Why isn't Kaapo Kakko in the AHL?

Is there a Barb Underhill/Laura Stamm-type in this organization? He needs to spend time with a skating coach.

Barb isn't exclusive. Rangers worked with her in the past. They can again.

Barb isn't exclusive. Rangers worked with her in the past. They can again.

Isn’t she working with the Leafs now?

Could be a healthy scratch for some time, maybe Quinn doesn't want to damage his confidence more than it already is.

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Isn’t she working with the Leafs now?

She isn't exclusive. She works with multiple teams (Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Guelph Storm) as a consultant. Players go to her in Mississauga.

I'm quite sure that Kakko has been in power skating since he was 6. Your returns at this point will be of the diminishing variety. He's a Finn not some NCAA frat bro.

Guess you trade him then?

Kaapo says fuck you guys

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Guess you trade him then?

No, but he's going to have to do it his own way. He's not what's sexy right now.

Nothing says everyone is wrong quite like a limp wristed pinball goal from the blueline.

ha! nailed it.

The kid is on fire now.

Lias's ass cheek says hi.

Nothing says everyone is wrong quite like a limp wristed pinball goal from the blueline.

I don't care if he gets goals by pinball or by weird bounce or by yelling at the puck til it goes in. Goal is a goal, and if he gets confident from it, all the better.

This thread was a nice jinx

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I don't care if he gets goals by pinball or by weird bounce or by yelling at the puck til it goes in. Goal is a goal, and if he gets confident from it, all the better.

Kane had 72 points as a rookie.

 

Hughes might get 35.

 

The media/blogger/Twitterverse (and this board,for that matter) comparables for these players are so misguided...so, they're overhyped, and people wonder why fans "have no patience".

 

That said, when the NHL is too fast, I wish there was a tier-below developmental league we could send these kids to... Someone should invent that...

Neither are living up to their billing, that's clear.

I also think you're right in that many overhyped those two. But the more "serious" types like Wheeler and Pronman were a bit more careful to point out that, whilst great prospects and potential impact players, neither Hughes nor Kakko should be seen as generational talents.

Pronman used Svechnikov as a comparable with Kakko, which seems reasonable. Kakko isn't doing as well as Svechnikov did, and in particular his underlying numbers are vastly inferior (granted, that is typically helped by playing for a team like Carolina with a sound structure and a clear idea of what type of team they're going to be, but that's a separate discussion).

I just think Kakko is struggling badly with the pace of the game and it must be tough going from toying with guys to suddenly realizing you're now just another guy physically. I think that's such a big part of his game and that the transition period for that style of player coming into the NHL was vastly under appreciated.

Thing is, you practice more than you play. Those are valuable practice minutes with the Rangers he?d be missing out on

Good point on the level of competition at practice.

Given how hard he is working (we are hearing anecdotes) sometimes a change of scenery can ease the pressure and give an opportunity to relax. When he's at his comfort level he can focus on making hockey plays and letting the game come to him, instead of trying to force things. He's trying to live up to being a top draft pick, learn a new language and culture, and step up his performance on the ice - as a teenager.

We should care. A goal most definitely is not a goal.

Last I checked, if you deke through all five players and then Michigan it into the net, or you take a shot and bounces in off a skate, it still counts the same way. They add one to the G column on your statsheet, team gets +1 score.

I'll take the oddball with the confidence boost. It's fine. If it makes him think the puck is going to go in if he does the whole "bull in a china shop" thing for a while (and that generally works), great. When you're 0-for-19, it's about psychology, not aesthetics.

Last I checked, if you deke through all five players and then Michigan it into the net, or you take a shot and bounces in off a skate, it still counts the same way. They add one to the G column on your statsheet, team gets +1 score.

 

I'll take the oddball with the confidence boost. It's fine. If it makes him think the puck is going to go in if he does the whole "bull in a china shop" thing for a while (and that generally works), great. When you're 0-for-19, it's about psychology, not aesthetics.

You are exactly right and anyone who’s played before knows it’s true

Last I checked, if you deke through all five players and then Michigan it into the net, or you take a shot and bounces in off a skate, it still counts the same way. They add one to the G column on your statsheet, team gets +1 score.

 

I'll take the oddball with the confidence boost. It's fine. If it makes him think the puck is going to go in if he does the whole "bull in a china shop" thing for a while (and that generally works), great. When you're 0-for-19, it's about psychology, not aesthetics.

There's a sense of relief for getting a goal but if you think goals like that do anything for a skill player's confidence, then I thoroughly disagree. Desperately flinging picks at the net is not his game not should he get used to playing that way.

I was going to add "anyone who's played before knows it's true" to be snarky but that's just an asinine comment to begin with.

We're not talking about the scoresheet. We're talking about psyche and confidence.

 

There's a sense of relief for getting a goal but if you think goals like that do anything for a skill player's confidence, then I thoroughly disagree. Desperately flinging picks at the net is not his game not should he get used to playing that way.

 

I was going to add "anyone who's played before knows it's true" to be snarky but that's just an asinine comment to begin with.

I don't think that was a desperate fling. He had the shot, and he took it. He got a good bounce.

It's an ugly goal, but it clearly got his motor going a bit, and I'll take that confidence boost. Here's hoping he runs with it.

As an aside, that Howden-Chytil-Kakko line had a pretty good game.