The reason behind Kakko's inefficiency? His short stick

[robsenz]

I used to feel this way about Duchene's stick and his lack of results at one point

 

[HTFN]

How is he comparing the shots?

NHL players’ shots would look a whole lot better if they weren’t being hounded by NHL-level defense while they were trying to score on NHL goalies in game situations.

They would blow the lower pro leagues to kingdom come and I doubt he plays in one of those.

true enough, guy could have a weenie shot

 

[NjDevsRR]

Brilliant lmao

 

[xigon]

This is like me playing shooters with enhanced pointer precision.

 

[LyNX27]

I have no idea if anything OP posted is correct but it was definitely a fun read so thank you.

It's been a known issue for a while and it's definitely a hindrance.

His stick handling range is pretty small and his shots are fairly soft for someone his size. I understand preference but he's leaving literal performance on the table and it's frustrating to see.

 

[TBF1972]

My stick length was similar but a little longer and I had great hands. Not rooting my own horn but in my prime my hands were probably better than 20% of NHLers. But short stick can affect your shot and when you are known for a shot a stick that length is a serious problem. Also significantly changes the flex in the stick.
I stopped playing in my early twenties and when I started up again I struggled to fine wood sticks and had to learn how to use composites. Not the same thing at all.
So when I finally found something close I had to add serious length to my stick until I felt comfortable. Seriously improved my shot significantly. I already knew that but as a playmaker my shot was secondary to my hands and passing so I preferred a short stick.
IMO if that’s his stick size it’s amazing how that hasn’t been brought up by coaching staff.

ar you talking about hockey or ....?

 

[OKR]

If he swapped to a longer stick he wouldn’t be as effective in the few things he is currently good at, it’s not the issue.

 

[johan f]

Interesting take. In the past a shorter stick was an advantage in traffic but I can see the loss of power in shot with short carbon stick is alone reason to use proper lenght.

 

[ijuka]

Yeah, I agree with this somewhat. Puljujärvi has a similar issue with the short stick.

It's just better to be able to play with a long stick. More power, more reach.

Whoever told you that is a liar.

This is not true. Being able to use it is the most important thing. You just need to meet some minimum requirements, and those aren't even too bad(maybe 4 is enough). Can easily outperform someone with twice the size with some ability.

 

[Straight Fire]

I hate it when players use a short stick. The only player who it seems to not affect enough to argue is Ovechkin. But normally it's not a good idea. Chin to nose when standing on skates. Maybe an inch below the chin. Shouldn't be much more than that IMO.

Former Flame Matthew Lombardi had too short a one IMO. He never developed to the talent many thought. Blazing speed but everything else was average to poor.

 

[Norwegianoiler]

Puljujaarvi stick too long. Kakko stick too short. It’s a trade made in Heaven. Let’s get it done.

Are they trading sticks or players here?

The Oilers have acquired Kakko...'s stick for Puljujärvi...'s stick.

The trade is 1 for 1!

 

[LuGBuG]

That you Pierre?

 

[2014nyr]

And Stützle would score fifty if he changed his tape job.

needs to be outlawed along with pasta's abomination. however still not the worst in the league. that honor goes to colin blackwell who tapes his stick toe all the way past the heel onto the botton of the shaft. i call it the tube sock and its existence can be directly tied to the whole world going to sht since it started getting a regular nhl shift.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Reminds me of how IMO…Jordan Staal played with too long of a stick while a Penguin.

 

[Mickey Marner]

Lots of players use short sticks. Crosby's is definitely shorter. Kovalev's was comically short.

 

[Coffey]

The Pitkanen complex.

 

[bleedgreen]

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

View attachment 614101


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."

Leijonissa naureskellaan Kaapo Kakon työkaluille – kuva paljastaa hillittömän pituuseron: ”Onhan se ihan naurettava”

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" "

Kaapo Kakko joutuu kuuntelemaan NHL:ssä vinoilua erikoisesta työkalustaan – ”Välillä kokeilevat sitä”

Suomalaistulokkaan ”sählymaila” ei ole jäänyt huomioitta myöskään NHL:ssä.

www.is.fi

"I've been using the same length stick since U16 juniors"

Viisi kysymystä Kaapo Kakolle | NHL.com/fi

Suomalainen superlupaus kertoo kehityskohteistaan ja kilpailusta Hughesin kanssa

www.nhl.com

Kaapo Kakko kertoo, miksi hän pelaa lyhyellä mailalla: ”Minulla on ollut samanmittainen maila c-junioreista lähtien”

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."

Erikoinen yksityiskohta: Nuorten Leijonien kultasankari pelaa sitkeästi ihmeellisen lyhyellä mailalla, valmentaja kertoi riemastuttavan tarinan junnuvuosilta

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.

