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

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Gardner McKay said:
Kakko has been playing against men for a full season. He had to learn how to adapt. Hughes is playing against some of the worlds best talent for the first time. I think he will be forgiven that he didn't light it up in his first few games.
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I don't think anyone is saying otherwise.
 
Hughes made another solid play. He stripped Ovechkin of the puck and kept it alive in the Russian zone. The puck goes back to Hughes who makes a nice pass to Kane who makes a nice cross crease pass to DeBrincat. 4-3.

 
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Gardner McKay said:
I dunno. To imply that Kakko has a higher chance of hitting his ceiling than Hughes and also making that statement shortly after Kakko has gone bonkers and Hughes has slumped, that is kind of what I inferred...
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I mean it was expected he would struggle a bit in tournament, which he did early on. He did end it with a good showing though. I do think Kakko has a higher likihood of hitting his ceiling (which yes is lower than Hughes, just my opinion). In the end, I see both players hitting 90-100 points in their primes.
 
The Crypto Guy said:
I mean it was expected he would struggle a bit in tournament, which he did early on. He did end it with a good showing though. I do think Kakko has a higher likihood of hitting his ceiling (which yes is lower than Hughes, just my opinion). In the end, I see both players hitting 90-100 points in their primes.
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:huh:

I feel like I am missing something. Those points directly contradict each other lol.
 
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Gardner McKay said:
If Hughes had an NHL frame, he would be just as impressive as Kakko has been. The kid is a stick. Give him a season or two with an NHL training regiment and the results could be downright scary.

If we had won the first overall pick, Kakko would be pegged (not necessarily by you) as completely inferior to Hughes.
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This is like saying if Kakko had Hughes' skating, he'd be a lock for 1OA.

He's never going to have an ideal frame. Quinn had 2 years under a quality NCAA training program and he's still small.

I think we saw the best and worst of Hughes in this game. The hands, vision and ability to get the puck when he doesn't have it were on display. He also made some ill advised passes and got blown up, twice.
 
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ZuccsFluffierFluffer said:
Easily his best game.

But how many of those licks can he take? He got blown up earlier too.
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He can take plenty. The mental gymnastics here are getting ridiculous.

Hughes is going to be fine. There are more small, super skilled forwards in the NHL than ever before. And Hughes has more talent than all of them, sans maybe Kane.

We don’t need to talk Hughes down just because we’re not getting him. For all intents and purposes, he is a better prospect than Kakko.

We’re getting a great player too. We don’t need to try and convince ourselves of anything.
 
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ColonialsHockey10 said:
He can take plenty. The mental gymnastics here are getting ridiculous.

Hughes is going to be fine. There are more small, super skilled forwards in the NHL than ever before. And Hughes has more talent than all of them, sans maybe Kane.

We don’t need to talk Hughes down just because we’re not getting him. For all intents and purposes, he is a better prospect than Kakko.

We’re getting a great player too. We don’t need to try and convince ourselves of anything.
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Theres a difference between taking a small bump and getting blown up.

The small skilled guys rarely get hit (Johnny Hockey and Kane have gotten blown up like 3 times in their entire NHL careers combined.) Hughes almost covered that in this game alone.

No one can take those kinds of hits on the regular. Its a definite cause for concern.
 
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ZuccsFluffierFluffer said:
Theres a difference between taking a small bump and getting blown up.

The small skilled guys rarely get hit (Johnny Hockey and Kane have gotten blown up like 3 times in their entire NHL careers combined.) Hughes almost covered that in this game alone.

No one can take those kinds of hits on the regular. Its a definite cause for concern.
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Hughes is shiftier than both and his hockey sense is on par. As mentioned before, he’s a smart enough player to learn what will and won’t work in the NHL. If that results in a few big hits to start than so be it - he always bounces back up. He will get the hang of it.

His size is not ideal of course, but I think this is only a legitimate concern because you want it to be one.
 
