“Down on the Farm” is your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. In this week’s column, we break down what we’ve seen from Kraken defense prospect Lukas Dragicevic this season, briefly circle back to last week’s Kraken prospect ranking, get you an injury update on Kaden Hammell, update you on all Kraken prospect performances from the week that was, and preview the week ahead for Seattle’s prospect pool. As always, if you have a prospect-related question you’d like to see featured in a future column, drop a note below or on X or BlueSky @deepseahockey. Let’s dive in.

Lukas Dragicevic’s developing defensive game

“Let’s say it up front: Lukas Dragicevic is the best offensive defenceman in this year’s draft.” That is what Elite Prospects had to say about Seattle’s 2023 second-round pick in the lead up to a draft that included several skilled blueliners, such as Axel Sandin Pellikka, David Reinbacher, and Luca Cagnoni. “Dragicevic’s skill is the envy of most forwards. He sends opponents careening into the boards with rapid-fire handling, uses them as screens with fluid curl-and-drag shots, and freezes multiple players at once with deception before setting up a tap-in.”

This year with the Prince Albert Raiders, Dragicevic is second in the WHL in assists (48) and points (62), trailing only Kraken teammate Tyson Jugnauth in both categories. Yet, Dragicevic is almost exactly one year younger than Jugnauth.

Why, then, did Dragicevic fall to No. 57 overall in the draft? The question marks came in several forms on the defensive side of the equation. “Full stop, the defence must improve to get the green light in the NHL,” Elite Prospects wrote in 2023. In some sense, this was not unexpected, as Dragicevic was relatively new to the position. He has explained in talking with Sound Of Hockey that his hockey journey began at the forward position for many years, before transitioning to defense around the age of 15.

Dragicevic’s junior statistics bear out the challenges he has experienced defensively. Despite compiling an eye-popping 187 points in 186 games over the last three years, his teams have given up more goals than they have scored at 5-on-5 with Dragicevic on the ice each year.

This makes Dragicevic one of the more intriguing prospects in the system to follow. His ceiling is quite high—think an offense-first No. 3 defenseman—if he can link the dynamic elements of his game with stronger defensive results.

In a few viewings this season, I have seen a prospect who has made some improvements but is still searching for consistency on defense. He flashes strong skating skills to mirror and maintain a good gap in defensive transition, but he is inconsistent defending the blue line. Most skilled, offense-first defensemen who succeed in the NHL do so by using their skating to take controlled-entry possession away from their opponents. Dragicevic needs more consistency and aggression in that aspect of his game, where he is far too often cautious or a step slow despite being in solid position.

In the defensive zone, the instincts are still a work in progress, and his skating doesn’t shine nearly as brightly as it does when he is moving forward in transition or traversing the offensive blue line. His feet deaden at times, leading him to lunge with his stick checks. While he is never going to be the most physical player in the corners or at the net front, he has made strides in his positioning and using his frame to box out opponents. He needs to continue to add strength.

He has the ice vision and passing skill to be an asset breaking the puck out of the defensive zone, but there were a few too many weak efforts and easy, conservative turnovers up the boards for my liking.

When moving forward offensively, ideally he’d develop a bit more burst in his first few steps, but he has solid speed overall and excellent agility and four-way mobility. He is able to finesse and evade junior defenders with relative ease.

And the offensive toolkit is still very strong. He has every pass in his bag—stretch, saucer, cross ice, to space, you name it. And his shot is an asset from the blue line because it is accurate, and he has a knack for getting it through traffic and onto a teammate’s stick for a tip or onto the goaltender to create rebounds. He also has the confidence and skill to be a “rover” type, possessing the puck all over the offensive zone while scanning for teammates.

Overall, there is a lot to like in Dragicevic’s game, and the area where he is still developing is not for lack of skill. You can imagine it all coming together. He just needs to find consistency in his defensive reads and add a bit more physically. If he can do that in Coachella Valley over the next couple years, the Kraken may have a significant blue line piece for the future.

A postscript to our mid-season Kraken prospect ranking

Last week we published my mid-season effort at stack ranking 22 Kraken prospects. One thing I had intended—but failed—to explain was my thinking on including that specific number of players in the ranking. Originally, in preparing last week’s column, I ranked all of the prospects in the system. But as I returned to the list again and again, I realized that the notion of a “ranking” was less useful, and perhaps misleading, the farther I went down the list.

In the end, I landed on a group of 15 players I was comfortable with at the top, and then another seven players in the next tier down that I wanted to also address in some form or fashion. I considered characterizing these seven players as “honorable mentions.” Though I didn’t go that way—instead choosing to rank them 16-22—I wanted to clarify my opinion that there is significantly less space between these players when compared with the top 15.

