The NHL’s protocols for Phase 3 (training camp) and Phase 4 (the play-in series and Stanley Cup playoffs) are pending ratification by the players and board of governors, but they spell out one key hurdle for Kaapo Kakko to clear to be able to play with the Rangers this summer.
Before any player can participate in formal training camps, which are scheduled to begin Monday as long as the union and league vote in favor of the return to play protocols and collective bargaining agreement extension, he must undergo a pre-participation medical examination (PPME). Part of the exam will evaluate whether a player has any underlying conditions that could present increased risk with a COVID-19 infection.
That is of note for the 19-year-old Kakko, who is a type-1 diabetic with celiac disease. The CDC classifies type-1 diabetes as a condition with which people might be at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
“Players who, after consultation with the Club doctor who conducted the PPME, and the Club’s infectious disease expert, are determined to be at substantial risk of developing a serious illness as a result of exposure to the novel coronavirus shall be deemed to be unfit to play and shall not be permitted to participate either in Phase 3 or Phase 4,” the NHL’s protocol reads.
Rangers president John Davidson said last month that the team would let its doctors and science dictate Kakko’s availability, which at the time deemed him good to go. Kakko’s agent, Andy Scott, told The Post on Tuesday nothing has changed since then and that it is still the plan for the rookie to play.
“If the doctors and the world of science told us not to play him, he’s not playing. It’s that simple,” Davidson said in an interview with MSG in June. “As of right now, we look to have him in the lineup. We think it’s safe, as long as he follows the protocol and we all do too. We understand the whole thing from A to Z. It’s been studied by our doctors in many different forms. If there’s a change that comes along and they say we don’t think he should play, he’s not playing.
“But if they give us the green light and he, himself — it’s his decision, remember — wants to play and he talks to his family, he’s playing.”
Kakko is among the Rangers’ contingent of European players who had all returned to New York as of Thursday, though it is not clear whether he has participated in the ongoing Phase 2 — the small-group voluntary workouts at the team facility.