When the New York Rangers drafted Kappo Kakko, many were expecting, and not hoping that he would come in and have an immediate impact in the NHL. However, the Austen Matthews like performances has not happened, leading many to be disappointed with the young Finn.
The first thing to remember is that he just turned 19 years old. Unlike Matthews, who does have a unique talent that we might not see duplicated, was born in the United States.
Kakko was born and raised in Finland, and an 18-year-old, coming to the United States, let alone coming to New York City, is quite a lot to digest. But the bottom line is that Kakko has what it takes to be one of the top players in the NHL for many years to come. Patience is required.
Kakko will eventually be an impact player for the New York Rangers
So right out the gate, Kakko had many ups and downs. The season started slow, and Kakko was starting to feel the pressure.
In October of 2019, he told reporters:
“Hockey isn’t much fun for me right now. Things haven’t started to roll. Sometimes I feel I could get more ice time and play on the top line. I understand why I haven’t got that chance: my performances haven’t been that good.”
It is at this point to remember that despite being a second pick overall, it makes little sense to compare Kakko to Connor McDavid or Matthews, who was born to play the North American style of hockey and are centers. At this point, I am not going to go in long details about the difference between the two styles, other than to say that there are some notable differences.
This also leads to the reminder that much of this could have been due to difficulty in adapting to his new environment far from home. It might be more realistic to compare him to some other Europeans who started playing over here when they were 18.
One such player that comes to mind is a winger that I personally saw for the first time, Carolina Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov. In his rookie season, Svechnikov had 20 goals and 37 points in 82 games. Now, after a year in the league, he is quickly becoming a sniper who’s ready to score goals on a regular and consistent basis. Someone with the natural talent that Kappo has can hopefully continue to develop and become a star for the New York Rangers for the foreseeable future.