LW/RW Kaapo Kakko - TPS, Liiga (2019, 2nd, NYR) Part 7

[Albatros]

The Ducks suck big time, no question. Kakko's 8.3 PP goals for per 60 is pretty meh, not particularly bad or great.

 

[ijuka]

The Ducks suck big time, no question. Kakko's 8.3 PP goals for per 60 is pretty meh, not particularly bad or great.

I mean, he's shared for #2 on his team for PP goals, with significantly less PP time than the others.

Technically, if you are expected to score 0.2 PP goals per 2 min, or 0.04 PP goals per 2min for any individual player on the ice, the average for 60min of PP time would be 1.2 PP goals.

 

[tellermine]

Dunno.
I just feel that kid is little rushed here.
He has brain and skills but he is way to raw in skating, tires easily.
Also he is quite akward in defence.

Finland and or AHL might have been better to get some of those flaws trained on peace.

Well we will see.
He has a bright future for sure. Jyst hoping long nhl season dont hinder his training.

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

He gets tired real quick on his shifts.

If past tells anything things should change in few months time.

That can easily be a function of him needing to monitor his blood sugar s little more actively considering the game load.

But every solid kilo he puts on will let his skill flow that much easier.

 

[kelsier]

The Ducks suck big time, no question. Kakko's 8.3 PP goals for per 60 is pretty meh, not particularly bad or great.

Did that powerplay goal feel like someone took a scalpel at your heart or something?

Have you checked how many better PP goal scorers are in the team as of this moment by the way?

 

[FinPanda]

Dunno.
I just feel that kid is little rushed here.
He has brain and skills but he is way to raw in skating, tires easily.
Also he is quite akward in defence.

Finland and or AHL might have been better to get some of those flaws trained on peace.

Well we will see.
He has a bright future for sure. Jyst hoping long nhl season dont hinder his training.

Finland would have been a terrible option. TPS sucks so bad. It's worse than him playing in the NHL. Never TPS, what an awful idea.

 

[AIexisLafreniereNYR]

Y’all still find a way to hate on the kid. He’s 18 just trying to figure out the NHL and he’s been a complete beast since

 

[Albatros]

Did that powerplay goal feel like someone took a scalpel at your heart or something?

Have you checked how many better PP goal scorers are in the team as of this moment by the way?

I wish him well, occasional PP scoring is just more of a must than that much of an achievement when you get so much time. One PP goal and he's on the right track, no points after less PP time and he's a bust. It's not a good narrative when the steps he has to take now are entirely different.

 

[BPD]

He's looked phenomenal these last few games. It took him a bit to get going, but I think he's starting to really figure it out.

He's so goddamn strong on the puck.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Why are you bringing up Hughes into this lol, i'm actually all neutral on Hughes and idc either, dunno what the hell your'e on about. Yes he has struggled producing at ES but your the one looking at the whole picture black and white. He has been good at 5v5 a couple games not too far back, for the duration of the whole game FYI. To me that tells me that he has the ability to be effective 5v5. The coach need to figure it out, and KK too. Because it will happen trust me.

And now your generalizing all finnish posters as we all somehow only care how he fairs against Hughes, lmao. For now NHL is the place for him to develop, if it werent, he would'nt still be playing there.

Look, you are pretty much making my point. No one doubts the kid has a lot of offensive skills, which is why he’s doing well on the PP and why in a pressure situation in the shootout he scored easily. But if he can’t produce without time and space with the puck on his stick, there’s a problem that needs to be addressed.

We all see the same problems.

1. He can’t create free zone entries or even space in any area of the ice due to his skating. That’s probably never going to be a strength of his.

2. He’s very static when his team has puck possession. He doesn’t look for open spaces in the defense. He’s not anticipating teammates movements. It’s hard for an 18 year old to adjust to the NHL speed having played last season in Liiga. Processing these plays is still hard for him. It’s not about hockey IQ, it’s the very real fact that he’s an 18 year old kid that made the jump from about the 5th best league in the world to the best. That’s very difficult.

3. He doesn’t yet have a good 200 foot game, he doesn’t forecheck well and he makes too many defensive errors. I don’t think it’s because he’s lazy or that he doesn’t have the potential to be good in these areas, but he struggles with the stamina of a faster game and has to conserve energy more often when his team doesn’t have the puck. He also has never played in a league that is so fast and physical.

These are things I think anyone with any objectivity would acknowledge. Now, what’s the solution?

