Yeah. He has been told for years to get longer stick and I bet stiffer to.
Kid just likes to have fun.
Sadly it hurts his play in this level.
But I bet he will make some changes.
Player Discussion Kaapo Kakko: Part III
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Yeah. He has been told for years to get longer stick and I bet stiffer to.
Kid just likes to have fun.
Sadly it hurts his play in this level.
But I bet he will make some changes.
Crease
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If he starts getting passed by guys his own age I'll start worrying. This year has been a good learning experience for him.
romba
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Cmox
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Yeah I saw his arms last night and noticed the difference. Good job, Kakko.
romba
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@Jim Ramsay lol @ team's head trainer liking a post showing the results of our rookie's hard training
GoAwayGiannone
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I dont doubt hes gotten bigger since the season started, but to be fair the pose hes in in that first picture isn't very flattering if muscles are what you're trying to display.
romba
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True. Even his shoulders though look twice the size and rounded as well
Hes a growing teenager.
I agree that the pictures/poses make the change look more drastic than they probably are, but I'd be surprised if he hasn't gotten bigger.
Riche16
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BB88
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I’ll say it again.
Svec style development is what I’m looking for.
Another summer/year to gain strenght to play his power game, adjust to the smaller rink(Svec had plenty of NA experience) and more time to work on conditioning.
From 20y- a top tier powerforward
Svec style development is what I’m looking for.
Another summer/year to gain strenght to play his power game, adjust to the smaller rink(Svec had plenty of NA experience) and more time to work on conditioning.
From 20y- a top tier powerforward
- Jul 6, 2017
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Just spend a few weeks conditioning and working out with CK; a few weeks working shooting and skating with Ziba; a week working on puck handling and passing with Panarin.
Edit: Maybe Teemu Selanne or Sakku Koivu would be willing to mentor him as well. Don’t underestimate the impact of common language and culture.
Edit: Maybe Teemu Selanne or Sakku Koivu would be willing to mentor him as well. Don’t underestimate the impact of common language and culture.
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He looks bigger. His conditioning has improved a tad. He’s no longer fatigued after his first shift — but he struggles to play the full three periods.
romba
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Kreider is the model for strength and conditining, Zbad though is a very close second. The guy is out for over a minute at times and if I hadn't been tracking his shift I would assume he'd just popped on the ice off the bench with his energy. Never looks winded on the bench too. No fatigue errors from that guy. Panarin is another guy who never seems to tire, though he doesn't have Zbad's wheels so it shows a bit more on him after an extended shift.
After a longer 45 second shift of KK, my own legs feel like lead after watching him skate through mud back to the bench. Used to be every shift though, and he doesn't just glide back anymore like he used to, so definite progress!
did kaapo go back to finland or he stay local? this break, if we do continue this season at some point would have allowed him to physically develop "in season" as oppose to the "offseason." with kakko getting time to improve his athleticism and kreider having time to recover we may have lucked out if the season is eventually played. although it did not come at a good time for zibanegod.
Amazing Kreiderman
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What are you looking for in the offseason going into next season for Kakko? Let’s be honest, he was disappointing. He was a huge liability defensively, at times he looked completely lost, and it’s clear he wasn’t ready to start in the NHL and probably should’ve spent some time in the AHL.
I feel like conditioning should be the primary focus, but his defensive play and awareness is really what’s made him so problematic. If he’s just not scoring, that’s something he’ll figure out, but when he’s a black hole in his own end, that’s where it gets tough to give him ice time to begin with
Is that something you can work on in the offseason? Should he start next year in the AHL? Development for this guy is crucial, and he really needs a lot of work.
I feel like conditioning should be the primary focus, but his defensive play and awareness is really what’s made him so problematic. If he’s just not scoring, that’s something he’ll figure out, but when he’s a black hole in his own end, that’s where it gets tough to give him ice time to begin with
Is that something you can work on in the offseason? Should he start next year in the AHL? Development for this guy is crucial, and he really needs a lot of work.
There is no chance he starts in the A and he shouldn't.
How many 18 year olds step into the NHL and look good defensively? Sending him down to the A isn't going to do him any good to learn something that he can learn at the NHL level. I forget who said it, but a ton of kids think they know what conditioning and hard work is until they get to this level and realize that what they're doing isn't enough. That should be priority A-Z for him.
The hands are there, the head is there. No one should have expected it to come together right off the bat.
Just his skating and conditioning, IMO. His biggest issues beyond that are in his decision-making, where he is indecisive, often passes up on high-percentage chances to do something like shoot from a bad angle, try a wraparound, or make a low-percentage pass. That's something that would only improve through experience, or watching a lot of tape, I suppose. He should also maybe spend some time with a sports psychologist, as it looked and sounded like his confidence really suffered last year.
Inferno
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Yep agreed. There were shifts where he was utterly dominant only to make a really low percentage play to eff everything up. That comes with experience. His conditioning needs to be priority 1 2 and 3.
Shesterkybomb
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I'm not disappointed in his season, it's s usually the issue with a player who is good at using his size when you draft them. He was trying to do the same stuff that got him here and players are too strong at the nhl level. I honestly see him as a comparable to Nash, his skating needs work to get to Nash level but basically the same skill set. I see him as too similar in philosophy to play with Chytil which i felt he did a lot this year without looking at the toi, both guys wanna take the puck to the net. If he gets stronger, and gets a little work on his speed, learns to use his linemates a little more effectively, all things young players do a better job of after their first year of learning the North American game, then I have no problem seeing him cracking the top 6 and becoming a 30+ goal scorer within a year or two. It's a big adjustment coming to north america and the style of game played here, from the sounds of him early on it felt like he never dumped and chased before. It's a big adjustment.
If Kakko comes into camp and still looks lost, like he did at times during the season when he could barely keep the puck on his stick, then I have no doubt the Rangers would consider sending him to Hartford for a spell. They took that approach with Chytil as he began his second season, and I think the assignment to Hartford helped him. I'm not saying they should send him to Hartford, just that I don't think the possibility should be ruled out completely. I think the Rangers will do what they think is best for him, and based on how they've used Hartford recently with some top prospects--Chytil, Andersson, Kravtsov--I don't think you can completely discount the possibility of him spending any time there.
Morten
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His first NHL goal was called by John Giannone instead of Sam Rosen, his career with the Rangers will forever be tainted
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