2nd Overall Pick Suffers Gruesome Injury

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Tyler Ball
November 27, 2023 (11:14 PM)

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Tonight a second overall pick has suffered a nasty injury that will likely keep him out for a significant period of time.

2nd Overall Pick Suffers Gruesome Injury

Tonight while in a puck battle against a defender New York Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko took a very awkward fall. His leg bent in a gruesome way and he looked to be in a lot of discomfort.

Here's a look at the Kakko injury.

This is tough to look at.

The Rangers made an announcement shortly after Kakko's injury that indicated he would not return to tonight's game.

UPDATE: Kaapo Kakko (lower body) will not return tonight.

Kakko's injury adds to the continued frustration of the former second-overall picks career.

Frustration Continues To Mount In Young Career Of Kakko

Kaapo Kakko was the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. In his draft year Kakko was billed as a power winger with a scoring touch. He had electric performances at the international level that further solidified his pedigree.

Since coming to New York things have not been so smooth. After 3 disappointing NHL campaigns to begin his NHL career, Kakko finally showed some signs of life last season with 40 points in 82 games.

With this momentum, many expected another big step forward in 2023-24. Unfortunately, Kakko went back to struggling with just 3 points in 19 games. Now this major-looking injury will likely sideline him for a few weeks.

Hopefully for Kakko once he is healthy he can get back to the level of play he found last season. If he continues to struggle his NHL career could start to be called into question over the next year.