Looking at what the Seattle Kraken have done this offseason under new general manager Jason Botterill, it’s plain to see that he expects to factor a couple of young players rising through the ranks into his lineup in 2025-26. After trading for Mason Marchment and Frederick Gaudreau and signing Ryan Lindgren to a four-year, $18 million contract, two spots in the forward corps remain open to theoretically be filled by rookies.
There are three young players that we believe—for different reasons—have the strongest chances to make the Opening Night lineup.
Why do we think these players can make the team? What roles will they play for Seattle? How much production can we expect out of them? Let’s dig in.
Why Berkly Catton could make the team
Saying we think Berkly Catton will make the initial NHL roster is not the boldest prediction we have ever made here on Sound Of Hockey dot com (that’s Sound Of Hockey… dot com). Botterill has said publicly that he doesn’t want to block young players in the pipeline from making the team, and the high-flying captain of the Spokane Chiefs is widely viewed as the best prospect in Seattle’s system.
Surely, the team would prefer to start Catton in Coachella Valley of the AHL, where he could theoretically get used to playing professional hockey against men. But because he is only 19 years old, and because the old CHL/NHL transfer agreement that forbids 19-year-old CHL players from playing in the AHL is in place for one more season, the Firebirds are not an option for Catton. So he can only stick in the NHL or return to the WHL, where he just dominated for the second season in a row, posting 109 points (38 goals, 71 assists) in 57 games, plus an eye-popping 42 points (11-31=42) in 20 playoff games.
The rule barring Catton from the AHL will change in 2026-27, when each team will be allowed to put one 19-year-old CHL player in the AHL. But until then, Catton is beholden to the same restriction that made Shane Wright’s 19-year-old season an absolute whirlwind—taking him to Seattle, briefly to Coachella Valley for a loophole conditioning stint, then to the IIHF World Junior Championship, and then back to the OHL, where he was traded from the Kingston Frontenacs to the Windsor Spitfires.
There is a strong chance Catton’s season will be similarly chaotic if he gets into the NHL and shows he’s not quite ready for a full-time role. Regardless, I am confident he will make the team out of camp, stick around at least until he hits the nine-game contract slide threshold, and then Seattle will decide what to do with him.
In a way, the age rule gives Catton an inside track at making the team out of camp, even if he’s not truly ready; the question is how long he stays.
Why Jani Nyman could make the team
Jani Nyman, a more seasoned pro at 21 years old, also has a good chance of making the team, and one could imagine him playing more NHL games than Catton, even if he doesn’t break camp with the Kraken. His 12-game stint with the big club last season delivered some electric moments, and he ended up with six points (3-3=6) before returning to the Firebirds for their playoff push.
After two outstanding seasons for Ilves of the Finnish Liiga, Nyman came to North America and immediately produced for the Firebirds, scoring 44 points (28-16=44) and leading all AHL rookies in goals. There is reason to believe his heavy shot makes him a legitimate and immediate threat on an NHL power play.
My question for Nyman is where he could play at 5-on-5. The Kraken have Jaden Schwartz, Kaapo Kakko, Jared McCann, Mason Marchment, Jordan Eberle, and Eeli Tolvanen theoretically filling out their wing roles on the top three lines, not to mention Catton, who I think will also start on wing. Can Nyman pry one of those spots away from a veteran? Or are the Kraken comfortable playing him in a fourth-line role?
I don’t see the latter being a good fit for Nyman, who isn’t being developed by Seattle as a fourth-liner. Assuming good health for the team, I believe this stacks the deck against him. Catton faces a similar role-related conundrum, but the AHL option for Nyman could be enticing for the Kraken if he doesn’t blow them away in training camp.
Why Jacob Melanson could make the team
While there may not be an ideal roster fit for Nyman, there is one for hard-nosed 22-year-old winger Jacob Melanson, who plays a prototypical fourth-line style. Including Catton and Tye Kartye, who signed a two-year contract worth $2.5 million earlier this summer, the Kraken have 12 forwards who I think are (more or less) locks to be on the roster in October.
But there’s room for another bottom-of-the-lineup-type player, and Melanson—who showed well in his one NHL game last season—fits that mold better than Nyman or Catton.
What production can we expect out of these players?
