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Prospect Info: The Second Overall Pick Thread: Part IV (Kakko/Hughes Talk)

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haveandare said:
Agreed. I was initially concerned in the days right after the lottery but by now it’s very clear it’s nothing to worry about
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Yeah, and haven’t our so called reaches been pretty good?

In the end I think this is a non-issue. Take Wahlstrom for example, he was/is the opposite of what we have looked for a long time. The only reason Kravy over Wahlstrom was considered a reach was because Wahlstrom was poorly described by the fan-based scouting community.

There just is no ‘consensus’ worth talking about. You have McKs ranking at Christmas, that is mostly focused on the CHL with some overall impact since the guys he talks to haven’t had the proper organizational meetings — and then that is updated shortly before the draft. In between many are just copying McKs ranking moving a few names around. Sprinkle in a few guys like Steve K and Button and Red Line Report — it’s just not enough to get any meaningful consensus established.
 
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GeorgeKaplan said:
We’re definitely going to freak out when some of these kids are on the 3rd line/pairing or scratched for a night
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Still, I have to give Slats one thing, and even Torts maybe, this organization is at a totally different place than it was 15 years ago. Everyone freaked out about everything. Everything Jagr did was an issue, that kid has been around the block before but we chased him out of town. I often think back to that Buffalo series. G6. The winner will face Carolina in the ECF. We have home ice.

The game is only about one thing, MSG has never and will never go after a player harder than Marek Malik was destroyed that game. Extreme booing every time he got close to the puck. Like lol, he wasn’t even that bad. Girardi has been worse. Extremely important game, home ice.

Even if there still are exceptions and fans wanting UFAs and what not — we as an organization is just so much more stable.
 
It seems like Moritz Seider has a concussion. He went bad into the boards face first, not hard, and it looked like one of those things that you most of the time just get up again and keeps playing from. But he must have been unlucky. I’ve not seen it but they said that it didn’t look good when he went off the ice. That was the report on Swedish TV, they said that it didn’t look good at all when he went off. Was he dizzy?

Anyway, how will that affect his draft position? If he don’t return, it could have an impact. There are many kids out there to like. These picks matters a ton to the teams making them.

As I understand, he hasn’t had any concussion problems before. If it could cause him to drop to 20, I would still love if we could get him.
 
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Ola said:
Still, I have to give Slats one thing, and even Torts maybe, this organization is at a totally different place than it was 15 years ago. Everyone freaked out about everything. Everything Jagr did was an issue, that kid has been around the block before but we chased him out of town. I often think back to that Buffalo series. G6. The winner will face Carolina in the ECF. We have home ice.

The game is only about one thing, MSG has never and will never go after a player harder than Marek Malik was destroyed that game. Extreme booing every time he got close to the puck. Like lol, he wasn’t even that bad. Girardi has been worse. Extremely important game, home ice.

Even if there still are exceptions and fans wanting UFAs and what not — we as an organization is just so much more stable.
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Definitely agree with you on all that. I think they’ve really handled the PR side of this rebuild masterfully too. They’ve gone from an organization where the hire-ups rarely make a statement or appearance and once they decided to fully rebuild, they wrote the letter and they’ve been very open and up front about what they’re doing and what their plans are moving forward so that while some of the moves the make are questioned, their motives have already been expressly stated and followed through with
 




Sometimes TSN blocks videos to IP addresses outside of Canada. At least one of the links will work. The link with the globe next to it should work but sometimes it doesn't.

