RW Kaapo Kakko - TPS, Liiga (2019 Draft) Part 3

[ChicagoBullsFan]

I was convinced Shero was gonna take Patrick in 2017. I have a feeling he might take Kakko this time.

How sure you are about that?
Don't get me wrong Kakko would be good pick for Devils but come on take Hughes and walk away.

Hughes
Hischier
Zacha
Zajach
That'll be pretty damn good center depth.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

Having Zibanejad around in New York could help him, might be better for Kakko himself if he can go #2. The Devils have been one of the worst addresses for Finnish players so far.

Wonder how good Zibanejads Finnish is?

 

[Lepardi]

Wonder how good Zibanejads Finnish is?

Pretty sure that's better than Kakko's English.

 

[Jerzey Devil]

How sure you are about that?
Don't get me wrong Kakko would be good pick for Devils but come on take Hughes and walk away.

Hughes
Hischier
Zacha
Zajach
That'll be pretty damn good center depth.

Not sure at all and I’ll be happy with either. That does look like great center depth. I just feel like we need a sniper at this point. To be honest I’m not sure if that’s what Kakko is exactly. I’m here for information.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

What does the Rangers prospect pool look like? Would they pass on Kakko to take Byram?

Lol wut?

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

Lmao, no chance. Gorton even said we need to keep going BPA in the draft.

Hopefully Mikko Eloranta who's rangers Finland based scout will take care on that Kakko is ranger this June.
If' i'm not mistaken Eloranta lives in Turku so he's seen probably all Kakko's games in TPS this season.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I wonder if Rangers will make Kakko a center.. How's their center depth?

We need a 1C. Center depth is lacking in top 6 centers or top six center prospects.

Zibanejad is a 2C on a cup contending team, but not good enough to be a 1C on a Cup contender. Running Kakko, Zibanejad down the middle as our 1-2 could be very good. Howden and to a lesser extent Andersson have slight chances to top out as a 2C, but its unlikely.

Chytil could end up at center, but I think wing is more likely. I think Kakko has a game suited for center way better than Chytil, and Chytil probably isn't good enough to be a 1C, anyway.

 

[BK]

I didn't mean exactly you but this is a special kid, and if you have some Rw's you don't care about that, you simply pick Kakko.

I agree but I also think Byram is going to be special (I might be higher on him than others) so this skews things. My main question was what is in the NYR pipeline and could that skew who they take.

 

[bl02]

We need a 1C. Center depth is lacking in top 6 centers or top six center prospects.

Zibanejad is a 2C on a cup contending team, but not good enough to be a 1C on a Cup contender. Running Kakko, Zibanejad down the middle as our 1-2 could be very good. Howden and to a lesser extent Andersson have slight chances to top out as a 2C, but its unlikely.

Chytil could end up at center, but I think wing is more likely. I think Kakko has a game suited for center way better than Chytil, and Chytil probably isn't good enough to be a 1C, anyway.

Will playing him at center take away from his strengths? I want him to play where he is best suited. We could still grab a center in next years draft since we probably will be a bottom 5/10 team again.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Hopefully Mikko Eloranta who's rangers Finland based scout will take care on that Kakko is ranger this June.
If' i'm not mistaken Eloranta lives in Turku so he's seen probably all Kakko's games in TPS this season.

One of Kakko's teammates is a Rangers prospect, Lauri Pajuniemi. I'm sure they've seen him play a ton this year.

 

[bl02]

I agree but I also think Byram is going to be special (I might be higher on him than others) so this skews things. My main question was what is in the NYR pipeline and could that skew who they take.

Kakko is too good to pass up. I like Byram and would have been ok with him at 6/7 even though the Rangers have a decent amount of young LHD. Miller, Hajek, Lindgren. Not Byram level but very good prospects.

 

[bl02]

One of Kakko's teammates is a Rangers prospect, Lauri Pajuniemi. I'm sure they've seen him play a ton this year.