How much Seattle can expect in terms of production from its rookies is a crapshoot. There are so many variables to consider, including which of them ends up with the NHL team and how long they stick around. Plus, there are other forward prospects who have knocked at the door, like Ryan Winterton and Logan Morrison. And what about others who haven’t yet made their NHL debuts, like Eduard Sale, Jagger Firkus, David Goyette, Carson Rehkopf, et al? Could any of them come in and blow the doors off at training camp?
There’s also still a chance Seattle acquires a player or two, which could block a rookie from making the team.
Even so, let’s make some wild predictions about how a Catton, Nyman, and/or Melanson rookie season could look.
Berkly Catton
Here are some players with comparable profiles to Berkly Catton and how they performed as rookies:
- Matty Beniers (Kraken, 2022-23): 57 points (24-33=57) in 80 GP and won the Calder Trophy in his first full season. Beniers had the advantage, though, of playing 10 NHL games the year before his true “rookie” season and came from NCAA, where he played against older competition than Catton has.
- Cole Perfetti (Jets, 2022-23): That same season, Perfetti—the No. 10 pick in 2020 and similar in size to Catton—posted 30 points in 51 games. He too had an advantage over Catton, as he was allowed to play 32 AHL games for the Manitoba Moose as a 19-year-old due to temporary changes to the CHL/NHL transfer agreement during COVID.
- Clayton Keller (Coyotes, 2017-18): After 65 points (23-42=65) in 82 GP as a rookie, Keller blossomed into a consistent 30-plus goal scorer and touched 90 points this past season. The Kraken would be ecstatic if Catton turns out to be a Keller-esque player.
Those are some big-time players, and although their profiles are similar to Catton’s, I’m not convinced he will have that significant of an impact this season. I’m going to project that he takes a similar wild ride to Wright’s 19-year-old season and only plays nine games spread over two months for the Kraken, posting around three points. I hope I’m wrong about that, but it feels to me like he’s a year away from being a productive, full-time NHLer.
Jani Nyman
If Nyman does get a significant role this season, I have to think it will be mostly in a depth position with power-play usage. So he probably won’t score a ton at 5-on-5, but he could pump in some one-timers with the manpower advantage.
Here’s how a couple of similarly profiled players performed as rookies:
- Josh Anderson (Blue Jackets, 2016-17): 29 points (17-12=29) in 78 games as a rookie in Columbus.
- Tanner Jeannot (Predators, 2021-22): 41 points (24-17=41) in 81 games. This feels like the highest possible outcome for Nyman, and I only see him playing this many games if there’s an injury out of camp that affords him a chance to play up the lineup right from the start of the season.
Those comparables could be realistic if Nyman can carve out a full-time role and get meaningful minutes, but I’m not convinced that will happen. I’m predicting 50 NHL games for him and something in the range of 20 points. He’ll spend the rest of the season improving his skating, lighting up the AHL, and biding his time to become a key Kraken contributor in 2026-27.
Jacob Melanson
If Melanson sticks with the team, it will be because of his two-way, gritty play, not because of his offensive production. I’d project 10 points for him in… let’s say 20 games.
With Catton, Nyman, and Melanson factored in, here’s how our depth chart currently looks for the Kraken. I don’t necessarily think Catton is above Eeli Tolvanen, but if Seattle wants to carve out a top-nine role for Catton, Tolvanen feels like the most likely player to slide to the fourth line.
Forwards
Jaden Schwartz // Matty Beniers // Kaapo Kakko
Jared McCann // Chandler Stephenson // Mason Marchment
Berkly Catton // Shane Wright // Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen // Frederick Gaudreau // Tye Kartye
Jani Nyman // Jacob Melanson
Defense
Vince Dunn // Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren // Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans // Jamie Oleksiak
Josh Mahura
Ville Ottavainen
Cale Fleury
Goalies
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
It goes without saying the Kraken will not make it through the full season without injuries, so even if two of the rookies mentioned in this article are not in the lineup on Opening Night, it is likely that a spot will open up as the season goes on. Even so, it does seem Seattle could benefit from adding a veteran player to its midst, either at the top of the lineup via trade (which is becoming less and less likely the deeper we get into the doldrums of summer) or at the bottom of the lineup with a waiver claim or free-agent signing.
What say you, folks? Will one or more rookie forwards play a key role for the Kraken this season? Or do they sign another depth player or two?
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Gaudreau averaged third line minutes (15:39) with the Wild last season so I wonder how much the fourth line is actually going to be a fourth line. With Nyman actually being a right wing, I could see him getting decent 5v5 minutes AND PP2 time behind Kakko. Without a “star player”, I think they’re going to have to go back to all four lines scoring and there I think Nyman gets the nod over Kartye… maybe.
