Kaapo Kakko Biography

Kaapo Kakko, born on 13 February 2001, is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who has played in the National Hockey League. Selected second overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Kakko has played the first five and a half years of his NHL career with the New York Rangers. He made his professional debut with TPS in the Finnish Liiga before advancing to the NHL. Kakko scored his first NHL goal on 12 October, becoming the eighth player in Rangers history to do so at 18 or younger. On 18 December 2024, he was traded from the New York Rangers to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for Will Borgen and two 2025 draft picks. He scored the gold medal-winning goal for Finland’s junior team at the 2019 World Junior Championships on 5 January 2019. Kakko achieved the distinction of winning gold in all three IIHF world championship levels at age 18.