1. Do you put him on a line with two very good forwards and hope you can mask the areas he struggles with by hoping they do the majority of the work and let Kakko play a minor complimentary role?

If you do this, what is the plan for these areas of his game to improve? And if this is the plan, does it actually help the team? Can you demote someone like Strome whose over 1PPG early on to the third line?

2. Do you send him to a lesser league that will replicate the NHL style?

I think the second option is the best. If you go with the first option, I don’t see what the plan is for things to improve. You have to actually at some point make an effort to develop these parts of his game. Masking the issue is not going to make things better long-term, in my opinion.

Edit: And just one last point. There are a number of people lying to themselves about his play because they see Hughes scoring points and don’t want Kakko to fall behind. Some of it is Finn’s, some is Rangers fans. But it’s counterproductive. It doesn’t make the kid better to claim he’s improved in recent weeks when he clearly hasn’t. I’d hope the team is taking the view of what’s best for his development instead of what’s best for public perception. There’s a lot of fans who are too concerned with public perception and a contest against Hughes.

 

[Zub]

He's looked phenomenal these last few games. It took him a bit to get going, but I think he's starting to really figure it out.

He's so goddamn strong on the puck.

God forbid you have that opinion! Also forget those games as a couple posters here has!

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

just because he's not a finished product yet , 1.5 months into his 18 year old season, doesn't mean he needs to go to the AHL or to freakin Liiga. Why can't he learn on the job in the NHL? It's not like he's overwhelmed and not producing at all. So he's not immediately elite and can't singlehandedly drive a line of Lemieux and Howden like Panarin might be able to. I don't see how having him on the Rangers is harmful for his development.

 

[ninetyeight]

He's been great the past few games. Who cares if he's a little invisible if he puts points in the end. When you're invisible, at least you aren't making mistakes. If he keeps this up he's back in the calder race. Don't see why anyone would sent him down at this point.

 

[tellermine]

He's looked phenomenal these last few games. It took him a bit to get going, but I think he's starting to really figure it out.

He's so goddamn strong on the puck.

He is nro. 24.
Are you sure you follow right player?

I mean phenomenal.... quit a strong word for kid that strugles in many parts of his game.

He will oon phenomenal for sure. In the future.

 

[tellermine]

just because he's not a finished product yet , 1.5 months into his 18 year old season, doesn't mean he needs to go to the AHL or to freakin Liiga. Why can't he learn on the job in the NHL? It's not like he's overwhelmed and not producing at all. So he's not immediately elite and can't singlehandedly drive a line of Lemieux and Howden like Panarin might be able to. I don't see how having him on the Rangers is harmful for his development.

Kid would benefit playing in a easier competition and schelude.

It is clear Kakko is having problems with his stamina, skating and I bet he can still get stronger.
Liiga would offer him more time to train these and learn more complete game.

82 game season in NHL and new enviroment, loads of traveling etc..
It can be quite a load for a kid.

Yes, he can manage and will make like 40 points but there is a risk he can only train those bigger issues at summer. If so it basicly slows his development.

Hopefully it will not be the case.

 

[JabbaJabba]

I think it's too late to go to Liiga and I don't think he has anything left to prove there. It's best to learn the North American way to play either in NHL or in AHL. In Liiga he would likely go to TPS, which is absolutely garbage and rotten this season. Best for him to be far away from that mess. He is scoring points and getting confidence and learning right now. His SO goal was great and a sign of confidence. He is going forward at the moment, little by little. If he regresses, then maybe give him some time in AHL. Rangers won't go far this season so he will get a long summer next year.

 

[FinPanda]

He should stay away from TPS. AHL/NHL is good for him.

 

[Muikea Bulju]

Maybe Im misunderstanding here, but bigger = more air resistance

Air resistance ~ Cross-Sectional Area ~ L^2

Muscle Mass ~ L^3

(Muscle Mass)/(Air Resistance) = (L^3)/(L^2) = L

This is why the heavier, taller guys win the Tour de France end-sprints, even though they always lose in the mountains (where the resistance comes mainly from gravitation, not air drag). Tom Boonen was one of the best sprinters all time, 192cm tall. 6-time olympic gold medalist from Track Cycling, Sir Chris Hoy is 185cm. 5-time gold medalist Sir Bradley Wiggins is 190cm.

On the other hand, one of the best climbers of all time, Marco Pantani was 172cm.

