Is Kakko vs. Lafrenière a possibility?

It is possible?

So, could it happen?  It would have to be with the blessing of the New York Rangers. Former Rangers head coach Tom Renney is president of Hockey Canada and he told the CBC that Jeff Gorton was “open minded” to the idea of Lafrenière playing.

Second, the national teams would have to be willing to take them on late in the process.  The camp for Team Canada is scheduled to begin on November 16 and it’s unlikely the NHL will have a decision about a start date for the season by then.  The same goes for Team Finland, though they didn’t finalize last year’s roster until just before the tournament was due to begin.

It’s hard to imagine either of the players being turned down, considering they are two of the most skilled players their age in the world.  If there is any precedent, the Chicago Blackhawks announced that center Kirby Dach would be going to the Canadian camp.  Dach played 64 games for Chicago last season and it was reported that the understanding was that if the NHL season starts on time, Dach will not play in the WJC.

The Rangers candidates to play include defensemen Matthew Robertson, Braden Schneider and goalie Dylan Garand  for Canada, Karl Henriksson for Sweden, Hunter Skinner for the USA and Leevi Aaltonen for Finland. It would be an even more impressive roster if we could add Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafrenière to the list.