Go Kraken!!!
Well thought out and written article Darren.
Camp isn’t too far off now. We shall then see how this all sorts out prior to opening day.
Go Kraken!!!
I am dreaming of a Patrik Laine rookie season for Nyman…both are big Fins with great shots but kind of lumbering skaters. But more than 30 goals is going too much to hope for, especially since it seems like he will start the season in Coachella.
My predictions:
– Catton plays no more than 9 games for the Kraken (I fear the helium associated with Catton’s promise is getting out of control)
– Nyman is on the team from the start (he, Schwartz, and/or Tolvanen will spend time on the “4th” line)
– Between injuries (5 forwards are 30 or over) and departures (4 UFAs after this season) there will be plenty of playing time available for young players.
You know who is really hurt by the old CHL transfer agreement still being in place is Nathan Villeneuve. He looked very impressive last preseason, more than any eighteen year-old has any reason to, and he is exactly the kind of hard-nosed defensively-sound guy with a scoring touch that would seem to be the perfect fit for a Lane Lambert system with just a little time in the AHL. I doubt that he will make the big squad this year, but last time Bylsma kept him up right until the end of preseason after all the other prospects got sent down. Keep an eye on him.
As for the rookie who is most likely to make the big club full-time, I’ll take Ville Ottavainen. He had very good counting stats in the AHL for a fellow his age playing at his position and as high as he was on the depth chart which suggests that he may be able to take some third-pairing minutes in the big league. With his youth, size, and right-handedness he will make for a tempting call-up even if he does not make the big club outright at the start of the season. A proper shut-down right D-man? You can’t keep that guy out of the lineup for long.
Jani Nyman seems like a near-lock, but he is a scoring forward. You never know with those guys when they’re young. I imagine the big question will be whether he can handle the defensive responsibilities that he would have playing big minutes beside Chandler Stephenson, who I think will be his linemate given Kaako’s chemistry with Beniers and Eberle’s chemistry with Wright. Although Tolvannen has been listed as a right wing lately, and he and Stephenson have a thing going. We’ll see. Still, the current state of Nyman’s defensive game gives me pause, so I am sure that it will do the same to Lane Lambert.
As for Catton, I am going to say there is hardly any chance for the guy to make the NHL team full-time. Oh, he straight-up pwns the kids in the CHL to be sure, but a little fellow like him is going to have a hell of a go of it against NHL players for his first season playing against grown men. Now, Lambert has been known to give rookies significant responsibilities if they show that they can handle it (eg. Chandler Stephenson back in the day), so it is not out of the realm of possibility. Can Catton handle it, though? I hope so, but call it a long shot.
There are quite a few good dark horses in the mix as well. I don’t know what happened with Ryan Winterton last season, but he has the offensive skills and the sandpapery grit to be an NHLer. If he were to get back on track, he could make some legitimate noise, maybe even be the best of the bunch. Hot damn, did he look big league in the ’23-’24 Calder Cup playoffs–knocking grown men around, digging pucks out of the corners, setting up goals, scoring goals, always standing up for teammates. The nasty Jacob Melanson has the benefit of trying out for a team that is in the act of making itself tougher, and, like Darren said, he is a mean, old school fourth-line winger straight out of central casting. He will have to get by the bear starer, John Hayden, on the depth chart, though. That’s no gimme assignment. Then there is the absolute wild card, Eduard Sale. Will he be the superstar-to-be who showed up at the beginning of the season in Coachella Valley, or will he be the zero who fell off the map mid-way through the season? Was the change in production just Laxdall teaching him defense and all is perfectly on-track with his development? There is no telling unless you’re scouting Palm Desert. If young forwards are unpredictable, Sale is the standard bearer of the breed. Then there’s Jagger Firkus who appears to have made some progress in the AHL last season. Give him another year in the desert, I say, before it is make-or-break for him, not that I know anything. Carson Rehkopf annihilated the OHL last season, but he has yet to make his pro debut. I would imagine that his first pro season will be in Coachella Valley, but crazy things happen.