I was prompted to revisit my thinking because of a couple questions I received relating to Ty Nelson’s placement at No. 20. I tended to agree with those thinking the ranking may have been a bit low. In the end, I wouldn’t put him firmly behind anyone from No. 16 onward on the list—particularly when he’s finishing from the blue line like in the good old days with the North Bay Battalion.

let's go Nelly 🔥

1-0 us pic.twitter.com/LShIRCiQBA

— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) February 20, 2025

Notes on three Kraken prospects

Kaden Hammell | D | Everett Silvertips (WHL)

Everett Silvertips co-captain Kaden Hammell has quietly been an important part of Everett’s success this season. The right-shot defenseman led the entirety of the CHL in on-ice plus-minus for a long stretch of the season and still ranks near the top. (He is no longer atop the WHL list only because of the prodigious ice-tilting occurring in Spokane when Andrew Cristall and fellow Kraken prospect Berkly Catton are on the ice.) But Everett will have to make do without the 2023 fifth-round pick in the near term because Hammell is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Hammell hasn’t appeared in a game since Feb. 8.

Semyon Vyazovoy | G | Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)

After an eyebrow-arching demotion to the second-level Russian pro league a couple weeks ago, Semyon Vyazovoy, 20, has returned to the KHL with a vengeance. He started the last three games for his KHL team, posting two wins and a shutout. His .935 save percentage is second in the KHL—behind a player nearly a decade older than Vyazovoy. His 1.85 goals against average is also second in the league. Vyazovoy is an unsigned 2021 draft pick, but the Kraken will continue to hold his exclusive NHL negotiating rights indefinitely because he is a Russian national.

Jani Nyman | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)

Jani Nyman is your Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week after scoring three goals and adding two assists in three Firebirds games. In recent weeks, the Firebirds have elevated Nyman into a featured scoring role on the first line (with Ben Meyers and Daniel Sprong) and first power play. Every game Nyman’s teammates are finding him for at least a few looks in prime scoring areas, and Nyman is rewarding that confidence with pin-point wrist shots and lightning-strike one-timers. His 22 goals are fourth-most in the AHL. The arrow is pointing way up for Nyman right now. He may belong in a relatively flat second-tier of Kraken prospects (with Carson Rehkopf and Oscar Fisker Mølgaard) behind only Berkly Catton.

make that 2-0 us😎 pic.twitter.com/9nCWiwHc0S

— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) February 20, 2025

Kraken prospects data update

The last game to sneak into this data update was the Baie-Comeau Drakkar’s Thursday night game against the Saint John Sea Dogs, and, well, it was a notable one. Alexis Bernier’s Drakkar won it 14-0. Bernier had two assists and a plus-five (!) performance on the night.

Could Mølgaard be the next Seattle Kraken destined to garner Lady Byng Trophy votes? Despite playing a defensively engaged game, he has not taken a penalty in 30 SHL games this season.

Kim Saarinen had a tough week by the high standard he has set, conceding 11 goals in three starts. Still, he is getting the majority of the starts for his Liiga team, HPK.

With Ales Stezka recalled to the NHL following the 4 Nations Face-Off break, Philipp Grubauer seems set to continue as the 1A goalie in the AHL, at least for the short term. Grubauer met with the Coachella Valley media following a win Wednesday night and demonstrated his characteristic professionalism when addressing the demotion. For his part, Stezka may get his first NHL start this weekend with the Kraken playing back-to-back games in Florida and Tampa Bay on Saturday and Sunday.

2024-25 Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker

Berkly Catton: 3

Clarke Caswell: 2

Tyson Jugnauth: 2

Alexis Bernier: 1

Andrei Loshko: 1

Oscar Fisker Mølgaard: 1

Victor Östman: 1

Caden Price: 1

Carson Rehkopf: 1

Jani Nyman: 1

Kim Saarinen: 1

Nathan Villeneuve: 1

Ryan Winterton: 1

Semyon Vyazovoy: 1

Previewing the week ahead

Barrett Hall’s St. Cloud State Huskies take on Zaccharya Wisdom’s Colorado College Tigers in a two-game set this weekend.

In the WHL, the Everett Silvertips, minus injured Kraken prospects Hammell and Julius Miettinen, square off against the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday night (our own Darren Brown will be doing color commentary with Thom Beuning on the CHL app and 1090 AM). Catton and the Spokane Chiefs take on Jugnauth and the Portland Winterhawks on Sunday afternoon. Next Wednesday Dragicevic’s Prince Albert Raiders host Caden Price and the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Recent prospect updates

Feburary 14, 2025: Mid-season Seattle Kraken prospect ranking

February 8, 2025: Oscar Fisker Mølgaard quietly ascends the ranks

January 31, 2025: Measuring the performance of the Seattle Kraken prospect pool

January 24, 2025: Tyson Jugnauth is putting on a show in Portland

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