He’s using a low lie. It’s not as short as you or anyone thinks it is. Using a low lie makes your back elbow straighten out, and makes it look like your stick is short. Nobody understands lie anymore, it’s an old school concept but certain patterns on sticks still use it and some people use it to their advantage well. He may not be that much taller than he was in u16’s so that doesn’t matter at all. I was 6’4” by 13-14 years old and stopped growing then. When he’s standing around you can see it’s not that short.

Some guys like keeping their hands closer together, and when you use a lower lie you can do that and still get a longer reach, as using a lower lie gives you longer reach. He’s doing what Malkin does. They have the same stance and similar lies.

Ok, in all seriousness that really is kind of ridiculous. Shorter sticks can be useful for skilled offensive players, but this is the ****ing NHL and he’s out there with a knee hockey stick.

I thought this one was photoshopped or I missed the joke.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

80% dick jokes.

that's all I wanted thanks HF

Glad to hear we measure up to your expectations!

 

[WolfgangPuck]

Phil Housley known for shorter hockey stick in his day He played effectively with his stick
It’s personal preferences

 

[WolfgangPuck]

On the flip side is there a thread advising players to shorten their hockey stick ?
Most guys are caught up with long stick envy

 

[Puckclektr]

You don’t have to believe it. I’ve played with enough pros and have been told that by enough pros as well.
Look at someone like Barber. Never played in the NHL and better hands than the vast majority of them.

 

[Guttersniped]

You don’t have to believe it. I’ve played with enough pros and have been told that by enough pros as well.
Look at someone like Barber. Never played in the NHL and better hands than the vast majority of them.

Which Barber are you talking about?

 

[Arpeggio]

Wasn't there a blog post or website someone made that showed that most of the best players of all time used shorter sticks? Like most of them used sticks that came up to their shoulders. However, I feel like with new sticks it's probably changed a bit, since guys probably have more control with lighter sticks. Just a guess. McDavid seems to use a longer stick.

 

[TheOtherOne]

Wow this post started as one of those crazy HF-armchair-GM conspiracy theories, but then got backed up seriously. I'm impressed, OP. Legit.

 

[Puckclektr]

I weirdly buy it. Probably a lot of Rob Schremp types out there who skate even worse and never had a chance, and 20%'s not a high bar to clear

It isn’t. I quit as a top AAA player in Toronto at 15. Started playing pick up again at 19 and competitive mens league in Toronto at 20. Played that as one of the top players for a few years and got offered a pro tryout in Sweden which I turned down.
The competition in the mens league in Toronto was filled with ex NHL, AHL OHL etc. I still was near the lead in points every year and had arguably the best hands in the league.

What people don’t realize is that it takes a lot to play in the NHL and you can be one of the best at one or two things and still not make the team. You’re right Schremp is an example of that. I mentioned Barber. I have a buddy who has the worst hockey IQ and is an average mens hockey player but can probably be a top 50% skater in the NHL. Fantastic graceful skater. But all his eggs in one basket.

Stickhandling now has become a bigger part of the game as kids are given the opportunity to do things with the puck. Michigans being pulled in games for example would’ve got you benched 20 years ago.
Me in my prime Compared to NHLers today that number changed as kids have become far better and creative with the puck. But around 99-00 I was definitely better had stickhandling and puck control than 20% of the players. I also played games with many NHLers while they were NHLers. So I knew what to compare it to.

I clearly had better hands than virtually every defensive defensemen in the NHL at the time and there were plenty of forwards that I had better hands than. Now that doesn’t mean that it was harder to get the puck off of me as opposed to a defenseman who probably were better at protecting the puck with body positioning etc. I’m talking puck control and stickhandling.

Stickhandling and pulling those moves were not really common growing up. So not many people practiced them a lot. Ask a 45-50 year old to pull the Michigan or pick the puck up on their stick now. Nobody ever did that stuff. I couldn’t do it. There are 10 year olds who can make a lot of those moves that NHLers couldn’t do 20 years ago.
I was lucky to have a certain coach that allowed to play my style. Then we got a new coach and i was told I needed to dump and chase and make the safe play. I wasn’t going to dump it in and take a probably more than 50% chance that I would lose a puck battle in the corner when I already had possession and used my hands to draw players towards me to open up ice to make plays with a better than 50% chance. Similar to Marner. Not many players like that growing up. Coach didn’t like that as he was old fashion hockey and go fight it out in the corner. So I argued lost ice time and then quit. I wasn’t having fun anymore.
I guess people think that you can only be a pro or NHL player to be good at something.

Which Barber are you talking about?

Pavel barber.