Down on the Farm – Tyson Jugnauth is putting on a show in Portland

Welcome to “Down on the Farm,” Sound Of Hockey‘s weekly update on Seattle Kraken prospects. This week we’ll take a look at Tyson Jugnauth’s play for the Portland Winterhawks, highlight an area where the Kraken front office is lapping the competition, provide updates on a few standout goaltending performances, share scouting video on Jani Nyman, and much more.

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 or BlueSky @deepseahockey. Let’s dig in.

Jugnauth is leading from the blue line in Portland

When Sound Of Hockey spoke with Kraken director of player development Jeff Tambellini a few weeks ago, Tambellini brought up one player in entirely unsolicited fashion: 2022 fourth-round pick Tyson Jugnauth. According to Tambellini, the 5-foot-11 blueliner has been “outstanding” in his second WHL campaign.

Those who follow Kraken prospects closely are familiar with Jugnauth’s unique journey at this point. He played for the University of Wisconsin for over a year following the draft before making the decision in December 2023 to jump from a depth role in college to a featured role in the WHL.

Since the move, he has 121 points in 102 WHL games. His 64 points from the blue line this season (as of Saturday, Jan. 25) are 15 more than the second place defenseman in the WHL. (Kraken prospect Lukas Dagicevic is second with 49 points.)

“To decide to go from college hockey back to the Western League is a really big decision,” Tambellini said. “And then to go perform the way he has for the last year and a half, it’s really impressive.”

It was evident to the Kraken at training camp that they were onto something with Jugnauth. “Our NHL [personnel] kept saying, who’s the [defenseman] with the white stick?” Tambellini recounted, referring to Jugnauth. “[It was] so good to watch him against our best players. He’s playing out of pressure, spinning guys off. There’s something there.”

Fast forward today, and “he’s been putting on a show” in the WHL. His smoothness and skill in his movements, as well as his calm demeanor dealing with pressure, immediately stand out on his junior tape. “He is playing the game with such ease and setting up goals that are just really impressive,” Tambellini said.

Jugnauth’s uncommon skating ability allowed him to dissect the entire Saskatoon defense to score a goal on Jan. 15.

See more

HOW DO THEY KEEP LETTING HIM DO THIS?!? 😱 pic.twitter.com/iQX7P8oIOf

— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) January 16, 2025

Later in that same game, Jugnauth showed uncommon stick skills to match when he went over the boards as one of Portland’s first shootout shooters.

See more

2⃣ of the filthiest shootout goals you're ever going to see and a Stebi save for good measure 😤 pic.twitter.com/u6fPkCdeNA

— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) January 16, 2025

Jugnauth is currently unsigned and bound for Michigan State University in the fall. But if he keeps up this scoring production, I’d wager he’ll be joining the Seattle organization sooner or later.

Kraken have proven adept at finding talent in the middle rounds

Amidst the frustration of what is shaping up to be a second straight season out of the NHL playoffs, it is tempting to view everything about the Kraken through the prism of organizational failure (or “crisis,” if you will). Things are rarely so simple, though, and The Athletic provided a good reminder of that with a recent column ranking the 50 best under-23 prospects in the league that were drafted outside the first round.

The Kraken have stockpiled second- and third-round picks in recent years, so it is not surprising that the team fared well in this exercise. What is notable, though, is that Seattle have by far the most players ranked—six of the top 50. (The next closest teams had only three such players.)

As we have discussed here and on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, the likelihood of identifying future NHL players drops off precipitously outside the top half of the first round of the draft. Seattle’s unparalleled ability to identify potential NHL contributors outside this range sets the franchise up well for sustained success in the not-too-distant future.

Indeed, it is easy enough to dream on a balanced, competitive, and almost-entirely homegrown team to begin the 2026-27 season (see box). Of course, we are very unlikely to see a lineup like this in reality for a variety of reasons, not the least being prospect attrition. But it is an enviable situation to have the depth of NHL-caliber talent that such a thought experiment is even possible. (What’s more, this hypothetical lineup would leave many interesting prospects knocking on the door at the AHL, including Julius Miettinen, Clarke Caswell, Caden Price, Lukas Dragicevic, and Semyon Vyazovoy.)

Notes on three more Kraken prospects

Kim Saarinen | G | HPK (Liiga)

Goalie prospect Kim Saarinen is the Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week. He posted two shutouts and a one-goal game in three starts this week—his first Liiga action since his trip to Canada for the World Juniors. His .911 save percentage ranks fourth in Liiga, and second among under-22 goalies (behind only World Juniors teammate Petteri Rimpinen).

We began the season impressed that the Liiga rookie was simply getting regular opportunities in a professional net as an 18-year-old. His recent production has been a showstopper. That said, the development path for goalies—even the best goalies—is long. I’d expect him to remain in Finland for at least one if not two more years. (His contract with HPK goes through 2026-27, per Elite Prospects.)

Jani Nyman | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)

Jani Nyman added a goal this week, bringing his season total to 16—the most among all rookies and players aged 20 or younger in the AHL. We looked at his early-career accomplishments last week. Check out his shifts from Coachella Valley’s Jan. 12, 2025, game against the Chicago Wolves below.

Ty Nelson | D | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)

Ty Nelson has flown under the radar in this his first full professional season with the Firebirds. He was very quiet in terms of production in the early going, but it was clear that he earned the trust of the coaching staff from the beginning. While every other rookie sat for at least one game in the first month, Nelson was a lineup stalwart. Mix in some impressive durability and he is one of only two Firebirds to have appeared in every game for the team. (Logan Morrison is the other.) In his last four games, his hard work has been rewarded on the scoresheet too. He has two goals and two assists in that span. His plus-six on-ice plus-minus for the season is seventh-best on the team.

Kraken prospects data update

After an impressive World Juniors performance and a trade to the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Caden Price would be forgiven if his head were still spinning a bit. His scoring production has taken a dip in the last couple weeks. Elsewhere Ollie Josephson has been missing from the Red Deer lineup for a few weeks, and both Zeb Forsfjall and Julius Miettinen have not yet returned to their respective club team lineups since the World Juniors.

Everything College Hockey recently followed Kraken prospect and Colorado College forward Zaccharya Wisdom for a day and produced a ten-minute video on the experience. It’s worth a watch.

If not for Kim Saarinen’s standout performance, Semyon Vyazovoy likely would have been in the running for Prospect of the Week honors. His run of stellar play continues. He is currently tied for third in the KHL in save percentage—as a 21-year-old rookie.

Visa Vedenpaa remains sidelined, but that’s the only real blemish on the organizational goaltending depth chart right now.

2024-25 Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker

Clarke Caswell: 2

Berkly Catton: 2

Tyson Jugnauth: 2

Alexis Bernier: 1

Andrei Loshko: 1

Oscar Fisker Mølgaard: 1

Victor Östman: 1

Caden Price: 1

Kim Saarinen: 1

Nathan Villeneuve: 1

Semyon Vyazovoy: 1

Previewing the week ahead

The Everett Silvertips take on their rival Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday night at Angel of the Winds Arena.

Recent prospect updates

January 17, 2025: Jani Nyman’s scoring, 2025 NHL Draft coverage

January 10, 2025: Interview with Kraken director of player development Jeff Tambellini

January 3, 2025: Stock Up, Stock Down for Kraken prospects at the World Junior Championship

December 20, 2024: Kraken system after the Kaapo Kakko trade, David Goyette’s progress, and World Juniors

December 13, 2024: Three Kraken prospects make Team Canada WJC roster

December 6, 2024: Seattle Kraken goalie prospects progressing in the professional ranks