BUFFALO – Kaapo Kakko, the Finnish star who most likely will be the Rangers choice with the No. 2 selection in next month’s NHL draft, decided to skip this week’s NHL draft combine, where 103 players eligible to be selected came to Buffalo to be weighed, measured, timed and interviewed by the league’s 31 teams.
Kakko’s decision not to attend the combine probably won’t adversely affect his draft stock, however. The 18-year-old forward is rated the top European skater prospect by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau and all season long had been projected to go second in the draft, behind American forward Jack Hughes, the No.