TootooTrain
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- Jun 12, 2010
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RW Kaapo Kakko - TPS, Liiga (2019 Draft) Part 5
- Thread starter FinPanda
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Don't really know about giveaways, Kakko's puck protection was off though. He got muscled off the puck more easily than usual.
Tried a bit too hard today, and he needs to back check a lot more, a lot of times just lets people skate right past him to the o-zone
ManWithNoName
Unregistered User
I think you’re being far too optimistic. After this game, I can’t see why any team would take him in the first round at all.
If France or Germany make it a tight game against Finland which they are fully capable of, that's where Kakko will step up (again). That's what he does. U20 gold medal goal and the 3 games this tournament against good opponents, carrying his team in FEL playoffs etc.
FinPanda
Team Finland 2022 WHC champions
Polar Bear
Registered User
- May 15, 2018
- 2,342
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He could not score the rest of the tournament and I really wouldn't care. He's already proven his skill and dominance at this age against quality teams. Only mystery that remains is in which order does Hughes/Kakko go 1/2.
1909
Registered User
- Jul 6, 2016
- 20,749
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One thing is sure. The NJ-Rangers rivalry will be restarted.
FinPanda
Team Finland 2022 WHC champions
The problem is that our team needs him to score if we want to go far in this tournament.
I will rather very much hope so than expect so. It’s hard to not expect him to score all the time time as he has really been so exciting to watch at his best and scored already many wonderful goals. But I think it’s still better to remember that he is still only 18 years old and it really isn’t fair for us to EXPECT him to be scoring in every game or to continue at the pace that he has been scoring in the tournament so far. Maybe he even can do it, but it’s still better to not really be expecting it, as that’s honestly quite unfair towards a teenager, even how talented he is.
You'd very much hope so - Well, Finland should be fine vs France anyway even if Kakko doesn't have a great game. But hopefully he would show up vs Germany at least. Still, I think you're blowing it out of proportion just how bad of a game he had. The first period was bad, afterwards he made better plays with the puck already, and even used the teammates quite well towards the end even though you said he wasn't. Had a few good scoring chances, didn't score goals.
Very true, if it was easy then the goal record at this tournament for a pre-draft player wouldn't be just 7 goals. I think we've just been spoiled by how every game before this he's some highlight worthy plays.
I do agree, that he was a bit better towards the end. Still a quite bad game for him in my opinion. But it was in fact a very difficult game for him exactly because of the passive and tight defence that GB was playing. Also they were playing quite physically especially against him.
Kakko has been marked much tighter anyway by the opponents than in his first games, so what I’m really hoping exactly is for him to start using his teammates more with passing plays, as the opponents are now focusing already maybe a bit too much in defending him. He could use that to his teams benefit much better. Hopefully he will do it in the upcoming games more. There was briefly a hint of it towards the end of the game today, but that will not help his team very much still how he played most of the game today.
xD
Kaako Kappo
Kaako Kappo
Why not? You can see it with your own eyes that he did not push as hard as he did before. No one on the team did. Even Rajala admitted after the game that they didn't really have to try their hardest. He did have his chances to score a goal, didn't go in today. Boohoo. Compare this game to the one against USA where he also went scoreless - It's day and night.
I love how @Ippenator has now repeated the same thing in different ways 3 posts in a row and managed to write a god damn novel every time. We get it, you're trying to seek your "Told you so" moment, your glorious moment where everyone else thought this player was going to be a franchise talent and he doesn't, but you knew it from the beginning.
I just hope that if the day comes when you'll have to come out and admit that your takes were absolutely awful, you'll do just that.
I'm happy Finland is finally producing players who are willing to be a little bit selfish and incredibly creative, willing to try out new things and give the audience a show. You've seen it even in these WHCs, the endless passing by the other Fins that results into nothing, instead of having some balls to do it yourself.
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Yep, the start of the game wasn't very good by him. He likely was feeling overconfident. And it's true that Finland didn't need to do a whole lot to win.But there's also that thing. Numerous times his teammates just kill the play for no reason, mostly with a bad point shot. I recall a situation where Kakko snuck behind the goal to the far post and was wide open with a clear passing lane, but the D decided to take a terrible shot instead. This stuff happens very often.
Still, not much that can be done about that. Hopefully Kakko has a better game next time. He'll probably have grown wiser and respect the opponent a little more.
The Crypto Guy
Registered User
- Jun 26, 2017
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Hopefully coaches in the NHL take note. So many young kids are afraid to make risky plays in the offensive zone in fear they will get benched, everyone plays "safe" (aside from the top players who earned the right to do whatever they want to score goals haha)
Kaako Kappo
Kaako Kappo
Pisses me off to no end that there's a talent like this coming from the guys (@Ippenator ) home country, something to be admired and happy about and all he does is nitpick and whine about irrelevant bullcrap. Just be happy, dude. No one gives a rat ass about your legitimacy as some sort of a talent evaluator (you're not any more legit than anyone else on this board). Kakko doesn't need to be compared to any other Fins, he's Kaapo Kakko and he'll be great in his own way.
