As far as preseason games go, that was a fun one for Seattle Kraken fans. The team looked more in sync than it did in either of the two previous outings, and the big-ticket offseason acquisitions looked excellent in their respective home debuts. But the story of this game was the performances of a couple of youngsters looking to at least leave a lasting impression and perhaps even carve out roster spots for themselves, either now or in the near future.

Eeli Tolvanen deflected home an Adam Larsson point shot at 4:02 of the first period, Brandon Montour got a nice bounce on an ugly shot at 18:41 of the first, and Ryan Winterton got his first goal in Kraken colors at 3:45 of the second. Joey Daccord had a few adventures playing the puck but otherwise looked solid with 18 saves.

Here are our Three Takeaways from a 3-1 Kraken preseason win over the Canucks.

Takeaway #1: Brandon Montour is good

I was impressed by Brandon Montour’s game in Seattle’s 3-1 loss at Vancouver on Tuesday, but I watched that game from afar, so I perhaps didn’t get the full effect. Seeing Montour fly all over the ice live and in person on Friday was both exciting and encouraging—it shows that this team really has significantly improved in the offseason.

Montour brings multiple elements that no other Kraken player offers. Best friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Alison Lukan, often talks about “position-less hockey,” and Montour exemplifies that with how every time he’s on the ice, he seems to pop up on the puck no matter where it is.

Yes, he’s a right-shot defenseman, but that doesn’t mean he’s always playing right defense. He jumps up in the play, swings to the left, swings to the right, goes down low, stands guys up at the blue line… Basically, if he has a chance to win a puck, he’s going to go for it and rely on his elite mobility to get back if he misses.

He scored a lucky, flopping-puck goal Friday that caromed in off the back of Derek Forbort, but he could have had a couple more, including a one-timed rocket that rang loudly off the post in the third period. Because, by the way, he also has a VERY heavy slapshot.

As if I haven’t gushed about the guy enough, I do want to point out that Montour also quarterbacked the top power-play unit on this night, and—at the risk of being too hyperbolic—that group looked arguably more dynamic than any power play ever looked for the Kraken last season. The players moved, the puck moved, and dangerous chances were created.

“Nobody’s really played with each other at all,” Montour said. “So, get the confidence, we’re moving the puck, everyone can shoot on both units. We created a lot of chances, and the more we get repetitions and play with each other, the better we’re going to get.”

It was interesting hearing him talk after the game because he made it sound like he hadn’t really gotten his bearings in Seattle yet.

“I’ve only played in this rink I think two or three times, maybe, so obviously it’s nice,” Montour said. “This is my first time actually here [at Climate Pledge Arena] since we’ve been in Seattle. This is my first time kind of making this drive downtown, as well, so we’ll get used to it. I’ll have the Wayz app probably until the new year, I assume.”

Montour also joked that, coming into the arena, he had to look up where he was supposed to park his car and ask the security officer on duty how to get to the locker room.

Although Montour may have been lost trying to find his way into the Kraken dressing room, he looked very much at home on the ice. In total, Montour had 21:17 of ice time, led all players in the game with five shots on goal, was plus-2, and scored what proved to be the game-winning goal.

Takeaway #2: Chandler Stephenson also makes a good first impression

The other big offseason acquisition was center Chandler Stephenson, who made his preseason debut Friday. While the reaction to Stephenson’s contract was mixed, with the analytics community largely trashing the deal, the eyeball test told me on Friday that there’s a lot to be excited about with this player. He’s big, he wins battles along the wall, and there’s a certain quiet confidence that he exudes when the puck is on his stick.

Montour had an interesting phrase to describe Stephenson’s game, saying, “He just slows the play down so much.” What Montour means by that is when Stephenson gets the puck, he’s patient and calm and is confident enough in his skating and puck-handling that he can take his time and make the right play.

Coach Dan Bylsma shared similar sentiments. “In just a lot of areas, it’s just great to see,” Bylsma said of Stephenson. “He’s winning face-offs, his speed, his support on the ice… He’s a super intelligent player, and it showed. That’s just comforting to have on the ice from a coach. So it can get better, but it’s awesome to see him out there and awesome to see what he can do with this team.”

Stephenson had 18:35 of ice time and won 16 of 20 face-offs.

Takeaway #3: Big night for Lleyton Roed and Ryan Winterton

After the game on Tuesday, I had started to think that John Hayden and Ben Meyers were putting themselves ahead of Ryan Winterton in the competition for the last roster spot(s) out of camp. In the 6-1 Kraken loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday, Winterton didn’t demand a spot on the team the way I thought he might.

Friday’s game was a completely different story for the 21-year-old, though, who surely has his sights set on becoming a full-time NHLer. I’m not sure how to explain it, but he looked faster and more confident in himself, and almost every time he touched the puck, he seemed to make the right play. I believe Winterton’s performance in this game put him back in contention for a coveted spot with the big club.

“It’s massive,” Winterton said of how important it was for him to have a strong game against the Canucks. “I didn’t think I played my best game in my first game [against Calgary], so to come out tonight and play better, I think was huge for me. And whatever happens, happens. I’m going to keep trying to earn my spot and stay another day every day.”

Winterton’s biggest moment of the night came when he drove to the net and got on the receiving end of a Lleyton Roed pass from the corner.

OK!! That was fun! 🚨

GREAT rush by Lleyton Roed, who sets up Ryan Winterton for the goal.

3-0 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/jI8yZjUdEM

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) September 28, 2024

Oh, what a great segue into Roed’s game!

The undrafted 22-year-old free-agent signee from Bemidji State University only got 10:39 of ice time, but he made the most of it with three shots on goal and an outstanding play to steal a puck in the neutral zone, then rip around Sammy Blais and Filip Hronek and fire a hard pass toward the crease to set up Winterton’s goal.

“It was just a track back. I stripped the puck and took the D wide and just went at the net hard,” Roed said. “Got the puck there, and [Winterton] did the rest… Speed’s kind of my thing, so it’s nice to see that it translates to this level, and I can make plays as well.”

We at Sound Of Hockey have been bullish on Roed for a while, and I picked a great time to write a profile on him, just prior to Friday’s game. Since I just wrote that, I won’t go too deep into his story here, but if you want to learn more about him, give that a read.

What I will say here is that Roed was awesome on Friday. He has NHL speed and used it to burn around NHL players on multiple occasions.

“It’s the job of the young kids… if Lleyton’s young… to show what they can do, what kind of player they are,” Bylsma said. “And I don’t think there’s any question about Lleyton’s game with how he played tonight. The speed, the tenacity, he was good on the penalty kill. Every chance he got, we saw the speed and tenacity.”

Roed will probably go down to Coachella Valley relatively soon, but man, he was fun to watch on Friday, and I would not put it out of the realm of possibility to see him up with the big club at some point this season.