And KAKKO scores again with a big slap shot from the point for 2-1 Finland lead. Playing like a man amongst boys except he’s the boy
And Kakko just scored his 4th goal breaking a 2-2 tie with 10 min left with a great move from behind the net. https://hfboards.mandatory.com/thre...slava-kosice-may-10th-to-26th.2643481/page-17
And KAKKOOOOOO with his 5th goal into an empty net as he flicks off a defenseman draped on him like a flea. Wow!!
The Devs are taking Kakko, and we are getting Hughes. That is not a bad thing as both will be studs in the NHL, but right now Kakko looks unreal and I think the Devs will take him. Worst place to be is # 3, missing out on both studs.
Be surprised if the devils pass on Hughes from a few games but yes we will gladly take either one of them
The Devils director of scouting or some position in that organization coached Hughes. Something like that. There is a connection there.
Unless KK does this for the rest of the tournament i don't think it will change their pick, but hopefully Hughes plays well going forward. I think he secrectly wants to play in NY so i guess we can't really lose.
The Devils have absolutely nothing in the system to be a second center with Hischier. If you look at teams winning the cup and going deep, they have strength down the middle. So, if they take Kakko, it enables us to not use Kravtsov, Andersson and Chytil at center which I'm all for. They can play wing and go with Zibanejad, Hughes and Howden down the middle. If they take Hughes, then Kravtsov is going to have to play center.
Yeah, unless we used the WPG pick on a Newhook or Dach after Kakko at #2, if they move up. One of those guys could be a 2C in another year maybe.
Exactly, we cannot lose. Right now I think the Devs take Kakko, who is bigger, stronger, and much more NHL ready than Hughes, but even if that happens we get a dominant C for years to come in Hughes. No downside at all.
I see very little chance in the Devils taking Kakko. Almost 0. They have no centers other than Hischier. Devils current roster also sucks. They aren't close to winning anything now. I was watching Hughes highlights today. He's actually a better fit for us than Kakko. He makes wings better. Kakko is more of a make plays for himself guy. We would stand a much better chance of developing Kravtsov, Chytil, Andersson with Hughes centering them. I really don't like any of those guys at center. Howden is the natural center of those 4. So as much as I like Kakko, I hope the Devils do take him. I watched his highlights. He won't be scoring goals like that in the NHL very often. Two, NHL players catch on quick. Those fancy stick handling moves won't work for long. Unless it's an Ovechkin, you always take the center. Centers win in the NHL.
I agree positionally Hughes is more impactful. And I also agree at days end odds are the Devs will probably take Hughes. He has also gotten years of hype, and this has been labeled the Hughes draft for a long time, which I'm sure doesn't hurt his case for # 1. We'll see though. Kakko has performed against men for a long time, and has been dominant in many different ways against men in Finland's first two games at the Worlds. At the very least it is way closer than anyone ever thought it would be when they looked at this draft months ago, Hughes was the clear # 1 by a long shot. Now Hughes and Kakko are neck and neck, and there is a big drop off to # 3. As I said, # 3 is a really rough spot to be in mentally when the draft has two clear cut studs and then a big drop. If it is Kakko I wonder how they slot at C. Figure Ziban as the # 1. Howden as the # 3. Maybe Andersson as the # 4. Who is the # 2? Is it Chytil? Is it Kratsov (who has not played much C if at all)? Is it someone else? That will be the open question.
That tournament also is a joke. Only the Euro's care about that. Chytil to me sucked dong the second half. He's still lazy. He has Buchnevich syndrome before he finally figured it out the last 20 games. He's lazy.
Longer term i think Kravtsov is better as a Wing, so eventually we would need a good #2. Andersson should be that based on where he was drafted but i don't see him being more than a 3rd liner. That's why i think maybe they move and take one with Winnipegs pick around 10-14. They could always fill it through FA in another year or two also.
I think Howden could be second line material. He's big and he's going to get a lot stronger. He wants it. You can tell. He's a winner. He had a good rookie season for a kid who was 20 during the season. I think he takes a big step up. Andersson I think has a couple of Fast years offensively but by 23 he takes a step up to 45-50 point land. Chytil I'm on the fence about. I still can't believe we have one of the first two picks. Like Gorton said, top 3 has never happened for this organization.
I think Howden could too. Andersson will be a good player in time but hopefully they can improve his skating. He could be used in a trade at some point too i suppose. Chytil can be a monster but it's up to him with the work ethic.
Chytil will be fine you guys. The kid is like 12 years old. Just be patient and he’ll develop into the stud his raw skills that you see tell you he’ll be. More worried about Anderson than chytil
Agree 100%. To me Andersson has not shown the puck skills yet to suggest his ceiling is more than high motor 3rd liner. The effort is there and he looks engaged out there, but when the puck is on his stick he just hasnt shown the same playmaking ability as Chytil and Howden. Chytil has all the tools, he just needs to be more consistent effort-wise and pick up his game away from the puck. I still bounce back and forth whether I like him better and C or wing. If he gets better defensively I think he can be a real good second-line center. Wherever he plays, his size will give him an advantage, though hes still learning how to use it. As Mel just said he's only 19. A full year younger than Lias and still a year and a half away from going to a bar. Amazing. If we get Kakko (fingers crossed) I can see Chytil starting out as 2C and Howden as 3C, and I'd keep one of Strome or Namenstiknov as a winger and insurance C for depth purposes. Andersson I dont know.
