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Seattle Kraken right-winger Kaapo Kakko is starting to find his groove with his new team.
Kakko was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers, but he never broke out to become the superstar executives thought he would become.
During his Rangers career, he never scored more than 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists in 2022-2023) in a season.
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This season with the Rangers, Kakko had just four goals and 10 assists over 30 games this season, averaging just 13:17 minutes of ice time per game. The Finnish forward was playing on the third line and not receiving regular power play minutes.
On Dec. 15, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette made Kakko a healthy scratch, and then Kakko was traded to the Kraken a few days later. The Kraken acquired Kakko in exchange for defenseman Will Borgen and their third and sixth-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft. With the Kraken, Kakko is finally receiving consistent first-line minutes and producing.
Playing alongside left-winger Jaden Schwartz and center Matty Beniers, Kakko has eight points (three goals, five assists) in 11 games.
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Kakko is getting more consistent power play minutes and is averaging 15:58 seconds of ice team per game, nearly three minutes more than he was getting with the Rangers. The 23-year-old has especially played better of late, with seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past seven games.
Kakko will also be playing for Team Finland in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, which will give him a chance to showcase his skills in the best-on-best international tournament. As a teenager, Kakko had a lot of success on the international stage. Kakko won gold at the IIHF U18 World Championship in 2018, and won gold in both the World Junior Championship and World Championship in 2019, when he was 17 and 18 years old.
In those three tournaments combined, Kakko had 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 24 games.
Finland will compete against Canada, Sweden and the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off from Feb. 12-20.
Until the tournament begins, Kakko will look to continue to settle in and produce for his new team.
The Kraken’s next game is against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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