Conspiracy Theorist
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- Jan 30, 2016
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I'd take him in even without EHT. No way there are 14 forwards better than him available.
RW Kaapo Kakko - TPS, Liiga (2019 Draft) Part 3
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FinPanda
Barkov Stanley cup champ!
I hope to see Kakko in the U18 WJC's. But I hope we will see him in the mens tournament too. I think he will participate to the U18 WJC's and then play in the EHT tournament just before the WHC's.
I think there is a decent chance he will be in the WHC team anyway even without the EHT. Many NHL guys are without a contract and it's not like we have many players better than Kakko in Europe.
^ well said above @Salmonsnake
I think there is a decent chance he will be in the WHC team anyway even without the EHT. Many NHL guys are without a contract and it's not like we have many players better than Kakko in Europe.
^ well said above @Salmonsnake
Last edited:
JoukoPouko
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Considering the players available from the NHL, the KHL and from KHL level Kärpät team (after they destroy whoever goes against them in the Liiga finals)... Kakko isn't a special player anymore. He's one of the guys fighting for a spot. A guy like Jussi Jokinen can get chosen without any games with the national team but that's about it.
The EHT tournament in May is a possibility but it would mean a ton of games for him in a short period of time. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he skipped the U18 Worlds.
You think Jussi Jokinen is a better player than Kakko? Kakko even got invited to the national team, but couldn't play due to injury. Well, whatever...
Kärpät winning the gold is by no means a certainty.
This is a possibility I already mentioned earlier: what if he just skipped the round-robin and joined the team for the playoffs? Yeah, I know, team cohesion and blah blah, but there's no question he'd be a major improvement even if he jumped in in the middle of the tournament.
as it stand right now in the nhl, and teams that might not make it to playoff is. Carolina (Aho, Teravainen) Montreal ( kotkaniemi, lehkonen, armia) Panthers ( barkov, borgstrom) colorado (rantanen) minnesota (koivu?) dallas (hintz).... so YEAH, I mean.. even if all of those players would say yes.. I still hold Kakko above some of them. Im pretty safe so say Kakkos probably the best fin in europe so yeah he should be in!
Even the conference semifinals might very well be over when the men's WHC begins, and in mid-May there will be no more than four teams continuing their seasons in the NHL. Anyone whose team doesn't make it to the conference finals could go to the WHC, but there are plenty of Finns whose contracts are expiring. I agree with your general point that it's hard to see Finland finding 14 better forwards than Kakko.
Kaako Kappo
Kaako Kappo
JoukoPouko
Registered User
There are definitely a dozen or so better Finns in Europe, let's try to have some amount of realism here. Just like there were a bunch of Swedish defensemen better than Dahlin last season which is why he didn't really get to play at the Olympics. Guys like Kakko and Dahlin have a much brighter future ahead of them but that doesn't mean they're better players right now. We're comparing 18-year-old kids to seasoned veterans.
The question will be how many of them decline the invitation and how they play in the pre-tournament games. A lot of decisions are made based on those few final games before the tournament starts.
Jussi
Registered User
And he only played the last 4 games, though he got most of his points in the last two games.
Why did Patrik Laine get to play plenty of minutes in 2016, and why was it that Barkov would have been a lock for the 2013 WHC without his season-ending injury in the playoffs?
This isn't realism at all, though. It's just completely false.
You could say there were even more players better than Laine by the time of the WC2016s. But that didn't end up being the case, now did it? Or maybe you think a dozen guys could score PPG+ at worlds. Heck, why doesn't Finland win the title every year then?
Jussi
Registered User
If they sign a new contract before the Worlds and are fit, they will. Barkov, Borgström (barring AHL games), Teräväinen, Hintz are probably locks.
Why would their team sign a new contract with them before making sure that they don't get injured at worlds?
Kaako Kappo
Kaako Kappo
JoukoPouko
Registered User
Are you trying to suggest Laine in 2016 was a better player than Mikko Koivu, Jussi Jokinen, Aleksander Barkov, Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen because he had more points than them? Get real for a moment. Laine definitely wasn't the best Finnish player at the time. He had a great tournament, though. A 10-game tournament does not equal being better.
Laine also played at EHT which is what I said Kakko needs as well. I never said Kakko can't play on the team. The final decisions come down to small margins. Whoever is hot at the time ends up making the team. It has nothing to do with who is the best player. Kakko is part of that group of ~20 forwards who are capable of making it but he isn't above that group, so he has to earn it.
This is revisionist history. Pulju has failed in the NHL, but his junior career was exceptional. Bizarre how people get this upset when I even mention Pulju.pulju dominated? so did u only followed iltalehti? cause after u16 pulju havent been dominate anywhere than in u20 wjc (between aho/laine) and massmedia hypetrains. When pulju was u16 there was lot of talks how he is next Gretzky.. but already in kärpät b-juniors he was just a bit better than mediocre player. And dont forget that he played in B and A-juniors with Aho.. It was odd for us that medias was praising puljujärvi and not aho who was carrying him.... in b-, a-jun. kärpät, wjc u20 ..... and then what happened when pulju went to all alone? snap.
So youre comparing Kakko to Pulju is same that we compare Pukki to Messi... nonsence...
But it is not. At the time of the WJC-u18s I thought that Puljujärvi was quite disappointed, even though he got hyped. Heck, even Tyson Jost dominated in comparison to Puljujärvi.
If Kakko scores only 1.6 PPG at u-18s I'd consider it a major disappointment unless the team is literally terrible. I'd hope for a performance like Toni Rajala's.
pikkuvaimo
HD
- Apr 27, 2016
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Quite a performance by Kaapo tonight. Put the puck in the HPK-net four times, thought only two of them counted. I was standing right beside the TPS-fans, and it was interesting that they were chanting "Kaapo Kakko", and on the other end HPK-fans were doing the same! Absolutely fantastic player, and I´m happy I can see him again next wednesday.
I am verry sure when I tell you that kakko could step in the nhl right now and be one of the best finnish players in the nhl.. But thats my opinion.. Just imagine him with some great players to back him up, its really all you need to do. For example kotkaniemi have dunne well in nhl this season, and Kakko is a pretty decent amount better already.
I live in oulu...Been watching lot of Aho's games and bit pulju's alongside. And yea he failed NHL, would also fail B-jun, A-jun without Aho and in FEL Aho-Pyörälä. Im not sure when Puljujärvi was exceptional. Atleast when ppl started to talk about him after great u16 "c-junior" season he havent done anything expecional. Aho was producing most of situation almost whole Puljujärve's career, but still somehow scouts/mass medias didnt se Aho behing puljus tongue...Aho was totally in shadows WJC u18, c-, b-, a-, first season in fel.. even wjc u20 according our mass media which wrote around 30x more about laine/pulju....
JoukoPouko
Registered User
High-end prospects take huge steps in one summer. Kakko is better than Kotkaniemi was a year ago but not better than Kotkaniemi right now. Kakko can step right into the NHL next season. But one of the best Finnish NHL players right now? Definitely not. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. One step at a time.
You can't be serious? I've watched both play plenty and right now Kakko's so much better it's not even funny. I'm also confident Kakko will outperform him at worlds if both play there.
Really confused by some of these statements, you just need to watch him play... Which I know you do. Players don't just magically transform over a summer into some ethereal unicorns. Kotkaniemi is still a more incomplete and less NHL-ready a player than Kakko is - right this very moment. Kakko's skillset is very special. I'll also say I think Kakko's physical abilities are also better than Kotkaniemi's, right now.
Jussi
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