DENVER – When Dan Bylsma talked post-game Sunday night about third-period scoring chances that nearly tied Colorado, he mentioned a Jaden Schwartz breakaway earlier in the period and Kaapo Kakko’s net-front chance late with goalie Joey Daccord off the ice for an extra attacker. Bylsma said the newly minted linemates with Matty Beniers at the center were the best forward trio of the night.
A week ago, Kakko was a healthy scratch in New York, and Schwartz, an oft-underrated warrior for this franchise, was net-front seemingly by himself a little too much. Sunday night, the Beniers line nearly scored late first period, with all three forwards taking whacks at a puck still loose in the crease. It looked a bit like the ritual drill hockey players follow during warmups in which skaters surround their goalies, passing the puck in an attempt to score while also supplying the goaltender with a gust of net-front mayhem to prepare for the game.
That net-front swarming was a sign of good things to unfold Tuesday (Kakko’s first Kraken goal and getting “this close” to a second one that would have tied the game late during a goalie pull). Kraken coaches, players, and fans anticipate if the newly formed line can spark some wins after the break. Crashing the net, something Kakko said he wanted to do more in his first interview before he participated in his first Kraken morning skate before Thursday’s road game in Chicago. Schwartz no doubt appreciates that attitude backed by the 23-year-old Finn’s 6-foot-1, 215-pound frame.
“Sometimes when you think too much or try to force things, it doesn't usually work and goes the other way,” he said during a 1-on-1 conversation during the road trip when asked about whether he and his teammates might be falling into what hockey types call “gripping the stick too tight.” “I think for us, it's just a matter of doing the little things. Goals happen when you're doing the little things right and going to the hard areas. For me, thinking of scoring, I feel like you can be watching and you're kind of hoping, rather than just going out there in the next game time working for each other, playing in the offensive zone, wearing teams down, and then you’re going to going to get opportunities.”
Schwartz as a Leader, Potential Influence Kakko
“Jaden's got a real, kind of undercover, cool way in which he goes about his professionalism and how he plays the game,” said Bylsma during a recent conversation before the Kakko trade, but no doubt likes the veteran presence of Schwartz playing with Matty Beniers and now Kakko. “That goes for both on and off the ice. When he's playing, he's been effective ... we count on him in and around the net on the power play, and we count on him to get the secondary scoring for our team, but the way he's played, just the way he's managed the puck, the way he makes plays with the puck, has been a significant statement to the group.”
Bylsma said when the alternate captain and standout playoffs scorer for 2019 Stanley Cup-winning St. Louis speaks up among teammates, “it has resonated in that room and with the guys.”
“It comes from a place in which all of the guys know he’s got the best interest of the team at heart. And it comes from a guy who's been battling, battling it out for a long time in his career, and had success. He’s one who always asks, ‘What can I do to be better? What can I do to help us get better?’ Those are strong-leader kinds of questions.”
Kakko Reflects on ‘All Games’ in First Weekend
When fellow young Finn Eeli Tolvanen was claimed on waivers during mid-December of the franchise's second season, the then 22-year-old practiced only for a couple of weeks before scoring a goal in his Kraken debut on New Year’s Day 2023. Sunday night, Kakko reflected on showing up at the team hotel in Chicago at about 1 a.m., then playing that night and back-to-back games this weekend. Friday’s practice in Las Vegas was scrubbed when the team had to stay in Chicago after spending two-and-a-half hours sitting on the runway waiting for a technical problem to be unraveled, then deciding a hotel and replacement plane was the best strategy.
For Kakko, you might call it speed-learning. He had detailed meetings with Bylsma Thursday before the morning skate and another session with assistant coach Jessica Campbell Saturday morning.
“I think for me and for the team, it’s a much-needed break coming up, but especially for me,” said Kakko. “It's been only three games in four days. It will be a good thing to have a good couple of practices to kind of know how we're gonna play. We watched some videos. The coaches have been great in telling me what to do. But practices are when you can really learn what to do.”
