There was a moment in the first preseason game for the Seattle Kraken on Sunday when forward Tye Kartye looked like a switch had flipped in his brain. The Kraken were down in the game, but Kartye was going to make sure his presence was known for the rest of the way. He could be seen slashing and crosschecking Calgary Flames players after the whistle, throwing his body around, and even diving headlong into a post-whistle hog pile in the goal crease.
These days, the first thing that stands out about Kartye’s game when you watch him play is his physicality. And while that feisty side jumps off the page, you wouldn’t know from talking to him that this is how he plays. Always mild-mannered and polite, it’s fascinating to watch him get under an opponent’s skin during a game.
The 5-foot-11, 202-pound Kartye isn’t afraid to go after players of any size in the heat of battle, whether it’s to separate a player from the puck, seek vengeance on behalf of a teammate, or create a spark for his team.
Though Dan Bylsma is new to the head coaching role with the Kraken this season, he is very familiar with Kartye’s physical game, having coached him throughout the 2022-23 season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
“You know, just last year, what [Kartye] established as his game was even greater than it was in Coachella,” Bylsma said. “In terms of being a physical presence, a checking presence, and taking the body at every chance he possibly gets. And he’s a little bit of a wrecking ball in that regard.”
Ready for a bigger role?
Fans who paid attention to Kartye’s performance with the Firebirds know there’s more to his game than just the physical side. Before being recalled for Seattle’s NHL playoff run, he lit up the AHL with 28 goals and 29 assists in 72 games, earning the Red Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s most outstanding rookie.
After his impressive NHL postseason debut, where he scored in his first game and added two more goals and two assists in 10 playoff games, fans were optimistic he could produce offensively as a full-time NHLer in 2023-24.
However, Kartye was largely confined to a fourth-line role last season, where scoring goals was not the emphasis. In 77 games for the Kraken, the Kingston, Ontario native notched 11 goals and nine assists, leaving room for growth this season.
The checking role and limited minutes last season didn’t bother Kartye, who said he would continue doing whatever he can to help the team, even if he finds himself in that role again this season.
“Everyone out there has an important role to play,” Kartye said. “Not everyone’s going to be the guy to get 100 points and score all the goals. You’ve got to have guys that are going to play roles and embrace roles if you want to be a successful team. And, you know, if I’m put in that role, I’ll just try to embrace it and be the best fourth-line player I can be for the team.”
But watching Kartye in camp this past week, he appears poised to take a big step forward in his career. He looks bigger, faster, and more like a veteran NHL player. Bylsma and his staff seem to have noticed, as they have him skating on a line with Shane Wright and Jordan Eberle, a trio that—if kept together—would surely be counted on to deliver offense.
“If that’s what they choose to do with me, to put me in a role where they expect me to score more, obviously I think I can bring that,” Kartye said. “I feel like I had a good summer, so I feel like I can definitely bring a little more offense and maybe some more goals.”
Continuing to improve
The 23-year-old winger said he took full advantage of the long summer break that comes with missing the playoffs. He focused heavily on his puck handling, edge work, and making plays with his head up—all skills that will help the offensive side of his game.
“I think he can continue to grow and add some of the things that we saw in the playoffs two years ago at the end of the year, where he came in and was able to show his shot off and score some goals for us,” Bylsma said.
Keeping the physical edge
While Kartye may have opportunities to showcase his big shot and produce more offensively this season, both he and Bylsma seem to agree that the feisty forward should continue to play with an edge.
“We have to continue to see the physicality,” Bylsma said. “But I’d like to see his game grow and for him to be a factor with his shot.”
That edginess does not come naturally to Kartye. Instead, it’s a skill he says he’s honed since his time in the OHL, where he first caught the eye of Kraken brass as a member of the Soo Greyhounds.
“I definitely don’t think it’s natural, because I didn’t have it until I got to junior,” Kartye recalled. “I realized that it’s something I’m going to have to develop if I want to progress in hockey. So yeah, being hard to play against is something I pride myself on. It’s kind of, when you get out there, you change your mindset and become really hard to play against, and that’s not fun for anybody.”
While he had older players and coaches influencing him in the OHL, Kartye said he taught himself how to be pesky toward opponents through trial and error.
“No one taught me. I feel like you start to realize the kind of hardness that guys don’t want to play against,” Kartye said. “And if you can do that repeatedly throughout a game and throughout a season, obviously it’s going to work for you. So I think [it was] just trial by fire in junior, just going out there and working as hard as I could and learning how to incorporate that into my game. And obviously I feel like that helped.”
Has Kartye shown enough of a blend of physicality and offensive prowess to earn an elevated role in the lineup when Seattle breaks camp?
“Potentially,” Bylsma said. “That’s up to him and what he earns. But he’s got that capability.”
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.