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RW Kaapo Kakko - TPS, Liiga (2019 Draft)

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He is obviously not as good as Crosby, but somewhat similar player. Strong lower body and amazing IQ.
 
They should have picked him to the U20 team and I think I even said it at the time (if I recall right) but once again the management went along in the believe the country had enough firepower to fight for the medals. He's been by far the best player for Finland in the U18 tournament and I expect him to do just as well even when the real games begin. Sure Norgren has what 6 goals by now, yet Kakko has been absolutely instrumental. It's rare to see prospects like him who are this strong on the puck at such a young age. Really exciting player.
 
Looks as good as any Finnish underager incl Laine/Pulju in U18. Really impressed with basically everything he does.
 
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I am really impressed about his skill level in tight spaces. He doesen’t need room to make high calibre plays, good at making space for himself. His game should fit really well in NHL. Great game at boards.
 
FinProspects said:
Looks as good as any Finnish underager incl Laine/Pulju in U18. Really impressed with basically everything he does.
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Probably has been better than Laine overall. There's been several situations where I've thought that, for instance, he needs to pass... And somehow he's able to just skate it out in a way that doesn't really make sense. I can't recall anyone who's been able to play like this as an underager for Finland. And it's not just offense, his defending is very good also. And when we think about potential weaknesses, it's very difficult to even think of anything.
 
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ijuka said:
Probably has been better than Laine overall. There's been several situations where I've thought that, for instance, he needs to pass... And somehow he's able to just skate it out in a way that doesn't really make sense. I can't recall anyone who's been able to play like this as an underager for Finland. And it's not just offense, his defending is very good also. And when we think about potential weaknesses, it's very difficult to even think of anything.
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Him being a W is going to be his biggest weakness.

Can't wait for the HF battles on Kaapo next year. He's awesome.
 
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ijuka said:
Probably has been better than Laine overall. There's been several situations where I've thought that, for instance, he needs to pass... And somehow he's able to just skate it out in a way that doesn't really make sense. I can't recall anyone who's been able to play like this as an underager for Finland. And it's not just offense, his defending is very good also. And when we think about potential weaknesses, it's very difficult to even think of anything.
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He is definitely absolutely great, and I have already very high expections on him. But honestly I do see slight weaknesses in him, as his shot is really not impressive at all. Not too hard and definitely not very accurate either. And he also seems to pretty much lack the killer instict for even using his shot that much. This could even have to do with him realizing that his shot is not really that good.

The good thing though is that players of his age can often still develop their shot quite considerably. Hopefully this will happen in his case too. But yes, he is otherwise definitely magnificent and I also can’t wait to see him develop to a world class player that I already believe that he will become
 
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He is the kind of player that scouts love. Very strong on the puck and wins battles in the corners. Look at how high Brady Tkachuk is ranked for this exact reason. I see posters in Tkachuk's thread saying he is overrated and not worthy of a top 5 pick because there are more skilled players available. The truth is that there is not much space and time to create scoring chances from the middle in today's NHL. There is a lot of demand for players like him, he could very well be a top 5 pick.
 
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Yeah, those hands are just magic. Someone said earlier that it was like watching McDavid on a slow motion. I remember when I saw him play in the league at 16 he could already come out of corner battles with the puck despite of playing against grown ups. Not always of course but nevertheless he could still do that and this was what impressed me the most (rather than all the fancy stuff). His hands are so good that it should be illegal. Hands combined with core and lower body strength makes his game look like everything happens effortlessly. Of course if we look at Laine and Barkov, both of the two play with long sticks which makes dangling look less fancy and at the same time is harder to execute. So while Kakko might have even smoother pair of gloves, it's still difficult to compare.

He would have made an excellent center with the ability to dictate the game flow and having the vision to distribute the puck. Can't help but to think so many times of seeing kids that had a similar bag of tricks and wonder "damn if only he was 4-5 inches taller". Well, Kakko has the height, size and the ability. He has almost been making a mockery out of his elders in the WJHC so far with only gold medal left to be reclaimed.
 
