It's well known that Kaapo Kakko has been playing throughout his career at a 30-point-pace. The same is true for this season, too. Last 9 games he has 1g+1a, and is -1. (18-point-pace for a full season)
And all this despite being a somewhat highly touted "NHL-ready" 2nd OA pick in his 4th season. And despite having pretty good "underlying numbers", almost every season. And playing on the Rangers, on the same team with the Norris+Vezina winners, a Hart Trophy Finalist, and a 50-goal-scorer. And a 1st OA pick from 2020!
It's pretty clear he can get the puck to the other end, and that when he is on the ice, they get plenty shots and have enough puck control.
But the actual results on the board are god-awful, game after game, month after month, season after season.
Why?
It's all due to his short stick. He has probably the shortest stick in the whole league, relative to his size. (And he is quite large, 6'3" / 190cm). He has been playing with the same length since he was in the U16 team
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The short stick causes all of his body movements to be more easily read by the opposition defense, forecheckers and goalies. Every single move he makes with the puck, his body makes a larger movement at the same time - relative to players with longer, more traditional sticks. Also, his range of motion is obviously smaller in every direction.
His shot and passes are not only easier to read, they are also weaker. Longer stick equals harder shots, just check the all time hardest shot competition results.
Check out his games. His shot is a muffin for the ages, and all of his dekes are actually pretty easy to read. It's pretty easy to keep him at bay on the outside, doing some small harmless dangles by the boards, in stead of going to the slot. And when he gets to prime scoring opportunities (almost always via passes from his linemates, a method his short stick doesn't affect), his shots are not lethal at all, and the goalies don't actually bite on his dekes. Just check out the Nov 22 game vs LAK, in which he completely wastes 2 prime scoring chances given to him by Lafreniére, in the same shift (!!):
His problem with the short stick
has been known in Finland
for years. His youth club, the coaches, the trainers, national team coaches, and even Saku Koivu tried to get him to use a longer stick. And he still refused. And now he is paying the price, banging his head against the wall, with all the best goalies & defenders easily reading his moves & shots.
If you google it in Finnish, you will find a quite a large number of different sources on people urging and asking him to use a longer stick, and even putting longer stick for him in the rack:
"In the Lions [National Team], Kaapo Kakko's tools are laughed at - "It's really ridiculous" "
"He's been urged to use different sticks."
Leijonien maalitykkiä on kehotettu ottamaan erilaiset mailat käyttöön.
www.iltalehti.fi
"Kaapo Kakko gets a hard time in the NHL about his special tool - ... - "Sometimes they try it" "
Suomalaistulokkaan ”sählymaila” ei ole jäänyt huomioitta myöskään NHL:ssä.
www.is.fi
"I've been using the same length stick since U16 juniors"
Suomalainen superlupaus kertoo kehityskohteistaan ja kilpailusta Hughesin kanssa
www.nhl.com
Kakko arvelee kaventaneensa välimatkaa hänen ja ykkösvaraukseksi povatun Jack Hughesin välillä.
www.hs.fi
"the coach told an funny story about his junior years"
"there was a note on the subject even from the national team, when the super talent got to the National Team youth camps for the first time.
- It has been reviewed many times, Vidman says.
Vidman also tells a great example of Kakko's stubbornness. As for the length of the stick over the years it has been absolutely pointless to try to get Kakko to use longer stick. He has shortened them himself if necessary, secretcly.
- One time when he got new sticks, we photographed them - and the next day they were short again! Vidman laughs."
Nuorten Leijonien MM-kullan ratkaisseen Kaapo Kakon lahjakkuus on kiistatonta, mutta hänen peliinsä liittyy myös melko harvinainen yksityiskohta.
www.iltalehti.fi
Summa summarum: don't hold your breath waiting for him to break out to superstar levels. No matter how good his Corsi looks, he is never going to convert the shots & the puck control to actual goals.
The Rangers should've put him in to the AHL after the draft, to play with a longer stick for as many years as it would take to master it.
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