Welcome to “Down on the Farm,” your weekly update on all things Seattle Kraken prospects. This week we’ll take a look at the progress of Seattle’s goaltending prospects, highlight two standout performance from Brampton Steelheads teammates, and, as always, get you all the data you can handle. Let’s dive in.

Kraken prospect question of the week: Checking in on the goalie prospects

Many of the comments on last week’s prospect update focused on the team’s goaltending prospects. Even though I’m not responding to a specific question posed there, I took that discussion as inspiration to check in on the progress of Seattle’s prospects who make a living getting hit by short cylinders of vulcanized rubber.

This past week was a tough one for Seattle’s netminders at the NHL level—and it was only slightly better for the team’s prospects. Big picture, it’s impressive that the Kraken have relatively young goaltending prospects taking regular starts in Liiga, the KHL, and the AHL. But the goalies in the system faced a lot of adversity this week.

Let’s start with a positive. Victor Ostman, 24, started a pair of games for the ECHL Kansas City Mavericks and posted two wins, one of which was a 23-save shutout. Overall, he stopped 44 of 45 shots, raising his season save percentage to .909. That mark is 10th best in the ECHL among goalies with at least 10 appearances. Ostman faced questions after a rough senior year at the University of Maine and an up-and-down NHL camp, but he has settled in well for Kansas City. Even if that’s where he spends the balance of the year—and we’re beginning to suspect that will be the case—there is still an NHL trajectory for him if he can continue stacking success. His stellar week earns him Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week.

For his part, Nikke Kokko, 20, took hard contact from a Texas Stars skater at 8:32 in the second period of the Firebirds’ game Thursday night, forcing him to depart. There was no definitive update postgame, but the team recalled Jack LaFontaine from Kansas City today, with two weekend games in San Jose on the horizon. That transaction suggests Kokko’s short-term availability is in doubt. On the bright side, the Firebirds came back to win Thursday’s game, so Kokko still does not have a North American professional regulation loss.

Jack LaFontaine has been recalled to the @Firebirds.

Read more —> https://t.co/oj0q9c22XU pic.twitter.com/VCwCzGrHwV

— Kansas City Mavericks (@kc_mavericks) December 6, 2024

Ales Stezka, 27, was solid on Thursday, but struggled a bit in two losses earlier the week, allowing eight goals on 70 shots overall. Stezka’s play had been trending well in recent weeks and the Firebirds will likely be leaning on him even more heavily with Kokko out. While Stezka has been solid, he hasn’t given the Kraken strong reason to consider a promotion even following a few poor NHL starts by Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer.

Kim Saarinen, 18, continues to pile up starts at the Liiga level, which is good, but the production hasn’t been particularly strong. Saarinen’s .891 save percentage ranks 15th among goalies with at least 10 starts (in a 16-team league). One of Saarinen’s weakest starts came Thursday when he gave up five goals on 35 shots. To be fair, though, Saarinen’s team, HPK, has struggled overall and is currently 14th in the standings. Saarinen’s goalie tandem partner, Sami Rajaniemi, is right next to him on the save percentage leaderboard with a .890 mark.

Semyon Vyazovoy, 21, got off to a strong start in the KHL but has recently slid into true backup status for his club, drawing a start every week or two. He didn’t get into a game in the last seven days. It’s a disappointing development for the young goalie, who has posted above-average results at every step of his development path. His .919 save percentage is roughly league average for a regular KHL starter and is fourth best among KHL goalies under 22.

Visa Vedenpaa, 19, still hasn’t seen the ice since playing one period in a game on October 15. He is likely dealing with a long-term injury.

Notes on three Kraken prospects

Jakub Fibigr

Brampton Steelheads (OHL) | D | 18 years old | 25 games played | 2 goals | 11 assists | 0.52 PPG

2024 draft pick Jakub Fibigr opened eyes at Kraken training camp with his skating skill, prompting some commentary that he could be a seventh-round “steal.” If you’ve followed Sound Of Hockey’s draft coverage, though, you already knew that Fibigr was anything but a typical seventh-round pick. He slipped in the draft, but he was No. 98 overall in our consensus scouting ranking, and his draft-year scoring data would have had him even higher (No. 37 overall).

