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So how beneficial will this be for Kaapo Kakko?

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i think he will be more impactful and consistent,
assuming they allow him to play despite his health conditions
 
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Pretty hard to say how this will be for any player imo. Normal offseason it’s just a question of if a guy cared to work hard enough to improve. With this break it’s partly that, partly how much they or their teams or trainers thought it was likely they’d come back, partly how much gyms or ice has been available to them with everything going on, how travel being interrupted may have set them back. There are way more factors than usual, it’ll be interesting to see who thrives and who doesn’t but it will also be unpredictable.
 
I’m sure he will play regardless of his underlying conditions, having everyone self isolate for 2 weeks to start training camp and then keep everyone being in the same hotel & arena is not rocket science; I think there is minimal risk. The risk for Kakko is also low regardless of those conditions given his age and health, among people 25 & under the death rate of the flu is 7 times higher than covid-19. He’s much more likely to die in a car crash on his way to the arena than of covid-19. IIRC Kakko has also said that he was surprised when diagnosed with diabetes & celiac as it wasn’t until a few years ago and he also said he never experiences any symptoms nor does it interfere with his life. So perhaps there are milder forms of these diseases. Type 1 is nothing like 2, and celiac has nothing to do with covid

Anyway, if he’s been seriously training during this time (pretty sure he has according to what we’ve seen social media & the fact the lockdowns were less strict there) I think he’ll look more like WC Kakko than NHL Kakko. He went the distance winning gold in every tournament and played a ridiculous amount of games, most of which were against men. He was dominant in the WC against NHL players, skating circles around Ryan Suter making him look silly I don’t think he just regressed.
 
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Who will determine whether KK plays? (assuming he wants to) Is this a personal doctor, team doctor, or league medical protocol?
 
This should be beneficial for the rangers as a whole more than any other team being that they are so young and have more room to grow (strength wise, game wise, etc) over the summer (essentially what this break has been).

If Kakko, Chytil, Fox and co made the most out of this time off and we don’t lose anything in Zib/Panarin holy smokes watch out.

it is ranger land though, so chances are that won’t be the case.
 
3rd Guy High said:
This should be beneficial for the rangers as a whole more than any other team being that they are so young and have more room to grow (strength wise, game wise, etc) over the summer (essentially what this break has been).

If Kakko, Chytil, Fox and co made the most out of this time off and we don’t lose anything in Zib/Panarin holy smokes watch out.

it is ranger land though, so chances are that won’t be the case.
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Unfortunately that did not happen. All rinks and gyms have been closed and stay inside orders were in place everywhere. I can't imagine any of them took any strides to get better.
 
Saying 'I think' or 'I believe' is not the same as actually knowing. You take several hundred young males between the ages of 19 and 35--many of them unmarried (or even with their wives and girlfriends somewhere else) put them all in the same city for a month and a half or so, locked away in their hotel rooms?--whatever that means, they'll get bored and my bet would be on some of them getting loose now and again for a night on the town and that their teams will be reluctant to turn them in or discipline them if they do. Boys will be boys you know--and they'll be sharing locker rooms even if the arena they play in is empty of fans. Shit can go wrong and Kakko is 19 years old and the virus is known to attack the heart and the lungs--someone gets a bad dose and they could easily end up with a heart condition or diminished lung capacity. Kakko already has conditions and he'd be about the last person on our team I'd want to see get this because he's the one who could be harmed the most. You have to ask yourself whether you can trust the NHL and all the other NHL teams to police themselves. It's not like the plan is put players inside a prison with walls and razor wire and guard towers and guard dogs. I don't f***ing trust the NHL that much. Just saying.

So if Kaapo is playing IMO some really special safeguards need to be put into place--like his own special room to get dressed and bodyguards (at least two and preferrably three and no nonsense types) and have them from Finland if you like. But he's only practicing and playing and no one else is getting near him. To me that is doable too but I'd give him the choice.
 
Sweden has not been in lockdown so it's possible those players may have an edge when they come back.

Might make things tough for DQ as you know Henrik is going to want to be in for the best of 5 series and he may well be in the best shape out of the 3 goaltenders.
 
If history is any indication then he should probably play really well. It seems like whenever he’s got a bit of a rest he plays better. Also it was so long ago but iirc Kakko had a nice string of games before the pandemic.
 
