Kaapo Kakko
The case for Kakko: There might not be a more NHL-ready rookie forward this season than Kaapo Kakko. He’s already proven he can dominate against professional players, as he had a record-setting season in Liiga with 22 goals, the most of any under-18 player in league history. The only under-18 players with more points? Mikael Granlund and Aleksander Barkov. That’s nice company to be in.
Kakko is playing for a huge hockey market. The New York Rangers are an Original Six team and are one of the league’s most profitable and popular teams. They’ll be featured on NBC Sports 13 times during the 2019-20 season, so Kakko will get plenty of chances to show what he can do.
The case against Kakko: Kakko will likely play in a second-line role for the Rangers, but he could get first-line minutes. This is usually insignificant for me, but there’s a pretty big dropoff from playing with Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin and playing with Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil.
Chytil should be a top-six center at some point, but the 2019-20 season is likely going to be full of growing pains for the young center. Also, there’s a good chance Kreider will be traded. If Kakko can steal that top-line right wing spot away from Pavel Buchnevich, he’ll be in a terrific position to produce. But I’m not sure he does that.
Verdict: I’d be surprised if Kakko isn’t a Calder Trophy finalist. Even if he doesn’t start the season with Zibanejad and Panarin, I have a feeling he’ll work his way up there.