This is also why especially the sprint-swimmers tend to be pretty god damn tall. On the podium in Olympic 50 free: 2016: 199cm, 198cm, 191cm - 2012: 199-196-195 - 2008: 202-195-196

2018 Winter olympics, speed skating, 500m: gold-winner 187cm. 1000m+1500m gold-medalist: 186cm.

1000m WR holder: 188cm. 1500m WR holder: 190cm.

2002 Salt Lake 1000m gold-medalist: 192cm.

Sven Kramer, perhaps the best speed skater of all time, 9x all-around world champion, 9x olympic medalist: 187cm.

 

[Muikea Bulju]

How come Ristolainen or Rantanen skating is just fine? I dont think you can only blame Rautala. Laine only now started skating on his own this summer. Kakko said he was focusing on skating too.

These guys are young and they werent that great skaters to begin with it. It takes time to get stronger for skating, but you could learn better use of blade and skating technique on your own.

Rantanen's skating is not just fine. He has god-tier speed genes, and still he managed to have skating as his weakness for many, many years. Nowadays he is of course not as slow as before, but it's still clearly his weakest point.

Laine being slow and not skating in the summers was exactly what the Rautala-plan is all about. They make players big, strong, fat and slow. That is because they do anaerobic-lactic training, all the time. They take many years with more strength training and less sport-specific training.

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

Air resistance ~ Cross-Sectional Area ~ L^2

Muscle Mass ~ L^3

(Muscle Mass)/(Air Resistance) = (L^3)/(L^2) = L

This is why the heavier, taller guys win the Tour de France end-sprints, even though they always lose in the mountains (where the resistance comes mainly from gravitation, not air drag). Tom Boonen was one of the best sprinters all time, 192cm tall. 6-time olympic gold medalist from Track Cycling, Sir Chris Hoy is 185cm. 5-time gold medalist Sir Bradley Wiggins is 190cm.

On the other hand, one of the best climbers of all time, Marco Pantani was 172cm.

This is also why especially the sprint-swimmers tend to be pretty god damn tall. On the podium in Olympic 50 free: 2016: 199cm, 198cm, 191cm - 2012: 199-196-195 - 2008: 202-195-196

2018 Winter olympics, speed skating, 500m: gold-winner 187cm. 1000m+1500m gold-medalist: 186cm.

1000m WR holder: 188cm. 1500m WR holder: 190cm.

2002 Salt Lake 1000m gold-medalist: 192cm.

Sven Kramer, perhaps the best speed skater of all time, 9x all-around world champion, 9x olympic medalist: 187cm.

The mechanical advantage of longer cranks beats wind resistance.

What this has to do with hockey escapes me.

 

[Muikea Bulju]

The mechanical advantage of longer cranks beats wind resistance.

What this has to do with hockey escapes me.

Actually it's not about longer cranks. It's really about more muscle in relation to drag. Basic physics.

In cycling, you can always get more gears, larger tires and longer/shorter cranks. So no matter how short your feet are, you can go the same distance per revolution. And STILL in the sprints the long, heavy guys beat out the 160-170cm guys who are better than them in the mountains.

If it was about longer cranks, then the same long guys would win also the mountains. They do not. The light-weight guys win there.

 

[EdJovanovski]

I love how Finns call people long instead of tall

 

[Kaako Kappo]

I love how Finns call people long instead of tall

I call em tall

 

[ninetyeight]

I love how Finns call people long instead of tall

For some weird reason that's how it is in finnish. A lot of phrases and words make no sense relative to other languages, this is just a minor thing. People are long and we measure their length, but bigger things like buldings and mountains are tall or high and we measure the height.

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

Actually it's not about longer cranks. It's really about more muscle in relation to drag. Basic physics.

In cycling, you can always get more gears, larger tires and longer/shorter cranks. So no matter how short your feet are, you can go the same distance per revolution. And STILL in the sprints the long, heavy guys beat out the 160-170cm guys who are better than them in the mountains.

If it was about longer cranks, then the same long guys would win also the mountains. They do not. The light-weight guys win there.

No, no they wouldn’t.

Because going up a hill the extra weight adds resistance, because you’re going up a hill with extra weight. Power/weight ratios matter most.

On a level plane, weight is negligible for resistance. Power matters more.

You can’t have infinite crank sizes for short people because they run out of leg or they drive their nuts into the frame, while taller people have longer legs can use longer cranks, which generates more power per stroke.