In North America there are some faceoff masters, I think he would have to make sure he is adequate in faceoffs before he can be moved to center.
RW Kaapo Kakko - TPS, Liiga (2019 Draft) Part 5
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In North America there are some faceoff masters, I think he would have to make sure he is adequate in faceoffs before he can be moved to center.
Loffer
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- Sep 22, 2011
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Kakko is a sudden surprise for my sophisticated hockey mind base in the sense that I never expected him to be this high level (call this level whatever you prefer) talent from the limited viewings of his games before the WHC. Either his pace of development has exceeded the speed of light recently or I've been hallucinating when watching his latest performances. Most likely the latter since he is not a physical singularity, just your regular dude from Turku, Finland. Given this, what Kakko should instead very much be - warning sign: "generational" approaching on the other side of this sentence - is generational, in Finnish terms. Kakko is not a singularity, but, at least nationally, generationality.
There is only one caveat, there are many young players coming from Finland who might deserve to be called generational Finnish players, yet only few, if not only one, could be such for a generation. How to solve this puzzle? Either we should throw the term in a trash bin it being unusable in a local context or give it a boarder meaning: generational is just a term for extra-ordinary talents, you cannot limit their exact quantity by a more or less arbitrary restriction "one for a generation, a generation for one". Sometimes they just come in bunches outta the woodwork like a swarm of wasps or a flock of sparrows.
There is only one caveat, there are many young players coming from Finland who might deserve to be called generational Finnish players, yet only few, if not only one, could be such for a generation. How to solve this puzzle? Either we should throw the term in a trash bin it being unusable in a local context or give it a boarder meaning: generational is just a term for extra-ordinary talents, you cannot limit their exact quantity by a more or less arbitrary restriction "one for a generation, a generation for one". Sometimes they just come in bunches outta the woodwork like a swarm of wasps or a flock of sparrows.
jgiovanni
Registered User
Well... It was really close that he wouldve have like 3 points today. He have that potential to make those points
With the tourney still ongoing, you are not correct, logically.
If someone called you a troll, maybe they were just lumping you in with the other trolling Finns. What grave injustice. Very big feelbads.
BB88
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Pretty awesome to hear even Devils scout admit the Liiga champs only goal against TPS was to shutdown Kakko.
But sure it's just 3 game sample size of dominant play.
If Hughes was in the same position as Matthews I could've seen him going over to Europe. But they were 2 completely different situations
Gsus
MVP
It sounded like the first question was for European scouts who's the best in Europe.. But we all know that so it would be weird.It's a finn saying it, so it doesn't count.
As Cam Robinson on Canucks radio show talked about why he had Kakko #1 he brought up some very good points about Kakko that makes it sound like he's watched him quite a bit, also did say he looked great for TPS while playing as C and he sees it a possibility that the two'll flip C and W, which was interesting because this is just about the only place where I've seen any significant attention paid to that. And he sees Kakko as a very strong two-way player, used Peter Forsberg as a comparable I guess, kind of. He also said something like a more physical Rantanen. Although unfortunately he didn't exactly gush over Kakko's hands though I think they're just ridiculous, hm. But still, good to hear a pro with these opinions I've thrown around for months. Especially the C W flip was good to hear from a paid professional doing this as his job.
Edmonton East
BUT the ADvaNCEd STatS...
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It's not that it's a negative...it's that an annoying subset of Hughes supporters keep mocking the accurate statement that Kakko plays against men with KaKKO pLAyS AGAINst MeN. I don't know why they do it, but it's probably 20% of the posts on the Devs board.
No one is saying Hughes sucks because he primarily played against kids. And no one is saying Kakko is better only because he played against men. So yea, it's just some childish posters doing their thing.
The fact of the matter is, that playing against ”mEn” in Europe’s top leagues is way way way different than playing against college kids aged 18-24(?). 90% of the NCAA kids never even make it to the level of Liiga, which Kakko absolutely dominated. The game there is just as physical as it is in the WC. Hughes clearly not capable of handling the physical play, not even in the slightest, where as Kakko has dominated those guys physically and skillwise for the whole season.
Hughes will obviously gain weight, but he will always be scrawny and will never be able to compete physically, it’s not his playstyle. But the fact that Kakko is already able to bully players like Nurse and Suter, with such an immature body, is unheard of.
Of course Hughes will be a star as will Kakko, but 10/10 I’m picking the physical monster with hands from heaven over the mega-skilled and fast guy in a hardhitting playoff series.
But hey, maybe that’s the bias Finn in me!
Hughes will obviously gain weight, but he will always be scrawny and will never be able to compete physically, it’s not his playstyle. But the fact that Kakko is already able to bully players like Nurse and Suter, with such an immature body, is unheard of.
Of course Hughes will be a star as will Kakko, but 10/10 I’m picking the physical monster with hands from heaven over the mega-skilled and fast guy in a hardhitting playoff series.
But hey, maybe that’s the bias Finn in me!
1OApick
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- Jun 29, 2016
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I understand that it is very rare to see North American prospect to play in European league. But I think some of NA prospects should consider Europe as a path to NHL.
Henkka
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So far, pure facts:
- Kakko has shined against kids.
- Kakko has shined against men.
- Hughes has shined against kids.
- Hughes has heavily struggled against men.
So far, until proven othervise, Hughes is on the path of Puljujärvi, a great skater who shined against kids and struggled after the jump on men's hockey.
Hischier and Hughes
“I love to hockey”
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Luckily in that video Shero has decided his pick
And that video was recorded before the WC
So there you have it - the WC is not influencing this decision nor does it ever.
Matthews was an exception because he just barely missed the 2015 Draft by two days. Matthews had to wait until he turned 18 to officially sign (had to submit a work visa) in Switzerland, but since his birthday was September 17th, he only missed a couple regular season games. Hughes didn't turn 18 until May 14th, so that option wouldn't have been the same.
Not sure if the work visa laws are similar in other European countries.
The Crypto Guy
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And all us Ranger's fans are thrilled of that.
Hischier and Hughes
“I love to hockey”
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BB88
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With no McDavid in the draft it's overall pretty stupid to turn a blind eye to tourney where they play their toughest games of their careers.
With that said in this case YES!
Hischier and Hughes
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No GM bases decisions on the 1st overall from the WC... if they do they either have the players at exactly 50/50 (which is very rare) or theyre short-sighted
Kaako Kappo
Kaako Kappo
Uh, it is extremely rare for a kid in his draft season to play in WHC. Even rarer that the kid in question is in talks for 1st overall. You simply cannot make this claim, you don't have the data.
Here's some perspective for you:
Elite Prospects - WC Stats All-time season
Hischier and Hughes
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That only proves my statement further...
This tournament has little to no meaning for the draft and never has
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