Welcome to “Down on the Farm,” your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. This week and next, these will be slimmed-down “holiday” updates. I expect to return with fully loaded reports from the World Junior Championship and a mid-season Kraken prospect ranking as we move into the new year.

In the interim, we’ll still bring you all of the Down on the Farm content you’ve come to expect, including news from around the organization, weekly and season-to-date data updates, all-shifts videos, Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week, a preview of the week ahead, and more.

If you have a Seattle Kraken prospect–related question you’d like to see featured in a future column, drop us a note below or on X or BlueSky @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey. Happy holidays to all!

More information on the Mason Marchment deal

NHL trade rumors ticked up this past week as the league approached two milestones. The first was the “Roster Freeze.” From midnight ET Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, through midnight ET on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, teams would not be able to make trades, place players on waivers, or loan players—with the exception of transactions made necessary by injuries (i.e., emergency recalls) or the activation of players off injured lists.

The second marker was 75 days before the March 6, 2026, NHL Trade Deadline—which fell on Dec. 21, 2025. Why was this date important? A new CBA rule restricting multiple salary-retention transactions on a contract within 75 days meant that if a player was going to be moved to a contender at the deadline with up to 75 percent of his salary “retained” by other clubs, a first trade involving that player would need to be completed by Dec. 21. In reality, due to the Holiday Roster Freeze, this meant the deal needed to get done by the end of the day on Friday.

As it turns out, we didn’t see any moves involving salary retention on Friday, but we did see two NHL players moved before the Roster Freeze. The Los Angeles Kings traded Phillip Danault to the Montreal Canadiens. And the Seattle Kraken dealt Mason Marchment to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It’s often apocryphal to regard a deal announced close to a deadline as a “last-minute deal.” In this case, though, it seems the deal really did come together in the waning moments before the Roster Freeze. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that the Kraken and Blue Jackets did not begin discussions in earnest until Kraken GM Jason Botterill called Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell at 8:00 pm ET on Friday, Dec. 19. After three hours of negotiations, the teams placed the trade call formalizing the transaction at 11:22 pm ET.

While Marchment had a 10-team no-trade list, the Blue Jackets were not on the list.

As mentioned, there was no salary retention involved in the deal. Seattle has all three retention slots available as the team moves toward the deadline. This is relevant if the Kraken become true deadline sellers, with veterans on expiring contracts like Jamie Oleksiak, Jaden Schwartz, Jordan Eberle, and Eeli Tolvanen potentially available.

The Seattle Kraken have significant draft capital to make upgrades

There has been some (slight) confusion about the return for Mason Marchment. All reports agree the Kraken received a fourth-round pick originally held by the New York Rangers—acquired by the Blue Jackets in the Jack Roslovic deal—in the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft, as well as a 2027 second-round pick. Reports differ as to whether the Kraken received Columbus’s 2027 second-round pick or a 2027 second-round pick that originally belonged to the Minnesota Wild.

The trade history is a bit complicated, but I believe I’ve gotten to the bottom of it with the help of PuckPedia. Columbus acquired the Wild pick in a 2024 transaction that sent David Jiricek to Minnesota, giving the Blue Jackets two second-rounders. Columbus then traded the lower of those two 2027 second-round picks to the Colorado Avalanche in a deal for Miles Wood over the summer. Under the terms of that deal, however, if Columbus traded the other pick in the interim, the Avalanche would receive that pick instead (regardless of whether it ultimately ended up being higher or lower).

Since the Kraken’s official social media account indicated the team obtained Columbus’s own second-rounder, we can surmise that Columbus will be sending that pick to Seattle and Minnesota’s pick to Colorado. With Minnesota primed to be a Stanley Cup contender for the next two years, this could be a meaningful difference.

Following the deal, the Kraken now have eight picks—four in the first round and four in the second round—across the next two drafts. In addition to its own first-round picks, Seattle has first-rounders originally assigned to Tampa Bay in each of the next two drafts. In addition to its own second-round picks, Seattle has second-rounders from Columbus and the Winnipeg Jets in 2027.

This gives the team ample latitude to make an aggressive move for a top-of-the-lineup player if such an opportunity comes along, without disrupting its prospect pipeline. And this is before potential transactions involving expiring veteran contracts at the deadline.

Notes on three more Kraken prospects

Jake O’Brien | F | Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)

After a week of camp and one pre-tournament game, Team Canada announced its skater cuts, effectively finalizing its World Juniors roster of forwards and defensemen—absent an unexpected late assignment from an NHL team. Unfortunately for Kraken prospect Jake O’Brien, he was among those released from camp.

