On Wednesday (Dec. 18), the New York Rangers finally decided to move on from a forward whose name was in trade rumors for quite some time, as they traded Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for William “Will” Borgen, a 2025 third-round pick, and a 2026 sixth-round pick. Kakko, who is 23 years old, was the second overall selection in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and has played every season since with the Rangers.
Related: How Kaapo Kakko Fits Into the Seattle Kraken’s Plans
In 330 career games with the Rangers, he scored 61 goals and added 70 assists for 131 points. This season, he scored four goals and added 10 assists for 14 points before being dealt. His tenure with the Rangers seemed to be near an end when he was healthy scratched by head coach Peter Laviolette, and Kakko voiced his displeasure with the decision calling it “easy to take the young guy and put him out.” Kakko is the second Ranger to be dealt this month after Jacob Trouba was traded to the Anaheim Ducks, but who is the newest member of the Kraken? Let’s take a look.
Kakko Was Born in Finland, Played Junior Career There
Kakko was born in Turku, Finland on February 13th, 2001. He played his junior career in Finland before jumping to North America and had an impressive showing before being drafted. In the 2016-17 season with TPS U18 in the U18 SM-sarja, he scored 24 goals and added 17 assists for 41 points through 35 games. The following season with TPS U20 in the U20 SM-sarja, he scored 25 goals and added 30 assists for 55 points through 38 games.
In the 2018-19 season, he played in the Liiga with TPS, scoring 22 goals and adding 16 assists for 38 points through 45 games. He represented Finland at the U20 World Junior Championship (WJC) that season, scoring two goals and adding three assists for five points through seven games. He has also represented Finland at the annual World Championship, where he has scored seven goals and added six assists for 13 points through 18 games. Recently, he was selected to represent Finland at the upcoming 4 Nations Faceoff in February.
Fun Facts About Kakko
Kakko is the youngest player to win a gold medal in all thre major IIHF championship tournaments: the World U18 Championship, the U20 WJC, and the World Championship. He also scored the game-winning goal for Finland in the 2019 WJC.
Kakko plays through a couple of serious health issues, being Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease, but has found a way to keep himself in elite shape to be able to continue playing the sport he loves.
His career-high in goals came in the 2022-23 season where he scored 18, and in that same season he notched a career-high in assists with 22, and points with 40.
At the time of this article, Kakko currently ranks 7th in points from players selected in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, behind Jack Hughes, Matthew Boldy, Dylan Cozens, Cole Caufield, Trevor Zegras, and Moritz Seider.
Kakko Needed Fresh Start, Should Fit Well With Kraken
Kakko was not getting the playing time he deserved as a member of the Rangers, and needed a fresh start somewhere else. While a few other rebuilding teams could have given him an increased role and helped him develop, he should fit well with the Kraken and should be able to earn and maintain ice time as a top-six forward. It does suck to lose a strong defender like Borgen, but bringing in a player like Kakko who has untapped potential is enticing, and fans should be excited for what his future holds.
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