Oh, and there is one more rookie who just came to mind: Nikke Kokko. Goaltending is weird. One year’s star is the next year’s bum, and last year’s bum is this year’s second coming of Dominik Hasek. Sure Daccord, Grubauer, and Murray are likely going to be ahead of Kokko on the depth chart to start the season, but you can just about bank that things will get shaken up in some wild fashion. If Kokko has another season like the last one, it would not surprise me in the slightest to see him called up to the big league permanently at some point.
On another note, wow do the Kraken have a crazy lot of young NHL/AHL tweeners this season. Coachella Valley is in for one hell of a show. So is Seattle when preseason gets underway.
Darren – Do you see any legitimate NHL path forward for Ty Nelson, or is that just wishful thinking (on my part)? Just wondering as I didn’t see his name mentioned above.
And thanks for dampening the expectations regarding Nyman. Personally, if he ends up languishing as a fill-in, I’d rather see him play a full season at CV and work on his game. This upcoming season will be critical for him, as well as Firkus, Sale, Nelson and Ottavainen. After two full seasons in the AHL (three for VO) the front office will have a better understanding regarding the upside of their current prospect pool. Can (enough players) develop and become the core of a playoff-caliber team at the NHL level, or not? The answer to that question will obviously have an impact on roster construction going forward.
I will vote with TKAA and agree that Ottavainen should be given a shot from training camp but his time may be after the Oleksiak trade at the deadline. Big question mark on whether Fleury’s role this season is merely being the vet to all the children playing D for CV this season or whether he is the first injury call up. Agree with what TFL has written as well.
On Catton, not sure I agree with what anyone else has said. On talent, he is miles ahead of any other prospect and most of the current Kraken roster forwards. Why not give him a very long shot at the NHL, where he will learn the most? Given that the most likely path for the team is not much upwards, to keep fans engaged they will need something and young emerging forward talent will do it. I also believe Shane Wright could break out and score in the neighborhood of 30 goals and if those two were on the same line, as Darren listed above, that could be just the ticket for both.
Sportsnet ranks the 2025-26 Kraken 30th in the league power rankings: https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/nhl-power-rankings-how-teams-stack-up-midway-through-off-season/
It’s going to be a very long season
“Are the Oilers and Predators top contenders after free agency success?”
This was the Sportsnet headline on July 3rd last off-season.
It is hard to argue with their “hard hitting” analysis of the Kraken though…
– As much as any team in the league, it’s just hard to find juice anywhere in this lineup. –
That’s the extent of it. I put zero stock in that opinion.
What do you know, Daryl W is once again showing his contempt for every national media outlet that does not confirm his bias. I think there is a name for that…
Just buy a season ticket and you immediately become a hockey expert far above all professional hockey writers. Really now, all those professional hockey writers should go find a different job. Daryl W knows all things hockey and so you pro hockey writers have no value when he is on the beat. It is too bad humility is in such short supply.
Well Chuckles, the contempt I have for this particular take is it’s complete superficiality. I’m also flummoxed by the fact they have Chicago – a team with Burakovsky on it’s top line – ahead of Seattle.
I know you’re rooting for yourself here. It’s obvious there’s nothing you enjoy more that some confirmation of how terrible Ron Francis is and how he’s completely destroyed this team so you can bask in the warmth you get from hearing yourself say, ‘I told you so’.
I don’t think a team that was 17th in goals last season, 21st in goal differential, and actually did a fair amount of adding – according to the almighty national media – is actually going to get worse. When I add in the possibility of some young guys taking a step I think 30th sounds much too low. It’s difficult to try and argue with the finer points of Ron Francis sucks, but in addition to my bias, I think there is value in giving some actual substance to your view beyond, ‘where’s the juice’.
Enjoy rooting against the Kraken this season Chuckles. You’re good at it.
Go Kraken!!!
On NHL.com yesterday, Darren’s contemporary Kevin Woodley gave an excellent breakdown of the Kraken going into the season. Rather than simply shrugging and saying, “I don’t understand what they’re doing”, he goes into what they’re actually doing. It’s a journalistic analysis rather than some glib, I don’t see the juice take.
Also, Woodley is a goalie analyst first and foremost. His March 3rd podcast discussion on Stuart Skinner at the beginning of the Hockey PDOcast is the best breakdown I’ve ever heard of what’s wrong with Philip Grubauer. It’s worth a listen.
I’m going to say this, I believe the kraken will do better than the said article projects but it’s hard to argue that RF has done a good job at building a roster to this point. I’ve said it before… same as the hurricanes. You can definitely be a fan and not be happy with a few aspects of the team that you are cheering for.