That said, Fibigr had a very slow scoring start for the high-flying Steelheads this year. He finally broke through on the offensive end last Saturday when he registered four assists in a 5-3 Steelheads win over Saginaw. He kept that momentum going with two more assists Wednesday against Guelph. He still trails his 2023-24 scoring pace by a wide margin, but if the last two games signal a hot streak, it shouldn’t take long to make his quiet start a distant memory. The talent is there to pile up points in a hurry.

Carson Rehkopf

Brampton Steelheads (OHL) | F | 19 years old | 25 games played | 18 goals | 26 assists | 1.76 PPG

Fibigr’s Steelheads teammate Carson Rehkopf had a great week both on and off the ice. As expected, he was named to Team Canada’s selection camp for the World Junior Championship—along with fellow Kraken prospects Berkly Catton and Caden Price. Fourth in the OHL in points and a natural shooter, Rehkopf is almost certain to make the final team (Catton is very likely to make it too). Rehkopf also has a strong chance to be named a team leader, given that he’s an alumnus of the 2024 team and one of Canada’s oldest eligible players.

For Brampton, Rehkopf poured in three goals and added four assists in three games this week. The Steelheads were a borderline ludicrous +9 with Rehkopf on the ice at 5-on-5. Needless to say, Brampton’s top line continues to dominate. (This is now the third time Rehkopf has put up production worthy of “Prospect of the Week” status, only to miss out due to another Kraken prospect’s performance. I’m sure he’ll be able to console himself with the World Juniors invite.)

Ben Meyers

Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) | F | 26 years old | 15 games played | 7 goals | 7 assists | 0.93 PPG

Ben Meyers had a leviathan week for the Coachella Valley Firebirds, punctuated by a hat trick Thursday night that fueled a comeback win against the Texas Stars. Overall, he had five goals and an assist in three games. Mentally, I deemed him ineligible for the Prospect of the Week award since he’s over 25 years old, but it probably should have gone his way but for that.

#ICYMI: Ben Meyers caps off the hat trick with an empty netter🎩🎩🎩@Firebirds | #TEXvsCV pic.twitter.com/XFX4SZRwXz

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) December 6, 2024

Kraken prospect data update

Seattle’s prospects scored a lot over the last seven days. 20 different players had multi-point weeks. In addition to strong performances from Rehkopf, Meyers, and Fibigr, Clarke Caswell had three goals and three assists in three games.

Catton and Rehkopf continue their battle for Kraken junior scoring supremacy. Last week Catton held the lead, but he relinquished that spot to Rehkopf this week after the Steelheads forward recorded seven points.

Forward Justin Janicke is now second on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in scoring, following a two-goal, one-assist week. Defenseman Kaden Hammell’s +35 plus-minus is the best in the entire CHL (though he is closely trailed by several Silvertips teammates).

As detailed above, Ostman was the organization’s highlight in goal over the last seven days. Stezka played in all three games for the Firebirds after appearing as an injury replacement for Kokko on Thursday.

Saarinen’s Liiga numbers aren’t stellar but his continued usage in that top-level pro league as an 18-year-old is reason for continued optimism.

2024-25 Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker

Clarke Caswell: 2

Berkly Catton: 2

Alexis Bernier: 1

Oscar Fisker Mølgaard: 1

Victor Östman: 1

Caden Price: 1

Previewing the week ahead

Hammell, Julius Miettinen, and the Everett Silvertips host Caden Price and the Kelowna Rockets on Friday, and then square off against the rival Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday night at Angel of the Winds Arena. Next Wednesday, Everett welcomes Tyson Jugnauth and the Portland Winterhawks.

The Coachella Valley Firebirds have three straight contests against the San Jose Barracuda over the next seven days (two in San Jose and one in Palm Desert). With a weekend back-to-back scheduled, I’d expect Jack LaFontaine to get an AHL start (assuming Kokko doesn’t bounce back rapidly). On the ECHL side of things, I expect Ostman to carry the load for the Mavericks.

Previous prospect updates

November 29, 2024: Data check in at U.S. Thanksgiving

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