The Crypto Guy said:
Unfortunately that did not happen. All rinks and gyms have been closed and stay inside orders were in place everywhere. I can't imagine any of them took any strides to get better.
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This is true for the guys who stayed in the country. So yeah, safe to say that Fox hasn't gotten much on ice work in.

Kakko went home and I think Chytil did as well. Those guys aren't living under such strict conditions.
 
Finnished4Kaapo24 said:
Not sure if thread worthy.... But with all the games he's played the last few years. These rest can be MASSIVE for him. Obviously the rest of the league will be well rested. But Kaapo needed physical and mental rest. Will be begin to see the real Kaapo Kakko?
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I agree. Excellent point. Not only from the physical but also the mental/learning angle. Many here have discussed and, I think, agree that much player development occurs in between the reps and doesn't necessarily show on-ice results until, say, the following season. In this case, with sorry if an off-season-like break, we might see huge strides from a guy like KK, in-season. I hadn't thought of it till you mentioned but now I'm very interested to watch for improvements and changes.
 
GoAwayStaal said:
This is true for the guys who stayed in the country. So yeah, safe to say that Fox hasn't gotten much on ice work in.

Kakko went home and I think Chytil did as well. Those guys aren't living under such strict conditions.
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guys that stayed in the us having skated...guys that flew home might not be able to get back into the country cause the borders are closed. so good news all around lol
 
eco's bones said:
Saying 'I think' or 'I believe' is not the same as actually knowing. You take several hundred young males between the ages of 19 and 35--many of them unmarried (or even with their wives and girlfriends somewhere else) put them all in the same city for a month and a half or so, locked away in their hotel rooms?--whatever that means, they'll get bored and my bet would be on some of them getting loose now and again for a night on the town and that their teams will be reluctant to turn them in or discipline them if they do. Boys will be boys you know--and they'll be sharing locker rooms even if the arena they play in is empty of fans. Shit can go wrong and Kakko is 19 years old and the virus is known to attack the heart and the lungs--someone gets a bad dose and they could easily end up with a heart condition or diminished lung capacity. Kakko already has conditions and he'd be about the last person on our team I'd want to see get this because he's the one who could be harmed the most. You have to ask yourself whether you can trust the NHL and all the other NHL teams to police themselves. It's not like the plan is put players inside a prison with walls and razor wire and guard towers and guard dogs. I don't f***ing trust the NHL that much. Just saying.

So if Kaapo is playing IMO some really special safeguards need to be put into place--like his own special room to get dressed and bodyguards (at least two and preferrably three and no nonsense types) and have them from Finland if you like. But he's only practicing and playing and no one else is getting near him. To me that is doable too but I'd give him the choice.
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He would be going from a less restricted situation presumably to a more restricted situation I think. I'm sure the people he has been interacting with for the past two months have been out drinking and whatever. It's not like he's coming from a bubble to this NHL Hockeyland Tournament situation, right?
 
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A hard reset will no question be super beneficial for him, it won't mean much if he comes back and is playing 7 minutes on the 4th line though. Hopefully he has a strong 2.0 training camp and forces the issue. Him practicing with TPS is super encouraging to hear.
 
egelband said:
He would be going from a less restricted situation presumably to a more restricted situation I think. I'm sure the people he has been interacting with for the past two months have been out drinking and whatever. It's not like he's coming from a bubble to this NHL Hockeyland Tournament situation, right?
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What Kakko's been up to for the last couple months I don't know. The question is is it smart taking this chance with Kakko knowing he has these underlying conditions and that if he were to get the virus there is real risk of harming or destroying his career? --keeping in mind that this is the guy who hopefully will one day become a future franchise player for our team and IMO we should make sure to put him in a bubble if he's going to play in this. If the NHL chooses Ottawa or Columbus for the eastern conference games they still have to make sure no one gets in and no one gets out and 12 teams X 30 players each + coaching and staff and we're probably at the least in the 500/600 range and sequestering them away for anywhere between a month and two months. For the most part all male and between the ages of 19 and 35. If they were to allow girlfriends and wives they would have to be locked down for that period too. I'm guessing most girlfriends and wives would decline. So lots of young male athletes living like monks for an extended period of time. To some degree we're talking about a minimum security prison with maximum security measures for those getting in or out and if somehow the virus did get in the entire thing blows up. This is why some people think the smartest and sanest thing to do is call the season.
 
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