Going into this season, there was a lot of pressure on Kaapo Kakko. He signed a one-year, $2.4 million contract with the New York Rangers over the summer, which was essentially a prove-it deal for the young forward. Through the first nine games of the season, Kakko has transformed his game and is looking better than ever. First off, Kakko is feeling good about himself. He’s playing a confident brand of hockey and it’s starting to show in his individual game. “In the offensive zone, I like to stay with the puck, down low behind the net, in the corners, try to feel out Cuylle and Chytil,” Kakko said. “I think that’s my game.” The 23-year-old’s improvement is translating to the stat sheet as well. He’s recorded one goal, six assists and seven points in nine games while averaging 13:53 minutes per game. Peter Laviolette is starting to take notice of Kakko and he likes what he sees thus far. “To me he is trying to attack a little bit more,” Laviolette said. “He has the puck on his stick, you can see it in practice, you can see it in games. We’ve been talking to him to get a little bit quicker to get to the offense, to get his shot off, to get to the front of the net. So there’s been some improvement there.” Kakko has also been benefiting from playing on the explosive third line with Filip Chytil and Will Cuylle. This trio have all the sudden emerged as a lethal offensive threat for the Rangers and they just continue to get better. “He’s playing on a line where they are all helping each other. Will looks a little bit better, Filip because of his health looks better, Kaapo the way he came in playing on that line, he looks a little bit better, so they are continuing to grow on a line.” On top of his emerging line, Kakko also serves a role on the second unit of the power play, where his presence is severely underrated. Stan Fischler talks about Matt Rempe. “I’m net-front, so I stay down low, stay in front of the goalie and make some plays over there,” Kakko said about his power play role. “That’s what I try to do.” The transformation of Kakko has been one of the biggest surprises of the Rangers’ season and if he continues on this current trajectory, he may have a future in New York after all.
