Welcome back to “Down on the Farm,” your weekly update on all things Seattle Kraken prospects. This week we’ll take a look at which Kraken prospects are (or are likely to be) vying for a spot at the 2025 World Junior Championship, check in on a new record holder for the Portland Winterhawks, update after an eventful week for the reigning Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week, and more.
As always, if you have a prospect-related question you’d like to see featured in a future column, drop us a note below or on X, formerly known as Twitter, or BlueSky at @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey. Let’s get to it.
Kraken prospects vying for spots at World Juniors camps
Several Seattle Kraken prospects departed their club teams this week to head to 2025 World Junior Championship (WJC) selection camps for their respective countries. Let’s start with a primer on the tournament, before taking a look the Kraken connections team-by-team.
The WJC is an IIHF-organized event of under-20 men’s hockey players from 10 qualifying countries around the world. (Each year there is promotion and relegation from lower divisions, Division I, II, & III. Kazakhstan is the new entrant this year, with Norway moving down to Division I.) This year’s tournament will be held in Ottawa from Dec. 26, 2024, through Jan. 5, 2025.
Team USA won the gold medal in the 2024 tournament and is looking for its first ever back-to-back championships. The tournament begins with pool play before teams move on to a single-elimination playoff (or a relegation game). Team USA is in Group A with Finland, Canada, Latvia, and Germany. The USA-Canada game is scheduled for New Year’s Eve. Group B is comprised of Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Kazakhstan.
It’s hard to overstate just how important this tournament is as the premier event for junior hockey, particularly in Canada. Kraken prospect Berkly Catton described the event to reporter Mike Boyle as “a childhood dream.” “Ever since you’re a little kid at Christmas, watching the World Juniors, that’s my fondest memories.” When asked to consider his favorite WJC moment, Catton gave a familiar answer: “[Thinking back] to Seattle camp, Jordan Eberle is a World Junior hero, and he’s sitting in the stall next to me.”
Fellow Kraken prospect Caden Price echoed Catton’s sentiments about the possibility of suiting up for Canada at the WJC: “It’s really special any time you get the chance to do it. That red white and black, it’s like no other [experience].”
Team Canada: Berkly Catton, Carson Rehkopf, and Caden Price
The aforementioned Catton, 18, and Price, 19, were joined by Kraken forward Carson Rehkopf, 19, as invitees to Team Canada Selection Camp, which has been underway in Ottawa for the last few days. Selection camp culminated with two games against Canadian college hockey players Thursday and Friday (today). Catton sat out the second game, which most viewed at the time as strong indicator that he was squarely on the team. He centered the “first line” in the first game.
“During this first part of camp, it’s a lot about comparing where I fit on the team. How is this going to shake out? After that’s said and done it’s all about winning and bonding as a team,” Catton said.
Carson Rehkopf and Caden Price played in both games, along with most of the players competing for a roster spot. This put both players potentially on the bubble. Rehkopf made his case by scoring a hat trick in the first game. For his part, Price knew he needed to show a strong defensive game to have chance. “With the forward group they invited, there is a lot of skill up there. I think just transporting pucks is going to be huge—and getting it into [the forwards’] hands as quickly as possible,” Price told reporter Regan Bartell. “Playing hard defense and [maintaining] good gaps [is important].”
Team Canada announced its initial roster Friday afternoon, and, lo and behold, all three Kraken players are on the team.
Check out the 2⃣5⃣ players who will wear the 🍁 at the #WorldJuniors in Ottawa! 🇨🇦
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 13, 2024
Voici les 2⃣5⃣ joueurs qui arboreront la 🍁 au #MondialJunior à Ottawa! 🇨🇦
ROSTER: https://t.co/rkEYGrNFYr
FORMATION : https://t.co/aaliYCMONH pic.twitter.com/JFDvmr9tYG
For now, I’ll predict Catton will take a top-six, first-unit power-play role, while Rehkopf makes the team in a bottom-six (and power play) capacity. Price is more likely to be a low-ice-time bench extra, absent an injury or two.
