There are many players on the Seattle Kraken roster who have “prove it” years ahead of them. Whether it’s for a contract next year, being able to maintain their production from the season prior, or taking a big step in development.

There’s an argument to be made that the player most in position to have a breakout year is Kaapo Kakko. It’s no secret that the former second overall pick hasn’t yet lived up to the pedigree that pick carries, but he’s still carved himself a solid role in the NHL and with the Kraken.

Still relatively young at 25 years old, it seems that he’s been ripe for a breakout season at some point. What a breakout season looks like is subjective, but it’s something of a “you know it when you see it” sort of deal.

Already off to a good start with a goal and an assist and a plus-5 rating in three games, perhaps that bodes well for both him and his team.

Staying active, staying healthy

Kakko set a high bar for himself this summer, an offseason that featured a change in his workout regimen. It was less of a focus on weight-based training but more rehab and power-skating-based.

“I had a couple injuries last year, so rehabbing those. But I switched it a little bit,” Kakko said. “I feel with nine years of lifting heavy weights and getting older, there are things I need to do more of right now. Trying to get faster and being healthy, those were things I wanted to do.”

Head coach Lane Lambert said one of the mandates the coaching staff had for him this offseason was focus on his speed and being more effective with his strides.

“When he moves his feet, he becomes even more dangerous,” Lambert said. “As you go along every year, the league just gets faster and faster… he put in the work.”

Kakko sustained a broken hand during the preseason last year, as well as a subsequent lower-body injury that slowed the start to his season.

Despite the injuries, Kakko turned in decent production in the 2025-26 campaign with 13 goals and 27 assists in 65 games played for Seattle, while setting a career high in the plus/minus category with a plus-14. Getting the opportunity to hit the ground running this season will only serve to benefit him.

“I felt I was ready for the season last year,” Kakko said. “I felt pretty good and something like that happened, it’s never good… But it’s a new season, and I feel good again.”

Selected with the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers, Kakko was acquired by the Kraken in a trade in December 2024 for defenseman Will Borgen and two draft picks. Since arriving in Seattle, he’s posted 24 goals and 48 assists in 115 games.

Despite the team losing 16 of 21 to end last season, he actually had his most steady production of the year with five goals and 11 assists during that stretch. His shooting percentage was also up from 12.0 to 16.7 in 2025-26. Kakko getting close to a point per game this season could help spring the Kraken into a playoff spot by year’s end.

“At the end of last season I think I found my game,” Kakko said. “I actually felt pretty good after the Olympics. I’ll just try to keep doing it this year.”

A veteran presence among Seattle’s young core

A big key for him this season will be how his minutes on the ice are handled. Playing most of Training Camp with Berkly Catton and Shane Wright (but then being elevated to the first line for the first two games due to Mackie Samoskevich’s lingering injury), Kakko has a notable role with the team, helping to bridge the gap between the young guys and elder statesmen of the locker room. Kakko was back with Catton and Wright in home opener, another 6-1 drubbing of the Calgary Flames on Sunday, and although he didn’t get a point, he led the rush that started Catton’s goal.

Wright and Catton’s youthfulness is reminiscent of when Kakko was in New York and played on what was known then as ‘The Kid Line’ during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs with fellow first-round picks Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere.

While he’s not entirely viewed as a veteran by the Kraken the same way others on the team are, taking on that leadership role with two more high-end, first-round picks will hopefully allow his experience to rub off on them.

“That was a pretty fun line. We were young and played on a good team that went for a long playoff run,” Kakko remembered. “I’m the old guy right now with [Catton and Wright]. I needed to learn a lot when I came [into the league], and I feel I know a little bit about what to do now, so I’m trying to help them out.”

There are still some areas of the game the three of them need to work on, whether together or separately.

“[They were] disconnected on the forecheck,” Lambert said of the line during Training Camp. “They’re going to have to get connected before the season starts. It’s that simple.”

According to MoneyPuck, the trio of Wright-Catton-Kakko had the fifth-highest expected goals total (minimum 100 minutes) of any line combination the Kraken had in 2025-26, and the highest featuring Kakko.

“They’re still young guys, there’s things to learn,” Kakko said. “Especially in the D-zone where you can try to dig somebody. I think I was kind of the same when I came into the league. This is not juniors anymore, but they’re pretty skilled players… they can make plays, but there are things to learn.”

A long-awaited homecoming in Finland

Barring injury, Kakko is very cognizant of the fact his team will be playing games in his native Finland in November. Growing up in Turku, about an hour away from Helsinki where the Kraken will be playing the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 12 and 14, it will be a special opportunity.

“I’m excited,” Kakko said. “I don’t know about these guys, but it’s a beautiful country. When I’m done, I’m going to go straight back to Finland. I like Seattle, but home is home.”

If you’re traveling over to Helsinki for the games, Kakko recommends taking in the unique cuisine the country has to offer. He named the Finnish salmon soup at the restaurant ‘BasBas’ as his official recommendation, which is in the heart of downtown and a little over two miles away from Veikkaus Arena.

And when he says unique, he means unique.

“It’s a good spot where you can find a sauna and a restaurant,” Kakko said. “I think that’s something I’ll try to get the team doing.”