You're taking Kakko at #2 right? Do you have Turcotte close to him? would the Rangers do something stupid and not take him?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Will playing him at center take away from his strengths? I want him to play where he is best suited. We could still grab a center in next years draft since we probably will be a bottom 5/10 team again.

I think he's way more suited to center than wing. It seems odd that he's been playing wing with his skill-set.

 

[bl02]

I think he's way more suited to center than wing. It seems odd that he's been playing wing with his skill-set.

and doing very very well in a man's league in finland...playoffs included.

 

[ijuka]

I think he's way more suited to center than wing. It seems odd that he's been playing wing with his skill-set.

Remember Kotkaniemi played W in Liiga too. Although, Kakko's been a W in national teams, though he did play C as well in juniors.

In any case, to me it's about the team picking him. If they want to develop him into a C, I'm sure it'll work out. To me, Kakko's game is more fit for a prototypical center than a winger so I'd like to see the team that eventually chooses him to at least pursue that option.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

You're taking Kakko at #2 right? Do you have Turcotte close to him? would the Rangers do something stupid and not take him?

Gorton is a reliable actor. Gordie Clark isn't. As long as Clark isn't making the decisions here, I think Gorton thinks of this as strictly Hughes/Kakko in some order, and he takes the player the Devils don't take. I think Gorton gives more say in draft decisions to Bobrov than Clark. I think they are going to get rid of Clark soon, and promote Bobrov to his role.

I think the top 7 in this draft is extremely close. I know a lot of people have said the tiers are 1-2 and then 3-10 or so, but I think the top seven are near interchangeable. I've had Turcotte ranked first nearly the whole season with Cozens overtaking him for a short amount of time before Turcotte retook first and Cozens went back to second. I've moved Kakko above Hughes recently due to thinking there's a good chance he can play center. If Kakko transitions to center, I think there's a good chance he could end up as the best player in the draft. Had he successfully played center all season, he would be 1st or 2nd on my list. I can't complain with us drafting Kakko.

I would prefer Turcotte and maybe Dach if I want to be very risky, but drafting 7th-9th we could've been in range of taking a player I didn't want us taking like Podkolzin, Boldy, Broberg. At third, I wouldn't have wanted that pick because Podkolzin is considered the likely 3rd overall pick. I don't think there's enough separation between Turcotte and Kakko that I'd prefer us not having the 2nd pick and instead picking 6th or 7th where we might have a better chance at drafting what I view as a better prospect, but also having a much higher chance of drafting a player I don't want us to pick. I think the top 10 in this draft is enough of a variable that you want one of the better prospects, and you see how the dice rolls. I don't think any team can come out of the draft saying they've gotten the best player because I don't think anyone knows. A lot will depend on how these players develop.

 

[Albatros]

Hopefully Mikko Eloranta who's rangers Finland based scout will take care on that Kakko is ranger this June.
If' i'm not mistaken Eloranta lives in Turku so he's seen probably all Kakko's games in TPS this season.

Eloranta is also former TPS juniors GM and coach, so it goes even deeper than that.

 

[bl02]

Gorton is a reliable actor. Gordie Clark isn't. As long as Clark isn't making the decisions here, I think Gorton thinks of this as strictly Hughes/Kakko in some order, and he takes the player the Devils don't take. I think Gorton gives more say in draft decisions to Bobrov than Clark. I think they are going to get rid of Clark soon, and promote Bobrov to his role.

I think the top 7 in this draft is extremely close. I know a lot of people have said the tiers are 1-2 and then 3-10 or so, but I think the top seven are near interchangeable. I've had Turcotte ranked first nearly the whole season with Cozens overtaking him for a short amount of time before Turcotte retook first and Cozens went back to second. I've moved Kakko above Hughes recently due to thinking there's a good chance he can play center. If Kakko transitions to center, I think there's a good chance he could end up as the best player in the draft. Had he successfully played center all season, he would be 1st or 2nd on my list. I can't complain with us drafting Kakko.