Team Finland: (Maybe) Julius Miettinen, Kim Saarinen, and/or Visa Vedenpaa
Finland has not announced its WJC long list, and it may not do so at all. Last year I believe Finland waited and announced only its finalized roster. It may be taking the same approach this year.
Kraken forward prospect Julius Miettinen, 18, has been out of the lineup for the Everett Silvertips for the last six days. This could be because he has traveled to Finland to compete. (It also could be a coincidence.) Several public analysts have projected Miettinen onto the final roster.
Another player projected to be in the mix is goalie Kim Saarinen, 18. For the moment, Saarinen remains with his club team, HPK. In fact, he got into HPK’s game earlier today (Friday, Dec. 13), stopping 18 of 19 shots. I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that he is off the roster, though, since it is likely a much simpler process for him to report to camp when it begins.
Goalie Visa Vedenpaa, 19, was another possibility, but he still hasn’t played a club game since October, so I suspect health may keep him off the roster. I’ll predict both Miettinen and Saarinen make Team Finland in a relatively weak year for that country. Miettinen could helm a fourth line, while Saarinen would likely be a backup in the goal crease. As underagers, both could return for Finland next year.
[UPDATE: On Saturday, Dec. 14, Finland announced a WJC roster that will require only one more cut (likely of a forward). As expected, Miettinen and Saarinen are on the team.]
Team Czechia: Eduard Sale and Jakub Fibigr
Forward Eduard Sale, 19, and defenseman Jakub Fibigr, 18, were named to the selection camp roster for Team Czechia earlier this week. Fibigr’s inclusion was an encouraging development for the underage defenseman. He missed Brampton’s game on Wednesday, so it is possible he is already back in Czechia competing for the final roster. I’m inclined to say he is a longshot to be on the final team, but we’ve heard some rumblings to the contrary.
Sale has been a Team Czechia stalwart for years, and I’d expect him to have a prominent role for the Czechs at even strength and on the power play in his final WJC. Sale remained in the Firebirds lineup Thursday night. As a lock for the team, he may not depart for Czechia until rosters are finalized.
Do Ottawy vyrazí k obhajobě bronzu tato sestava vyvolených! 💥
— Český hokej (@czehockey) December 10, 2024
Do boje jde několik 🥉 medailistů z minulého šampionátu, v 🇨🇦 Kanadě se ale představí také Adam Jiříček nebo Adam Novotný. ✊#narodnitym #ceskyhokej #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/CsN4iaPeWs
Team Sweden: Zeb Forsfjall
Forward Zeb Forsfjall, 19, is on Team Sweden, and will serve as a key member of the team’s leadership group. I’d project him to a third-line role at even strength, with heavy responsibilities on both special teams units.
Sweden's roster for the 2025 WJC. pic.twitter.com/sigBwFcCoL
— Uffe Bodin (@UffeBodin) December 4, 2024
Notes on three more Kraken prospects
Tyson Jugnauth
Portland Winterhawks (WHL) | D | 20 years old | 27 games | 6 goals | 31 assists | 1.37 PPG
Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth had a historic week, recording six assists in Portland’s 7-2 win over the Vancouver Giants Sunday night. This set a franchise record for assists in a game. Who was the last Winterhawks player who had six points in a game? None other than Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand.
“It was one of those games where things were just going in the net,” Jugnauth told the WHL Radio Show. “I think I’ve had lots of games this year where maybe I’ve had a couple assists but I could have had more. [Saturday’s] game was one where I probably shouldn’t have had six, but at the end of the day I’ll take it. I kept shooting it at the net and the puck kept going in.”
Jugnauth finished the week with nine assists across three games, which earns him the title of Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week.
Jugnauth now leads all WHL defensemen in points, assists, and points per game. An unsigned 20-year-old WHL blueliner needs to dictate play if he is to earn an NHL contract—and that’s precisely what he’s doing. Beyond that, Jugnauth knows what he needs to do off the ice: “The biggest thing for me is to get bigger and stronger. That’s what [Seattle] want[s] me to do. I’m working on that. [When or if I sign] is something I can’t really control. Whenever it happens, if it happens, it happens.”
