6 BECK E T T.COM
GETTY IMAGESMeanwhile the Rangers – a team
with a much larger hobby following
- can sit back and happily scoop up
whichever player their Metropolitan
Division rivals leave on the table.
It’s going to be an agonizing decision
for the Devils: Take the undersized but dy-
namic center in Hughes or the big, skilled
winger with pro experience in Kakko.
If the Devils call his name, Kakko
would be the first Finnish player to
be selected No. 1 at the NHL Draft.
But whether he goes to New Jersey or
falls to the Rangers, one thing is clear:
Kakko is poised to become the domi-
nant hobby player to emerge from the
class of 2019.
“He plays a very mature game,” one
scout told Beckett Hockey. “He’s a solid
two-way player who is dangerous from
anywhere on the ice. He’s strong on his
skates, and is impossible to knock off
the puck.”
That point was well illustrated during
Finland’s game against the United States
at the Worlds. With their preliminary-
round contest tied at two in overtime,
Kakko picked up the puck in the neu-
tral zone then spent 30 seconds with
it as a one-man cycle, casually holding
NHL All-Star defenseman Ryan Suter
at bay the entire time. Although he was
stymied on his scoring attempt, it was
a brash demonstration of power that
called to mind one of the hobby’s great-
est legends.
“It was like watching [Jaromir] Jagr
out there,” the scout said without a hint
of hyperbole. “Suter could skate with
him, but he couldn’t stop him. [Kakko]
was going to do what he wanted to do.”
At 6-foot-2, 194 pounds, Kakko
isn’t as massive as the Czech forward,
but there are apparent similarities.
Both players are possession monsters.
And like Jagr, Kakko put together an
epic draft season, scoring 22 goals in
45 games to set a Finnish record for
under-18 players.
He’s also been brilliant internation-
ally. Kakko scored the game-winning
goal with 1:26 remaining in the third
period of the gold-medal game at the
2019 World Junior Championship
to give Finland a 3-2 win against the
U.S. And through the early going of
the Men’s Worlds he was even better,
outscoring a field of NHL stars with six
goals through his first five games. One
tally in particular, against Stanley Cup
winner Matt Murray and Team Cana-
da, left veteran observers stunned.
“To have the talent to pull off a move
like that is one thing,” our scout said.
finnish
for filthy