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Yeah, it's pretty cool. A lot of Finnish minor hockey is guys trying to dangle through everyone and constant giveaways and big mistakes. But they let them play like that and they learn. There also are many flashy plays and certainly a lot prettier goals than in most Liiga games. It's unfortunate when some coaches of these development teams care more about wins than giving players opportunities to learn.
Mr., you obviously haven’t really been paying attention. I have already admitted that he is that class of a talent that there is definitely the chance that he becomes at best even a superstar. But no, I can’t even now be sure of it, and no one else can he absolutely sure of it either, as no one can see the future. I have liked his every other game in this tournament except this GB game, but even after that I have said nothing about it somehow making me feel now worse of him as a talent. I just pointed out what he should be more and more prepared to battle against with teams probably marking him quite tightly in the future too. But using more his teammates in these situations especially, will be exactly getting even himself more involved in these type of games after all.
You and some others make a strange agenda that I somehow hate or dislike Kakko. Of course I don’t do either. He is one of the most talented if not THE most talented teenager that Finland has ever had. I’m honestly just disliking the overhyping and especially the massive expectations that some of you guys are putting on Kakko or any other young Finns nowadays too easily. Most of you were praising Laine the same way as now Kakko, but when he after all hasn’t developed at the pace that some people here were expecting, some have practically dumped him and started hyping the shiny new toy. I’m honestly just a bit afraid that the same is going to happen to Kakko that has so far happened with Laine, if Kakko doesn't after all meet with the extremely high expectations that some people have here.
I know, I have been a big fan of Laine, and yes I was guilty with many other Finns in even overhyping him at some point, as he is one of the greatest shooters in the game. And because goalscoring is the most important thing in hockey in my opinion, I have thought that Laine is a very special talent. But Laine has certain issues (mostly lack of acceleration and stamina) that have so far kept him from fullfilling his potential and those things will still take 2-3 years to fix most probably, if he will ever be able to fix them. I’m pretty sure he will fix them, but how well? Only time will tell, I guess. But I haven’t turned against him and lost the interest in his development, which is still most likely going to happen in a good way gradually.
But honestly, I have seen the same exact tendencies with too many Finnish fans that went on about hyping Laine overly before Laine disappointed them with his development. I absolutely don’t want to see that happen with Kakko, Heiskanen or any other great Finnish special hockey talent.
Just please, you and some others, stop creating imaginary motives for me or any other poster here for that matter. Let us tell how things are in reality for us, just like you yourselves have the right to tell how you see things and what your motives in reality are.
And btw, tell greetings from me to Paul Maurice and Kappo the Goat!
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Jussi
Registered User
An off game more or less for the whole team.
Eggtimer
Registered User
What !? No points VS GB ? Might slide down to #3 overall. If 3 games can skyrocket you up to slam dunk #1 st overall and miles ahead of the kid from the US ... then surely a complete game against career minor league players should move the needle the other way as well, should it not ?
Tongue in cheek , I know . I love Kakko and I love Hughes as well and am torn between the two . But it is quite absurd to say Kakko is the better choice for #1 overall based jus off this one tournament .
I am not saying Kakko isn’t better than Hughes . I honestly don’t know . I am just sick of people using a 3/4 game sample size to make a definitive choice on who the better player is.
Having said that , at this very point in time , Kakko is playing better.
In one year / two years / five years from now ?? No one knows .
Tongue in cheek , I know . I love Kakko and I love Hughes as well and am torn between the two . But it is quite absurd to say Kakko is the better choice for #1 overall based jus off this one tournament .
I am not saying Kakko isn’t better than Hughes . I honestly don’t know . I am just sick of people using a 3/4 game sample size to make a definitive choice on who the better player is.
Having said that , at this very point in time , Kakko is playing better.
In one year / two years / five years from now ?? No one knows .
Love this narrative that people are judging Kakko by just this one tournament when that's not true. Consider for example playoffs, where HPK's coach's only focused player was Kakko, and Kakko still lead his team in scoring and advanced stats, with 62.6% corsi while his team's was 50.1% for example.
What this tournament has instead done is it's caused people to consider that perhaps they underestimated Kakko's performance in Liiga, for example. It's not like he's shown anything new, though him being able to pull off the things he does even vs NHL players certainly is worth something.
You putting it like that makes it sound like he had a mediocre season and this is the first time he's shown play like this, which isn't the case.
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