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In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on which player – Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko – should be selected 1st overall.
Todd Cordell
Jack Hughes. His game is perfectly built for the modern NHL, which puts a premium on speed, skill, and puck possession. Hughes is a flat-out elite skater who carves teams up through the neutral zone (
he's a carry-in machine). He possesses a more dynamic offensive skill set than Kaapo Kakko and is a legitimate threat to create offense every time he touches the puck. He also plays a premium position, which is a nice little cherry on top.
Hughes may not have the shot power, strength, or advanced two-way game to match Kakko, but I think the areas Hughes *does* have an edge in give him a higher ceiling.
I'd take Hughes 1st overall, and I expect the New Jersey Devils to do just that in a few weeks.
Sean Maloughney
Todd has spent plenty of time breaking down why Hughes should go first overall and if you haven't read his pieces detailing that I highly recommend that you do.
Let me add that the New Jersey Devils will and should absolutely take Jack Hughes first overall. Hughes is a dynamic player, a passing machine and the best out of the numerous US Under 18 players. The likes of Caufield, Boldy, and Turcotte have all performed brilliantly on their own merit, but having the opportunity to play with Hughes has certainly helped all of their draft rankings.
Not to say that Kappo is a slouch. He has been scoring at a rate higher than Laine did in his draft year and the Rangers are getting a heck of a player here. In the short term I believe that Kakko will outperform Hughes, purely from a production standpoint but long term I would rather build a team around Hughes than Kakko.
James Tanner
Since I've never seen either player play beyond a highlight or two, I don't really have a strong opinion here. If there was no cut-and-dry reason to take one over the other, I'd go with Hughes because he has been considered the #1 pick by a mile for a couple of years now. You really have to be careful you don't put too much weight on one recent excellent performance. Perhaps there is a reason to go with Kakko, but it would have to be extremely compelling for me to overcome recency bias, and the fact that this always happens (i.e there is one obvious pick but, for dramatic purposes, people get on the second pick bandwagon. There were Jack Eichel Truthers and there were Patrik Laine Truthers. I don't have the information to say for sure that it's the same thing with Kakko, but it probably is).
Peter Tessier
This is a win-win situation much like the Taylor Tyler debate of 2010. There is no lesser of two evils. The coin is always going to land heads. Pick your cliche.
This is the kind of pick that the top team has to look at through the eyes of now, short term ahead and long term because each player is potentially a game-changer on either of the teams with the top two picks. I'd look at the player's deficiencies and see what each team has to work on those areas to support them in the inevitable NHL growth curve. Then I'd want to know what does the roster have to be like to support each player in the medium term, how long will it take to put the right players around them?
This is not a tough decision because there is not really a wrong one to be made by choosing either player. Understanding how a team can support the new guy to be the best will go a long way to figuring which one is the better fit.
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