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Yep, I saw some mcdavidesque/crosbyesque stuff there too, especially in the corners and that one backhand pass in the previous game. OBVIOUSLY he is not in that tier, but 9 points in 6 games as an underager..its good.

So tomorrow: Jack Hughes vs Kaapo Kakko in the finals, much like Laine vs Matthews 3years ago. Most likely 1-2 picks in 2019 draft.
 
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But, does he have a chance of becoming a sure top 3 pick next year? lots can happen in a year.

I don't know what was the talk around Barkov 1 year before his draft, but Sasha went 2nd overall.
2011-2012 season wasn't any special from Sasha, but his dominant draft year season lifted him 2nd overall.

20 goals, 40-45 points next season for Kaapo Kakko in the Liiga, great world juniors and anything can happen.
 
I think he is as cant miss prospect as you can get, so top3 seems very, very likely, top2 too. But that Hughes kid is magic, so he is the front runner at this point.
 
FinProspects said:
Yep, I saw some mcdavidesque/crosbyesque stuff there too, especially in the corners and that one backhand pass in the previous game. OBVIOUSLY he is not in that tier, but 9 points in 6 games as an underager..its good.

So tomorrow: Jack Hughes vs Kaapo Kakko in the finals, much like Laine vs Matthews 3years ago. Most likely 1-2 picks in 2019 draft.
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We talking about the pass where he dangled out from the right corner versus two guys and made a backhand pass to Nordgren(?) in the middle? It seems as if he made that pass with one hand on the stick, or at least it looked like it. Was watching the game with two friends and we all had a jaw-dropping moment where all just looked at each other with what just happened. Not sure if it was Nordgren in the middle but had whoever-it-was buried it, that would've been sickest or one of the sickest goals of the tournament. No extended highlights it seems. Would've been fun to see what exactly happened there.
 
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kelsier said:
We talking about the pass where he dangled out from the right corner versus two guys and made a backhand pass to Nordgren(?) in the middle? It seems as if he made that pass with one hand on the stick, or at least it looked like it. Was watching the game with two friends and we all had a jaw-dropping moment where all just looked at each other with what just happened. Not sure if it was Nordgren in the middle but had whoever-it-was buried it, that would've been sickest or one of the sickest goals of the tournament. No extended highlights it seems. Would've been fun to see what exactly happened there.
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No, I mean the actual goal, where he came from right hand side and just passed the puck with backhand to the middle and someone scored. Many players wouldnt have that anticipation to wait that extra 0,5seconds which led the other player basically putting the puck to an emtpy net. Very fluent and effortless in a Connorish way.
 
FinProspects said:
Yep, I saw some mcdavidesque/crosbyesque stuff there too, especially in the corners and that one backhand pass in the previous game. OBVIOUSLY he is not in that tier, but 9 points in 6 games as an underager..its good.

So tomorrow: Jack Hughes vs Kaapo Kakko in the finals, much like Laine vs Matthews 3years ago. Most likely 1-2 picks in 2019 draft.
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Kaapo won this one scoring a goal and won a title, although as we already know it wont matter a thing in the end ;) /Hughes will be always "better" player despite facts
 
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If he really can consistently be shooting like he did in the gold medal game, he can become an absolutely unbelievable player. Hopefully he can still get some shooting tips from Pate Laine when training in Rautala’s off season training group.
 
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Needs to work on his skating though. Not a bad skater but pretty average and speed especially explosiveness is important in NHL. Had growing spurth so it can have some impact.
 
IMO his first few steps are actually quite solid already, it usually doesn't take him much effort to make some space quickly. Him having great edge work on skates also helps.

It's his top speed and stamina level where he needs to improve. The way how he works around the ice is pretty exhausting and you could see him getting tired quite early in the shift compared to his linemates.

I'm eager to see how much he can improve physically during the offseason.
 
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