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ColonialsHockey10 said:
Hughes is shiftier than both and his hockey sense is on par. As mentioned before, he’s a smart enough player to learn what will and won’t work in the NHL. If that results in a few big hits to start than so be it - he always bounces back up. He will get the hang of it.

His size is not ideal of course, but I think this is only a legitimate concern because you want it to be one.
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It's a legitimate concern because it's happened almost a dozen times this season, most of them against sub NHL competition.

Again, being shifty is great, but if that were all it takes he wouldn't get hit at all against lower level players.

I heard the same shit about Prucha (not comparing the 2 of them as players) which was true until he didn't bounce back up again.
 
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The Crypto Guy said:
Absolutely. But lets not forget Kakko isn't done either. He's a stick at 180pounds at 6'2. Give him a couple years, he could be 6'3 at 215-220 and an absolute bull on the ice.
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I expect he will continue to fill out and hope he becomes that bull. But at the end of the day a great winger is generally less valuable than a great center so it makes sense that Hughes would go #1.
 
ZuccsFluffierFluffer said:
It's a legitimate concern because it's happened almost a dozen times this season, most of them against sub NHL competition.

Again, being shifty is great, but if that were all it takes he wouldn't get hit at all against lower level players.

I heard the same **** about Prucha (not comparing the 2 of them as players) which was true until he didn't bounce back up again.
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I suppose the difference between Prucha and Hughes in this context is that Prucha was incapable of adapting. Not only did he get wrecked the same way repeatedly, but once other teams learned to defend him he became useless offensively.

Hughes is as creative and adaptive as it gets (as is Kakko). Most top picks are. People were worried about Tavares‘ skating, Hall’s hockey sense, etc. They’re drafted this high because they will find a way to make it work.

Or he could be Martin Straka. That guy would take hits and I was sure he was dead. And he always sprung right back up. :)
 
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ColonialsHockey10 said:
I suppose the difference between Prucha and Hughes in this context is that Prucha was incapable of adapting. Not only did he get wrecked the same way repeatedly, but once other teams learned to defend him he became useless offensively.

Hughes is as creative and adaptive as it gets (as is Kakko). Most top picks are. People were worried about Tavares skating, Hall’s hockey sense, etc. They’re drafted this high because they will find a way to make it work.
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Tavares skating issues were over blown (as are Kakko's) and Hall's hockey sense was never really an issue, it was the way he played and his long term durability (which has held true.)

If anything, I think Hall's issues are almost kind of comparable to Hughes', even if they play a bit differently.
 
ZuccsFluffierFluffer said:
This is like saying if Kakko had Hughes' skating, he'd be a lock for 1OA.

He's never going to have an ideal frame. Quinn had 2 years under a quality NCAA training program and he's still small.

I think we saw the best and worst of Hughes in this game. The hands, vision and ability to get the puck when he doesn't have it were on display. He also made some ill advised passes and got blown up, twice.
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No its not. It is saying he can get by at 5'10 175 pounds in where he is now. When he gets to the NHL and is under a rigid NHL training and nutrition program, he will bulk up to 195-200. That is what I mean by NHL frame.
 
ColonialsHockey10 said:
^^^^
Some of the things I’ve been reading here the past few weeks are comical. Some posters have even managed to convince themselves that the Rangers would draft Kakko if they had the first pick.
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Not sure why this is so far fetched. More people actually prefer Kakko to Hughes on the main board if you check the polls who are not Ranger/Devils fans. People have different opinions, they aren’t “comical” because their opinions aren't the same as yours and that’s a really condescending thing to say.
 
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Gardner McKay said:
No its not. It is saying he can get by at 5'10 175 pounds in where he is now. When he gets to the NHL and is under a rigid NHL training and nutrition program, he will bulk up to 195-200. That is what I mean by NHL frame.
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Thats wildly optimistic.

I'd be stunned if he plays over 185. His brother isn't very thick either, genetics are a bitch.
 
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