KAAPO KAKKO! KAAPO KAKKO! KAAPO KAKKO! That’s pretty much all you could hear if you were near Madison Square Garden last Friday night. With the Rangers holding the 2nd pick in this year’s entry draft, a lot a buzz was going around regarding Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko. Everybody was certain that the Devils would pick Hughes and Kakko would fall right into the Rangers’ hands. Well, that is exactly what happened.

This is the first time that the Rangers have had a top 3 pick since I became a fan of the team about a decade ago. I wanted to watch the draft with not only my family but other Rangers fans as well. About a month ago I was browsing the Rangers subreddit (r/Rangers) and stumbled across a thread that mentioned a draft party at the arena. About a week later, I secured tickets to the draft party for me, my parents and my younger brother. For the next 2-3 weeks, all I could think about was the draft party. I spent about half an hour just watching Kakko and Hughes highlights in anticipation of who would soon become the newest Blueshirt.

When it came to draft day, I hopped on the train to Penn Station with my dad and brother and met my mom at our favorite place to eat before games, Stout NYC on 33rd St. This place is one of the best sports bars in the city and serves great food while being conveniently located 3 minutes from MSG. I got my usual order: Chicken and Lemongrass Dumplings for an appetizer and their Rustic Chicken Pot Pie for the main course. My little brother did not finish his chicken fingers, as per usual, leaving me with even more food. I kid you not; Stout has the best chicken fingers in Manhattan. If you want to check out the full menu, visit http://www.msg.stoutnyc.com/menu.php

When we arrived at the draft party, we were able to sit down behind the home goal. A few minutes later, John Giannone, an MSG analyst walked onto the stage to address the crowd that took up about a third of the lower level seats. He brought along Rangers alumni Dave Maloney, Anson Carter, and Steve Valiquette for a discussion about whom the Rangers should draft. All three agreed that if the Devils picked Hughes at #1, Kakko was the obvious choice.

When the draft started, I was afraid something crazy would happen and the Rangers would not select Kakko. While the Devils were on the clock locking in their selection, a big red “Trade News” graphic appears on the screen. Turns out it was an error by NBC Sports Network, and it was just a reminder that the Ranger acquired Jacob Trouba earlier that week. When it was time for the Rangers to make their pick, the Garden erupted when Gorton said “from TPS Turku” and instead everyone began chanting the Finnish forward’s name.

It has been nearly a week since the draft and I’m still thinking about how well the Rangers did. Not only did they pick Kakko on day 1, they arguably had the best 2nd day, drafting players like Matthew Robertson, Karl Henriksson, Zac Jones, and many others. This draft class deserves the A grade given by various media outlets.

What did you think of our draft?

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