VANCOUVER, British Columbia _ The Rangers' much-talked-about rebuild reached a turning point on April 9, the night when the Ping-Pong balls bounced their way and they moved up in the NHL draft lottery from the sixth position to No. 2 overall. With two transformative players available, the Rangers knew they were assured that one would be available when it was their turn to select.
So when the Devils did what everyone expected they would, and took American Jack Hughes with the first pick Friday at Rogers Arena, Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton wasted no time in stepping to the podium and announcing that they were taking Finnish forward Kaapo Kakko, the 18-year-old who starred in his country's top professional league, and who led Finland to the gold medal in both the World Junior Championships in this city in January, and the World Championships in Slovakia last month.
Kakko, a 6-2, 194-pound right wing, was the top-rated European skater in the NHL's Central Scouting list of prospects, and was always tabbed as the second-best player available, behind Hughes, the Orlando, Fla., native who scored 112 points in 50 games for the U.S. National Team Development Program. But Kakko made people take notice when he scored 22 goals in 50 games for TPS, in Finland's Liiga, setting a league record for a draft-eligible player. He then scored the game-winning goal for Finland in the gold medal game at the World Juniors _ against a U.S. team led by Hughes _ and finally led a Finland team that had no NHL players to the world title, scoring a team-high six goals in the tournament.
Kakko demonstrated elite stickhandling and finishing ability this winter, but he will have to adjust to the smaller NHL rinks after growing up playing on the bigger sheets in Europe. He should step right into the Rangers' lineup and improve an offense that scored 221 goals last season, tied for 24th in the 31-team league, and could potentially slot in as the first-line right wing, playing with Mika Zibanejad and _ if he isn't traded _ Chris Kreider.
Selecting Kakko kicked off what is expected to be an active weekend for the Rangers, who made several significant moves this offseason and have plenty more to do. They have seven more draft picks _ two in the second round and one each in rounds 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 _ to be made Saturday, but the possibility of Gorton making a trade or two looms large.
On Thursday, after the GM meetings, Gorton said "we have a lot of work to do, to be honest." There is the matter of what to do with Kreider. Gorton said he has spoken to the left winger's agent about a potential contract extension, but if the Rangers don't want to sign him they likely will trade him, and could do that this weekend. Gorton could make other trades, as well, to clear cap room or acquire additional second-day draft picks.
