New Jersey Devils: Jack Hughes Vs Kaapo Kakko One Year Later
The Devils and Rangers selected great players in Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko.
The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers each had very exciting summers in 2019. About a year ago, each team’s fanbase argued who was better between Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko after the Devils and Rangers each won the lottery to select 1-2. The Devils ended up with Hughes and the Rangers with Kakko after the draft, which added more fuel to the fire of this rivalry. So after their rookie years, who has the edge?
The answer remains the same after their rookie years, they are currently even. Neither of them exploded in their rookie years which is okay. Some people got used to players like Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews becoming superstars as teenagers, and that is just unrealistic. Look at a guy like Nathan MacKinnon for example, it took him a few years to become a star after being the number-one overall pick, and now he is one of the best players in the world.
For Hughes, he had seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 61 games on a bad Devils team. Kaapo Kakko had 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in 66 games on a slightly-less-bad Rangers team. Plus-minus isn’t the end all be all but they both had a putrid -26 rating. It is fair to say they are both good players that have a lot of development to go before they reach their superstar potential.
Last year, the storyline was that Kakko had the ability to play against men and Hughes was not ready for that. That narrative was just plain wrong. Neither of them had stud numbers but they are both NHL players. Now, we just have to wait to see who becomes the better player of the two but chances are that they are both key pieces on good teams.
Hot. Damon Severson's potential offense going forward. light
The edge right now has to still go to Hughes despite incredibly even numbers. That is because he was one of the league’s leaders at carrying the puck into the offensive zone. He just needs to begin making better decisions with the puck, have some better luck, and get a bit stronger. That should happen in time and the Devils will have a game-breaker on their hands. As Devils fans, we hope he is the better player but it is going to be really fun to watch them lead the rivalry for the next decade or more.