It seems the 2nd overall pick in the 2019 entry draft isn't enjoying himself a whole lot at the moment. The New York Rangers Kaapo Kakko recently spoke to a media outlet in his home country of Finland where he stated things aren't going how he had hoped so far.
"There is no fun in my game right now," said Kakko from the Rangers' locker room. "Things haven't gone as planned. Sometimes I feel like I could be more on the ice. It would be great to be able to experiment at some point in the first line. I understand that can't happen, when my current performances were not very good."
The 18-year-old has one goal and is a minus-6 in his first six games in the NHL. But Kakko is far from the only person on the team struggling. The Rangers have lost their last four games and head coach Dave Quinn has juggled his lineup frequently, which means Kakko has been playing with a variety of line mates. The Rangers also have an abnormal schedule to start the season, and have already had 13 days off, something Kakko says is frustrating.
"The player wants to play. You want to show that you can play well. After the first two games I was already a little frustrated, especially when my game was not what I had expected. My goal is to play a leading role for the team. I don't want to hear people tell me that I'm a young guy who should take his time to get used to the style of play. I want to be the one to score and solve games right away."
The Rangers are in the process of rebuilding, and expecting immediate success is likely unreasonable. With that in mind, the team now has to decide what to do with its potential future star; let him develop in the NHL, or send him to the minors. For Kakko, there choice is clear.
"I'll fight now to stay even in the lineup. But most of all, we have to look like a team. We can't lose all the time," said Kakko.
Source: Helsinginuutiset.fi