We had previewed this as a possibility when he was skating with a “spare parts” line during camp that included a likely cut (and Brantford teammate) in Marek Vanacker. It is still likely to be a disappointment for O’Brien. He is unquestionably one of Canada’s 12 most skilled forwards, but he has struggled to produce on the national stage in the past.

From my vantage point, O’Brien plays a game that can seem fairly “quiet” for several shifts until he suddenly unlocks two or three high-danger scoring chances with his passing and hockey IQ.

It’s unsurprising that O’Brien would not necessarily impress in a camp setting, but if a lack of camp impact was the reason he was cut, it feels short-sighted. It sure would be a shame if that came back to haunt Team Canada.

O’Brien still projects to figure prominently on next year’s World Juniors team, when he will be 19 years old.

Alexis Bernier | D | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMHL)

Though he is still recovering from summer ACL reconstruction surgery, Alexis Bernier was traded from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens on Friday, Dec. 19.

The Saguenéens are a top QMJHL team this season and have significant playoff aspirations. The return in draft capital was substantial, and there was no indication in the reporting that the picks were “conditional” on Bernier’s return to the ice. This creates the impression that there is optimism for Bernier’s return toward the end of the QMJHL season, even if there is no official timeline yet.

As always with junior trades, the trade of Bernier’s QMJHL rights has no impact on his status with the Kraken. Seattle retains his NHL rights as an unsigned 2024 third-round pick.

Visa Vedenpää | G | Kärpät (Liiga)

We noted last week that Vedenpää had not played in nearly a month while serving as the backup goaltender for Kärpät. The team finally got him some work on Tuesday of last week, assigning him to Hermes, a team in the second-tier Finnish league, Mestis. Vedenpää stopped 33 of 36 shots on goal, but Hermes fell by a 3–2 score.

Kraken prospects data update

Forward Barrett Hall scored a goal and added two assists for the St. Cloud State Huskies last weekend, which was enough to earn him Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week in a relatively quiet seven-day stretch for Seattle’s prospect pool.

O’Brien and Nathan Villeneuve are second and fifth, respectively, in the OHL in points per game. Both project as NHL pieces for the Kraken (or elsewhere).

In addition to a solid Liiga start, Kim Saarinen drew a start in a World Juniors pre-tournament game for Finland on Friday, Dec. 19. He stopped 14 of 17 shots in a Finland win over Germany. It remains to be determined if he will see time in net when the real games begin.

After a slow start due to injury, Nikke Kokko has assumed a true starter workload for Coachella Valley over the last few weeks, starting nine of the Firebirds’ last 11 games.

Highlight of the Week

It hasn’t been a great season for Eduard Sale, but every once in a while, he’ll still flash the skill level that made him a first-round pick.

🚨 SALE WITH THE POWERPLAY GOAL AND TO TIE THE GAME 🚨

3-3 pic.twitter.com/GsHfYLEw60

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

Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker

2: Jagger Firkus, Julius Miettinen, Kim Saarinen

1: Barrett Hall, Ollie Josephson, Tyson Jugnauth, Nikke Kokko, Jake O’Brien, Nathan Villeneuve, Semyon Vyazovoi, Zaccharya Wisdom

Previewing the week ahead

With a light holiday schedule ahead, we’ll give our Deep Sea Hockey Games of the Week to World Juniors pre-tournament matchups currently underway. You can watch them (with a monthly subscription) on USAHockey.tv.

Tracking 2026 NHL Draft prospects: Tynan Lawrence

Tynan Lawrence’s stock has risen from potential top-15 pick to potential threat for the No. 1 overall pick, despite being slowed by injury for much of the fall. For many, Lawrence is the clear top center in the draft, with his primary appeal coming from his skating and two-way skill. Lawrence has been a volume scorer in the USHL, but the overall offensive skill is a tick below the level of a Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg.

Recent prospect updates

December 13, 2025: Ryan Jankowski talks Kraken prospects

December 5, 2025: World Juniors Announcements, Kokko saving the day for the Firebirds

November 29, 2025: Projecting Kraken prospects to the 2026 World Junior Championship

November 21, 2025: Blake Fiddler brings intriguing tools

November 15, 2025: Firkus steps forward for Firebirds

November 7, 2025: Caden Price looks the part in pro debut

October 31, 2025: College hockey seasons under way for Kraken prospects

October 25, 2005: Mølgaard is an all-situations contributor as an AHL rookie

October 17, 2025: Tyson Jugnauth earns important role with the Firebirds

October 10, 2025: Firebirds drop the puck on the 2025-26 season

October 3, 2025: Catton makes his case for the NHL Roster

September 26, 2025: Junior seasons begin, J.R. Avon settles in