goals a game. A lot of it is mindset. What is the most goals KK ever scored in a season before the NHL at any level? How about Hughes? KK can score more goals. He just needs to get there mentally. Remember Brandon Pirri? That guy probably did not have NHL level skills. There is very little that Brandon Pirri had on KK in terms of physical skills but when he got the puck he was a danger to score because that was his mindset.


I'm not sure you understand my point but how many levels did KK score more than a point a game?

All true. I've been saying it for pages that we've seen Kakko take leaps in almost every department. The first season he was absolutely atrocious defensively and the pace of the game was eating him alive. The next season he took a gigantic leap and was one of the best in the league in that regard. He went from completely shell shocked to Selke talk. He has it in him.

Last year before his injury and this year we've seen him gain a lot more confidence with the puck. He is doing more of the things that got him drafted 2nd overall. The moxy and swagger in his game is coming around. Could he improve his shot and skating? Sure. Finishing is one of the last things that will come around for him. He knows he has to get to higher danger areas and how to accomplish that. He is finding out how to get dirty goals in this league. So is Laf who is actually getting pretty good at it.

Its that mindset of creating his own chances and burying them like that dunk move he had a few games ago, the backhander that went through the goalies legs and out, the shots off the posts in the slot. He will get there. I have confidence.

As far as your last question, he always was around a point a game or more in his underage levels. A guy like Hughes was a more prolific scorer who was billed as an offensive dynamo, although Kakko did play in a mans league in his draft -1 unlike Hughes and was still around a point per game.

Kaapo Kakko at eliteprospects.com

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Kaapo Kakko, 2001-02-13 Turku, FIN Finland. Most recently in the NHL with New York Rangers. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

 

[McRanger92]

The Kakko and Laf player discussion threads are so off the rails lol. Ill take slower development that gets them there eventually + winning games to whatever it is that Ottawa, Anaheim, Devils (until their good 2 months to start the season) are doing

 

[ThirdEye]

I seem to remember Chytil having a lot Kakko's issues at his age, namely losing the puck a lot when carrying it with speed and not being able to finish to save his life. Those things are mostly a thing of the past for Chytil now and I suspect the same will be true of Kakko soon enough.

In general though, we need to have more reasonable expectations for a player that gets like 15 min of ice time at most a game and doesn't play on the PP. Given the conditions I don't think his production is that far of from other players in similar situations. I think he'll finish with 40 points which if it happens will be a win in my book

 

[IDvsEGO]

I seem to remember Chytil having a lot Kakko's issues at his age, namely losing the puck a lot when carrying it with speed and not being able to finish to save his life. Those things are mostly a thing of the past for Chytil now and I suspect the same will be true of Kakko soon enough.

In general though, we need to have more reasonable expectations for a player that gets like 15 min of ice time at most a game and doesn't play on the PP. Given the conditions I don't think his production is that far of from other players in similar situations. I think he'll finish with 40 points which if it happens will be a win in my book

Chytil was different because he always had speed, but was absolutely buried in minutes, but when he was on the ice consistently and had good wings was great.

 

[ThirdEye]

Chytil was different because he always had speed, but was absolutely buried in minutes, but when he was on the ice consistently and had good wings was great.

He had speed but was faltering in many other facets of the game. I remember him being nearly as frustrating to watch as either Kakko and Laf.

Fyi, below is where these three players rank in even strength points in the league amongst players in similar situations (<15.5 min played per game and <= 3 PP points on the season - which indicates little to no PP time):

8: Chytil
12: Lafreniere
33: Kakko

out of 393 players that qualify.

You can argue that they're in the situation that they are in because they have failed to impress the coach, but you can't argue that they aren't making the most of their situation.

 

[bhamill]

The Kakko and Laf player discussion threads are so off the rails lol. Ill take slower development that gets them there eventually + winning games to whatever it is that Ottawa, Anaheim, Devils (until their good 2 months to start the season) are doing

Yeah. That's a reasonable way to look at it.

 

[NickyFotiu]

KK has had some bad puck luck so I'm glad he got credit for the empty net goal. The funny thing is when watching the replay it actually looks to me like KK knocked the puck away from the empty net instead of towards it.

