Five things to look forward to this Kraken season

Earlier this week at Sound Of Hockey, our resident WHL expert, Cameron Riggers, published a story highlighting five things he’s looking forward to in the Dub this season. The article inspired me to think about five things I’m excited about from a Kraken perspective, as Rookie Camp and Training Camp are now officially on the horizon.

So, here you go… five things I’m looking forward to for the upcoming Seattle Kraken season.

1. Dealing with Dan Bylsma

My first topic is perhaps not the most relatable for fans, since most do not get many opportunities to interact directly with the head coach of an NHL team. But fans do get to hear from the coach regularly via press conferences and interviews, and those watching and listening from afar get to know said coach in that sense.

For me and others in the press corps, it’s a little more personal. I’ve said MANY times before that I really liked Dave Hakstol as a person, and that sentiment stands, even after he was let go by the organization. He had a rigid exterior and a never-changing demeanor, and he did his best to keep the media at arm’s length, but every now and then, he’d let his guard down just a little. When he did, you would see what a kind and caring person he was beneath that tough shell.

That said, new coach Dan Bylsma brings a very different vibe. In my few interactions with him so far, he has not hidden or sugarcoated anything, and there’s been no indication that he wants the media to be guessing. He jokes, wears his heart on his sleeve, and makes you feel like you’re an old friend.

While I’m excited to see what improvements Bylsma can bring to the Kraken on the ice, I’m actually more interested in seeing how the dynamics will change in the dressing room now that “Disco Dan” is at the helm. My hope is that his openness creates some deeper connections with the fanbase as well.

2. Seeing how Montour and Stephenson can help

The Kraken made two huge offseason bets on free-agent acquisitions, Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson, committing more than 15 percent of this season’s salary cap to these newcomers. The seven-year contracts got mixed reviews when they were first signed, including from me, but after the initial guttural responses wore off, I started to get excited about how these players can change the complexion of the team.

In a way, general manager Ron Francis did this offseason what I hoped he would do last summer, bolstering the team from the top down. Last summer, my expectation was that he would add a couple of scoring forwards, causing a trickle-down effect to the fourth line. Instead, he let the entire productive fourth line from 2022-23 walk and replaced those players with role players.

This summer, Francis again let the fourth line walk, only this time, he added Stephenson to the top of the forward corps and plans to backfill the rest of the fourth line from within the organization. Coupling the Stephenson acquisition with the impending arrival of Shane Wright, Yanni Gourde could be destined for a fourth-line center role, which will only strengthen Seattle’s depth.

Meanwhile, Montour replaced Justin Schultz, and Ryker Evans replaced Brian Dumoulin as a full-time third-pair defenseman. Suddenly, the Kraken appear poised to be much more offensively productive from the back end. How this plays out in Seattle’s defensive zone remains to be seen, but I think the Kraken should see a significant uptick in scoring, and that will be fun to watch.

3. Shane Wright’s progression

Wright is all but guaranteed a spot on the Kraken roster out of training camp, which should mean he is entering his first full season in the NHL. The No. 4 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft has had a bumpy development road, losing an entire OHL season to COVID and playing for a slew of different teams before finally getting a chance to enjoy some consistency this past season in Coachella Valley.

The result was a huge step in his progression and a feeling that he is back on track to become one of the faces of the franchise in the near future. Wright’s five points (4-1=5) in five NHL games in April, plus 47 points (22-25=47) in 59 games in Coachella Valley last season, left Kraken fans salivating over what he might bring, now that he has found his footing as a pro.

Look for Wright to have a strong training camp as he seeks his first full-time NHL roster spot.

4. Matty Beniers’ response to last season

By most accounts, Matty Beniers followed his Calder Trophy-winning rookie season with a sophomore slump in 2023-24, going through some loooooong scoring droughts despite being anchored in the middle of Seattle’s top line and a constant on the power play.

But he did start to find his way through tighter checking from opponents toward the end of the season and still managed a very respectable 15 goals and 22 assists—numbers we would have been pleased with from a 21-year-old had he not scored 57 points (24-33=57) the season prior.

Last summer was a funky one for Beniers after an extended playoff run, Calder Trophy celebrations, and a season of playing more hockey than he ever had in his life. Now armed with a new seven-year contract, a full offseason of training, and a (hopefully) stronger cast of centers that could lower the focus on him, I’m eager to see if Beniers can get back to playing more freely.

I personally expect a big jump in production from him this season. Will I be right?

5. A more competitive team

Kraken ownership gave Francis and his staff a directive to make the team more competitive after a very disappointing result in 2023-24 left fans feeling uninspired about the future of the club. The front office responded with a couple of key upgrades and a coaching change.

Seeing the team flounder down the stretch—especially after Alex Wennberg was dealt at the Trade Deadline and Vince Dunn got injured—was disheartening and, at times, downright depressing.

Hope springs eternal when a new season starts, and I definitely have that optimistic vibe back right now. Here’s hoping that feeling carries all the way through to the end of the season, and that we will be seeing meaningful hockey in March and (dare I say) beyond.

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