Victor Östman
Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL) | G | 24 years old | 16 games | 2.25 GAA | .914 S% | 11-4-1 record
We’ve seen it happen time and again with these updates that a featured player has a remarkable performance in his next game immediately after he is highlighted here. It happened with Clarke Caswell and Jagger Firkus, among others. Last week, we highlighted the performance of goalie Victor Östman as the best in the system. He immediately rewarded all of us with a goalie fight. We at Sound Of Hockey are generally not big on fighting in professional hockey, but it’s hard to deny an occasional goalie brawl.
‼️GOALIE FIGHTTTTT‼️
— Kansas City Mavericks (@kc_mavericks) December 8, 2024
WE’VE SEEN IT ALL TONIGHT🤯👏🏼
Give it up for VIC😤🙌🏼@ECHL pic.twitter.com/TDQulBjjXg
Joking aside, Östman also had a very strong week in the goal crease, winning all three games he started and posting a sterling .935 save percentage in the process. He was close to becoming our first “repeat” Prospect of the Week winner.
Lukas Dragicevic
Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) | D | 19 years old | 24 games | 3 goals | 28 assists | 1.29 PPG
Defenseman Lukas Dragicevic scored two goals and added two assists in three games over the last seven days. Overall, he is quietly second in assists, fourth in points, and second in points per game among WHL defensemen. His scoring rate has rebounded and surpassed his stellar draft year, adding evidence to the theory that his production dip last season was largely due to a poor supporting cast in Tri City. After an offseason trade to Prince Albert, the offensive confidence seems to have returned.
Perhaps most encouraging is his plus-five plus-minus over his last 12 games. Dragicevic remains minus-six for the year overall, underlining the need for continued defensive improvements. But even this is a step forward from last season when he was minus-31 for the Americans.
Kraken prospect data update
It was a lighter week for Seattle’s prospect pool, in part because some players departed for WJC camps. Jagger Firkus and Jani Nyman both scored goals for Coachella Valley Thursday to get themselves on the board for the week. Jacob Melanson remains out of the Firebirds lineup with an undisclosed injury.
Jugnauth, Dragicevic, and Price are first, second, and fourth, respectively, in points per game among WHL defensemen.
Östman drew attention for his fighting prowess, but, in reality, all of the goalies in the Kraken system got the “Sound Of Hockey bump” from being featured in this space last week.
Nikke Kokko got back into the lineup for Coachella Valley this week after missing a couple games due to injury. While Kokko was solid, he was saddled with his first North American professional regulation loss. He is now 6-1-1.
2024-25 Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker
Clarke Caswell: 2
Berkly Catton: 2
Alexis Bernier: 1
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard: 1
Tyson Jugnauth: 1
Victor Östman: 1
Caden Price: 1
Previewing the week ahead
The Firebirds have two games this weekend against the rival Calgary Wranglers. This should be a good test for the Firebirds as the Wranglers are once again one of the AHL’s very best teams. In the junior ranks, Nathan Villeneuve and the Sudbury Wolves visit Andrei Loshko and the Niagara IceDogs on Sunday, and Clarke Caswell and the Swift Current Broncos travel to Red Deer to take on the Rebels and Ollie Josephson on Tuesday.
Previous prospect updates
December 6, 2024: Seattle Kraken goalie prospects progressing in the professional ranks
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
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.
Thank you! Curtis for these weekly updates of those down on the farm. Awesome!!
The surprising thing is that Price made this team, and 1R picks like Parekh and Yakemchuk. did not. Is Price quietly ascending the prospects list?
Of course, Iginla and Sennecke did not make the team either. I guess NHL teams and Hockey Canada may have different timelines.
It would be good to do a highlight on David Goyette, who seems to have disappeared down in CV.
Just think, the next pick in that draft was Lane Hutson, he of the 21 assists this season. Wonder how he would have fit in on the Kraken?
It is good to see that Dragocevic’s +- is getting better. I can’t see his games, so I don’t know whether that is due to his defense improving. If so, that is fantastic, because a pro defenseman has to play defense. No pro team can afford to play a Tony DeAngelo type guy with scoring forwards being as good as they are these days. It will be fun to see how he plays in Coachella Valley next year.