Kaapo Kakko Is Coming For Jack Hughes And The Top Overall Pick

Jack Hughes has been the projected top overall pick of this summers draft since he was about 16-years-old, to the point where people were making “Lose For Hughes” signs all throughout the year in the NHL. But I’ll tell you what, Finnish stud Kaapo Kakko is coming for that ass.

Kakko is doing everything in his power to show NHL teams that he is deserving of the top overall pick and it is on full display at the IIHF World Hockey Championships in Slovakia. Kakko scored this insane goal against Canada, so he isn’t playing a against some slouches, he is playing against some legit NHL talent.

The 18-year-old will be drafted in the top-2, there is zero question about that. But is there a chance the Devils take him at #1? I wouldn’t count it out completely. I few weeks back on Spittin’ Chiclets, I said I think Hughes will be the #1 overall pick and I stand by that. But at the end of the day, no one knows what the Devils are going to do. I was certain they were going to take Nolan Patrick a few years back and they ended up with Nico Hischier.

This won’t be Kakko’s first time going against the big boys either. He spent the past season playing in Finland’s top pro league, where he broke the record for goals scored by an 18-year-old with 22. An NHL comparison to Kakko would probably be Patrik Laine. He is a 6 foot + winger who can score goals at an elite level, we saw first hand last year at the World Juniors.

Jack Hughes will also be playing with the big boys at Worlds. Hughes will play alongside his older brother and Canucks defenseman Quinn for Team USA. So we’ll get a good test at who is really ready to play at the NHL level. Either way, Rangers and Devils fans are both getting a stud and should be glued to their TVs for Worlds because these two guys will be the most watched players at the tournament.