Welcome to “Down on the Farm,” a weekly update on Seattle Kraken prospects. This holiday week we’ll have just a quick look at the week that was for the Kraken prospect pool, before returning to our full column next week. I hope everyone had a happy and restful Thanksgiving.
Notes on three Kraken prospects
Ryan Winterton
Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) | F | 21 years old | 16 games played | 7 goals | 8 assists | 0.94 PPG
With Shane Wright re-entering the Kraken lineup this week, Seattle’s need for an extra center diminished, and the team returned Ben Meyers to Coachella Valley. In his place, the team recalled Winterton on Thursday, who has earned another NHL look after a strong week (two goals and two assists in three Firebirds contests). Winterton is currently third in the system in “Data Score,” my age-, position-, size-, and league-adjusted scoring performance metric, behind only Eduard Sale and Oscar Fisker Mølgaard. Winterton is replacing Daniel Sprong in Seattle’s lineup Friday afternoon against San Jose. We will see how long Winterton sticks around.
Jani Nyman
Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) | F | 20 years old | 16 games played | 5 goals | 3 assists | 0.5 PPG
Nyman’s transition to North American hockey remains a work in progress. I believe we are starting to see modest gains in his skating and North American hockey instincts, but there is still developmental road left. Encouragingly, though, Nyman is starting to find ways to deploy his heavy shot. After a couple greasy goals got him on the scoresheet to start the year, the 20-year-old Finn connected on both a one-timer and a heavy wrister over the last seven days. We saw a lot of this from him in Liiga last year and hopefully it’s a harbinger of more to come for Nyman.
power house Jani 💪 pic.twitter.com/kcUgWGGTVf
— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) November 27, 2024
Barrett Hall
St. Cloud State Univ. (NCAA) | F | 20 years old | 13 games played | 2 goals | 10 assists | 0.92 PPG
Barrett Hall’s two goals and 10 assists across 13 games has him tied for the St. Cloud State team lead in scoring. Hall, 20, has obvious skill with the puck on his stick, but to date, he has not been able to put it all together in the higher amateur ranks to lead a team. If he is finally turning a corner, he’s a sleeper to watch moving forward.
Kraken prospect data update
Berkly Catton scored or assisted on eight of 15 Spokane Chiefs goals over the last seven days. His two goals and six assists led Spokane to a 3-0 record since our last check-in and earns him Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week.
Two important veterans found their footing for the Firebirds this week. Mitchell Stephens, 27, had been a productive AHL forward in recent years and even earned 23 NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens during the 2023-24 season. Even so, he was held scoreless in his first nine Firebirds games and missed a few more due to injury. Finally, the dam broke for Stephens this week. He scored three goals and added an assist in Coachella Valley’s last two games.
Similarly, defenseman Nikolas Brouillard, 29, struggled to find the scoresheet to begin the year. Brouillard had amassed at least 36 points in each of his three previous AHL campaigns, but had only one point (an assist) through 12 Firebirds games to begin this year. Like Stephens, though, Brouillard broke out this week with one goal and four assists in his last two games.
Nikke Kokko drew two of three starts for the Firebirds over the last seven days. Coachella Valley has still earned at least a point in each of his starts, though Kokko did finally pick up his first loss (in overtime) this week.
Kim Saarinen started two Liiga games this week, bringing his total in the Finnish pro league to 10. This eclipses the full-season total Kokko amassed at the same age. The Athletic recently projected Saarinen to a spot on the Finnish World Juniors roster (along with Julius Miettinen).
2024-25 Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker
Clarke Caswell: 2
Berkly Catton: 2
Alexis Bernier: 1
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard: 1
Caden Price: 1
Previewing the week ahead
Catton and the Chiefs welcome Tyson Jugnauth and the Portland Winterhawks to Spokane for a two-game set this weekend. In the AHL, the Firebirds are in a playoff spot right now. The Firebirds could continue to improve their standings position as their home slate picks up with three games in Palm Desert over the next seven days.
Previous prospect updates
November 22, 2024: Projecting the Seattle Kraken’s right defense prospects
November 15, 2024: Will an NCAA ruling change the landscape for Seattle Kraken prospects?
November 8, 2024: Kraken prospect Jagger Firkus is doing the little things necessary to succeed
November 1, 2024: ‘No days off’ approach for Kraken prospect Clarke Caswell
October 25, 2024: Kraken prospect Eduard Sale’s “tryout” in Coachella Valley is going well
October 18, 2024: Kraken prospect Andrei Loshko filling the stat sheet in the OHL
Curtis Isacke
Curtis is a Sound Of Hockey contributor and member of the Kraken press corps. Curtis is an attorney by day, and he has read the NHL collective bargaining agreement and bylaws so you don’t have to. He can be found analyzing the Kraken, NHL Draft, and other hockey topics on Twitter and Bluesky @deepseahockey.