 

[Rongomania]

KK has had some bad puck luck so I'm glad he got credit for the empty net goal. The funny thing is when watching the replay it actually looks to me like KK knocked the puck away from the empty net instead of towards it.

He actually ran over an old gypsy woman last night and now he cannot stop losing weight.

When will it end!?

 

[NickyFotiu]

He actually ran over an old gypsy woman last night and now he cannot stop losing weight.

When will it end!?

Sometimes goals like last night show the start of a good luck streak. I hope so.

 

[dshea19]

24 & 13 are not the same players we drafted. Way too timid and too quick to move the puck to someone else, as if it was a hot potato. That screams lack of confidence. The Rangers kept throwing Miller out there, mistakes and all and it has paid off. Trouba made it a point to mentor him. Laf and Kakko have not had the same benefits. No mentors and quick hooks. The Rangers have created their own problem.
The Hughes comparison should only be in the sense of use. The Devils let him work through it with consistent playing. They paid the price up front and are reaping the benefits.
You can just see Laf and Kakko are so timid and indecisive at so many points. Their best plays have been when they didn’t have time to over think. Also, keep them away from Panarin. People force pucks to him when they play on his line. Goodrow has worked there because he has the resume to play his game without worrying about Panarin.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

3G/1A/4P in his last 5.

 

[Rongomania]

I think he's been fantastic this year all minutes considered. I think everyone knows if he played 2-4 PP mins per night we'd be talking about break out season as opposed to 'bad luck Kakko'.

Honestly this season reminds me of Tony's last season before he became a 50+ pt Dman. Some of us here could really see that he'd be that guy, others said "BUT WHERE POINTZ?"

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

He’s been less noticeable since being demoted to the kid line. He was playing amazing on the top line but was getting really unlucky. Should have just kept him there.

He actually ran over an old gypsy woman last night and now he cannot stop losing weight.

When will it end!?

Haha “thiinneeerr”

 

[SnowblindNYR]

So guys who is the better player now Kakko or Chytil? It's probably Chytil right now right? (Not taking a shot at Kakko here).

 

[NickyFotiu]

So guys who is the better player now Kakko or Chytil? It's probably Chytil right now right? (Not taking a shot at Kakko here).

Chytil is now looking to make things happen. He is showing more confidence than previous seasons. Playoff run probably helped him.

 

[Peltz]

So guys who is the better player now Kakko or Chytil? It's probably Chytil right now right? (Not taking a shot at Kakko here).

Chytil is more developed for sure. It feels like he makes things happen every game no matter his line mates. He's one of the top three forwards on the team.

Kakko has been playing some solid hockey, but doesn't look quite as dangerous as Chytil right now. I like both of their games to be honest. But Chytil is just bringing something extra right now.

Chytil played himself into the 2C spot over Trocheck. That's huge considering what the expectations for Trocheck were.

 

[Cuckoo4Kakko]

During the 7 game winning streak he’s got 4 goals and 2 assists. It’s not even that the luck is changing. He could have easily had a ton more. Give him more ice time please.

 

[JT Kreider]

The Kakko and Laf player discussion threads are so off the rails lol. Ill take slower development that gets them there eventually + winning games to whatever it is that Ottawa, Anaheim, Devils (until their good 2 months to start the season) are doing

You mean what the Oilers did with the first iteration of their (failed rebuild?)

 

[huerter]

During the 7 game winning streak he’s got 4 goals and 2 assists. It’s not even that the luck is changing. He could have easily had a ton more. Give him more ice time please.

Points schmoints (no sarcasm). Let the coach worry about ice time.

 

[Cuckoo4Kakko]

Points schmoints (no sarcasm). Let the coach worry about ice time.

In this game fine. But Kakko is better than 13 minutes. To go where we want to go, that number has to go up as the year progresses.

 

[RangersFan1994]

Already has 8 goals. 3 more and that would be a career year. I think he can score 20 this year if he continues his great play

 

[Rongomania]

(The song 'pump it up' by the better Elvis plays in the background).

*averaging 14ish mins of ice time.

Putting up points when the team has needed him to the most.

 

[huerter]

We needed him to score an ENG without touching the puck when already owning a 2 goal lead the most.