I would prefer Turcotte and maybe Dach if I want to be very risky, but drafting 7th-9th we could've been in range of taking a player I didn't want us taking like Podkolzin, Boldy, Broberg. At third, I wouldn't have wanted that pick because Podkolzin is considered the likely 3rd overall pick. I don't think there's enough separation between Turcotte and Kakko that I'd prefer us not having the 2nd pick and instead picking 6th or 7th where we might have a better chance at drafting what I view as a better prospect, but also having a much higher chance of drafting a player I don't want us to pick. I think the top 10 in this draft is enough of a variable that you want one of the better prospects, and you see how the dice rolls. I don't think any team can come out of the draft saying they've gotten the best player because I don't think anyone knows. A lot will depend on how these players develop.

Not criticizing but if you were making the pick you would trade down and select Turcotte or Dach at 3 or 4?
I guess I'm just big on Kakko and especially what he's been doing this year against men

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Not criticizing but if you were making the pick you would trade down and select Turcotte or Dach at 3 or 4?
I guess I'm just big on Kakko and especially what he's been doing this year against men

If I was picking, I would. Trading down and getting a player you had ranked higher is better asset management.

I think a lot of predicting what draft slots you want is what you think your team's management is going to do. I don't think our management are particularly good drafters, so I wouldn't expect them to have the same opinion as me. In this case, I think we avoided a bad scenario. I don't think we are going to "go wrong" with Kakko or Hughes in the second slot. Both are going to be very good hockey players. The question is whether they will be the best, but I think the floor of both players is very high.

 

[bl02]

If I was picking, I would. Trading down and getting a player you had ranked higher is better asset management.

I think a lot of predicting what draft slots you want is what you think your team's management is going to do. I don't think our management are particularly good drafters, so I wouldn't expect them to have the same opinion as me. In this case, I think we avoided a bad scenario. I don't think we are going to "go wrong" with Kakko or Hughes in the second slot. Both are going to be very good hockey players. The question is whether they will be the best, but I think the floor of both players is very high.

Yeah I think it would be a complete disaster if they traded down and missed out on Kakko (if he became a legit first liner) Unless they got a ridiculous haul for the number 2 pick.
I think its hard to criticize Gorton so far in this rebuild. Maybe in 2-3 years but right now I can't. He tried and it was a known we tried for EP. could you imagine EP, Kravtsov and Kakko on this team when just two years ago our best prospect was probably Sean Day.

 

[Jetcetera]

If I were a GM he would be my number 1 pick on most teams.
I'm not a pro scout by any means but I've had some damn good fantasy hockey success and have made some good money based on picking the right young talent and I see more upside in Kakko's game than Hughes.

 

[Mestaruus]

New Jersey likes Euro first overalls. Interesting.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

New Jersey likes Euro first overalls. Interesting.

Based on what? One pick? Besides, all they did was pick the (now obviously) better player.

 

[thomast]

I think he needs to play better D to be a C. He seems to float at defensive zone at times. He is great at transition and has all the other traits what is necessary for a C. Sebastian Aho was a last guy who went from wing to C but he have always been excellent two-way guy. Kotkaniemi was even worse two-way player than Kakko but right now he is incredible two-way player for 18 year old in the NHL. It will not be easiest transition IMO just looking at how he plays the game but it’s doable.

Kakko is most dominant offensive player i’ve seen in Liiga at his age and that is by decent margin. I’m not suggesting it is likely for him to hit 96 points like Barkov but talent is there. I’m only talking about what i’ve seen pre draft. I think i prefer him to see him at rangers because he would potentially be their main man sooner and NYR lacks Finnish stars.

Kakko finished 23 goals in his last 32 games before season his ended. That sample size is over half of a season. That is pace of 43+ goals for a full season. All time record in liiga is 47 goals and that isn’t scored in modern era. This alone can give you small picture how dominant he was at the end. To me he is equally good playmaker despite of having a lot of goals compared to assists.

 

[FinPanda]

Kakko to Rangers. Make it happen. I don't care about the 1st pick anymore.

So excited.