Like it or not, Kreider is a quality NHL vet. Actually he is the third best forward this team has, even if his play so far this season hasn't shown it. Kakko has been given a decent chance to succeed but he hasn't yet been able to grasp it, and that's not solely on Quinn, Rangers lack of a proper #2C, Kreider's troubles etc. but also on Kakko. We can't expect the other two forwards to carry Kakko, even if he is only a rookie 6 games into his NHL career. Most players start their NHL careers on the lower lines without any PP time, with less than stellar linemates yet many still manage to keep their confidence and find success.
Rangers are a young team that had the least ROW of any team last season. No prospect here is going to be in a perfect situation and we must manage with what we have. This team, Kakko and his linemates are going to struggle at times, but hopefully they'll also develop and find some success. To me Kakko has already improved, and he seems both more active and less tentative. Have some patience folks.
He damm hasnt this season.
People say oh it's better to play the kid on a lowe line to get him sheltered, this ain't sheltering. This is throwing him into a difficult situation.
You can't demand an 18y rookie to carry an entire line on his own, you need to support these guys and give them surroundings where they can
develop. Rangers have done a horrible job with it so far.
He's the next face of the franchise, and I'd make sure I'd try to develop and help him as much as possible.
This team isn't winning anything this year and won't make the playoffs even, the lineups are unaccaptable.
He’s not really in a different situation than most top 2 picks are in. And his conditioning isn’t great, so I don’t know if giving him more minutes is the answer to getting a better performance out of him
For sure is, none of Matthews/Laine/Eichel were thrown into his situation, Svecs role was limited but he played for superior team and behind proven players.
1 thing that has bothered with me on Rautala is that they train hard and are in great shape, the problem just is off the ice.