Drury on what he’s seen from projected No. 1 pick Jack Hughes:
“He’s a terrific kid. I think first and foremost, Jim and Ellen have raised some terrific kids and then when you get to the hockey side of it, they’re obviously world class hockey players. Such elite skaters, elite talent. Quinn, I think every game this year has gotten better and better. He was probably our best defenceman against Great Britain. And I think Jack has fit in nicely. He’s not playing the 20-plus minutes he’s used to for the program all winter, but he learned a lot, he’s sitting next to Kane in the locker room, that’s never a bad thing. I think every day he’s just trying to fit in more and more and get better and better.”
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Drury on the Rangers having the No. 2 pick and the possibility of drafting Kaapo Kakko:
“He’s an impressive player no question. As far as his body goes, he already kind of has that man’s body and he’s 6-foot-3. Playing against older guys much longer than Jack has, but I think we’re in a great spot. I think either way we’re getting a hell of a player and I know Jersey is too, so I think we’re both excited.”
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https://www.tsn.ca/new-york-rangers...ay-we-re-getting-a-hell-of-a-player-1.1308192

 
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I've been emotionally invested in Kakko like everyone else, so I didn't want to set myself up for disappointment if the Devils took him. I know Hughes is a great talent, so I wanted to watch more, so I was watched some clips and he really does things that you just love.

The skating, the playmaking, the pass while breaking into the offensive zone and then going right to the net. He plays a complete 200 ft game too. I know Kakko has been really impressing, but you can see the potential in Hughes to be something special.
 
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LionsHeart said:
I've been emotionally invested in Kakko like everyone else, so I didn't want to set myself up for disappointment if the Devils took him. I know Hughes is a great talent, so I wanted to watch more, so I was watched some clips and he really does things that you just love.

The skating, the playmaking, the pass while breaking into the offensive zone and then going right to the net. He plays a complete 200 ft game too. I know Kakko has been really impressing, but you can see the potential in Hughes to be something special.
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Yeah this was what I was trying to tell people earlier and why I think the Devils will pick him 1st overall still. As others have said it's still a case of Kakko doing enough to be considered for #1 overall but Hughes not doing anything to be considered #2. He's still flashing all of the talent that made him the consensus #1 pick before now and unless NJ is 100% convinced beyond a doubt that Kakko is better now and will be better in the future, they're still going to pick Hughes
 
According to one website, before the tournament, 5 or so teams would take Kakko at #1. The guess now, is that a little less than half of the GMs would select him.
 
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chosen said:
According to one website, before the tournament, 5 or so teams would take Kakko at #1. The guess now, is that a little less than half of the GMs would select him.
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An almost even split is unsurprising.

These two are dead even. It comes down two things: preference, and Hughes being a natural center. I don’t think the Devils are gonna pass up a chance at having two high end first line centers.
 
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chosen said:
According to one website, before the tournament, 5 or so teams would take Kakko at #1. The guess now, is that a little less than half of the GMs would select him.
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I think the Avs would surely take Kakko over Hughes. In general, teams that made the playoffs or those that are looking to be in the playoffs immediately would probably lean towards Kakko. Getting the guy that will likely produce more on his ELC makes the most sense for these teams.
 
KooKooForKakko said:
An almost even split is unsurprising.

These two are dead even. It comes down two things: preference, and Hughes being a natural center. I don’t think the Devils are gonna pass up a chance at having two high end first line centers.
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The one thing thats laughable to me is how some analysts are acting like Kakko is a behemoth who is done growing, where as Hughes has this limitless projection which isn't showing at the worlds because of his size. Hughes' lack of production during the worlds has been mostly due to usage, his play has been okay. Some of the physical limitations have shown as well, and its not a sure thing that he'll ever overcome them completely.

It's simple for me though...

If you think Hughes has a reasonable to good chance at hitting his ceiling, hes the #1 guy. If you have your doubts or think he can't, Kakko should go #1.

OTOH, there hasn't been a single second Hughes has played in this tournament where he hasn't had more talent around him than Kakko. I don't know why this doesn't get mentioned. Finland has a knack for being competitive internationally no matter what they send out there, but the NHL experience on their team is very limited (I think Jokiharu is the only player with some) where as Jack Hughes is 1 of 2 guys on his team who doesn't have any NHL experience (Fox being the other.)

Also since January, Kakko has been at like a PPG+ pace including the worlds, so it's not like he's just been fitting in against older competition, hes been dominant.
 
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