Rangers Roundup: Kaapo Kakko rips 107 mph shot, Barclay Goodrow training, and more
New York Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko apparently has a secret weapon we need to see more of this season.
While skating in Finland, Kakko ripped a slap shot that was clocked at 107 mph. I repeat… 107 MPH!
The video, which was uploaded to TikTok and shared by BarDown shows Kakko coming in from well behind center ice before firing off the shot.
Zdeno Chara holds the NHL record for Hardest Shot with 108.8 at the 2012 All-Star Game. It should be noted that the rules have you start at the offensive blue-line, not the defensive blue-line as it appears Kakko began skating from.
Still, 107 mph is no joke and he definitely needs to start letting it fly once entering the zone.
Kaapo Kakko rips 107 mph shot
Kakko, 21, had a really difficult 2021-22 season thanks to missing 39 games due to three separate injuries. The third-year forward was only able to post 18 points in the 43 matches he played. In the playoffs, he finished with 5 points in 19 contests.
While his impressive work on the Kid Line should have been the main story heading into next season, it was his scratch in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final that had many talking.
“Trying to win a hockey game. Just dressing my lineup,” Gerard Gallant said on the team’s YouTube Channel. “When we sit down and talk about our lineup that’s what we do. We love the kid, he’s a good young player but we thought that was the best lineup to win that game.”
Despite all the noise, Kakko didn’t pout.
“I like to play here,” Kakko said on breakup day. “I think [the scratch] gives me more motivation. I want to show I’m better than that. You should put me in the lineup because I’m a good player.”
The Rangers think so too.
Kakko recently signed a two-year deal with an AAV of $2.1 million per season and will be given a huge opportunity. The time is now to place him on either of the top two lines to see what he can do playing around 18 minutes a night.
The New York Rangers selected Kakko second overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He’s entering his fourth NHL season and is penciled into the second line RW slot with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.
Kakko has amassed 58 points in 157 games at the NHL level in his young career.
Barclay Goodrow putting in the work
Goodrow, 29, has been a great fit for the New York Rangers after a trade and sign last summer. In 79 games, he recorded 13 goals, 20 assists, for 33 points. All being career highs for the rugged forward.
His presence in the lineup was a boost to the Blueshirts, who needed another veteran leader with Stanley Cup winning experience to help them get to the next level.
The Rangers made it all the way to the ECF in 2021-22 and are hoping to go further this upcoming season. Goodrow is already putting in the work with training camp just weeks away.
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