There will be a large contingent of New York Rangers at the World Championships that get underway later this week. Fans of the Blueshirts will have a lot of storylines to follow.
The most obvious storyline is not just for followers of the New York Rangers, but will be of interest to all hockey fans (especially those who live in New Jersey). That will the head-to-head competition between Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko, the consensus top two picks in the upcoming June Entry Draft. There are a few other storylines that are not as obvious, but will be of intense interest to Ranger fans.
Storyline #1: Hughes vs. Kakko
When Jack Hughes was named to Team USA and Kaapo Kakko to Team Finland, it set up a competition between the two players last seen at the WJC Championship in January. It will be the last time for both players to stake their claim to the top slot in the Entry Draft.
Kakko came out of the WJC as the hero of the tournament as his goal with 1:26 left in the gold medal game versus the United States gave FInland the championship. It was the last time that Kakko and Hughes were on the ice together and you can be sure that the young American will want revenge.
Kakko finished the tournament with two goals and three assists in seven games while Hughes had fours assists in four games, missing three matches with an undisclosed injury. While Kakko scored the game winner, Hughes was stopped on a breakaway in the third period of the gold medal game.
While Hughes was the top forward on Team USA at the WJC, there are a few centers on Team USA who are ahead of him on the depth chart. Jack Eichel, Clayton Keller, Derek Ryan, Frank Vatrano, Dylan Larkin and Colin White are the other centers on the roster and the question is where the 17-year old will slot in.
The 18-year old Kakko will be the youngest player on Team Finland, a team with a roster that will be mostly unfamiliar to NHL fans. There are a handful of NHLers on the Finnish roster and where Kakko will fit among them remains to be seen.
With both Finland and the United States in Group A, they will play each other in the preliminary round. Circle Monday, May 13 as the date that the two teams will meet. The only question is whether Hughes and Kakko will play.