Welcome to “Down on the Farm,” your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. This week, we’ll dig in on Jacob Melanson’s development and NHL performance following his reassignment to the AHL on Thursday, Jan. 15. Beyond that, we have news on a couple of notable all-star elections, weekly and season-to-date data updates, all-shifts videos, the Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week, and a preview of the week ahead, as always.
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 at @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey.
Jacob Melanson has improved drastically in one specific way
Following a spate of injuries at the NHL level, the Seattle Kraken recalled 2021 fifth-round pick Jacob Melanson and deployed him for regular shifts on the team’s fourth line. Over a 15-game stretch from Dec. 14, 2025, through Jan. 12, 2026, with Melanson, 22, in the lineup for an average of 9:25 TOI per night, the Kraken went 9-4-2.
As Kraken GM Jason Botterill told the KHN Pregame Show on Wednesday, Nov. 14, the first word that comes to mind when you think of Jacob Melanson is “physicality.”
Among all players with at least 50 minutes of time on ice in the NHL this season, Melanson’s 28 hits per 60 minutes ranked second in the entire league—behind only Garnet Hathaway’s 30 hits per 60. This certainly brought a unique element to the Kraken lineup, which otherwise skews smaller and lighter. After Melanson, only Tye Kartye (18 hits per 60 minutes) ranked within the top 100 in this physicality rate metric.
The eye test told us that Melanson’s hard-nosed play style also seemed to inspire and catalyze the team to positive results.
That said, we should be cautious about confusing correlation and causation. Melanson was on the team during a hot streak, but he averaged fewer minutes on the ice than any of his teammates during that stretch and contributed just two points (one goal and one assist).
We also know hits alone do not necessarily correlate with team success. More hits often means you’re chasing an opponent in possession. And, to make matters worse, a player can leave his team vulnerable when he plays out of structure solely for the sake of being physical. Defense is more difficult four on four than it is five on five.
At least one scout criticized Melanson’s past play at the AHL level for precisely this reason. J.D. Burke of Elite Prospects wrote this about Melanson during the 2023-24 season: “I’m not a big fan of his game though. I suspect he’ll be so undisciplined that he’ll hurt your team more than he helps it at the NHL level. I’m not even just talking about the senseless penalties. He’s basically always out of position, and his linemates may as well be shorthanded in the offensive zone.” I admit that there were times when watching Melanson’s AHL games over the last couple of years that I had similar thoughts.
This year has been different, though. Melanson has done a much better job of controlling his aggression and deploying it within the framework of the play to win advantages rather than conceding them. This is underlined by the fact that he took zero penalties in 141 NHL minutes despite playing with emotion and “on the edge.” He also showed playable offensive instincts, often working to the front of the net after winning possession on the forecheck.
MELLY CELLY! 🚨
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 6, 2026
The fourth line does it AGAIN, and this time, it's Jacob Melanson getting his FIRST NHL GOAL!
Nice play by Winterton to get his own rebound and send it across.
1-1 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/DJmg7QhQFs
Indeed, Botterill told KHN that he thinks Melanson has “improved drastically, even [since] training camp.” Discipline in channeling his physicality has been one area of improvement.
That said, from my vantage point, Melanson’s biggest developmental strides over the last year-plus have come in his skating.
A few months after Melanson was drafted, Elite Prospects gave him a significantly below-average skating grade. Cam Robinson wrote that “this is a player who lacks the foot speed to really contend for a future offensive role in the NHL.” Melanson is “[b]lessed with good size and tenacity to use it on the forecheck,” Robinson wrote, but “[f]ifth-round picks are long shots to make the NHL, [and] ones that have challenges moving around are even less likely. Melanson falls into the latter category.”
That does not compute with the player I saw this past month, who was capable of outracing opponents to retrieve pucks for offensive-zone possession or scoring chances. So, I sought out Melanson’s player-tracking data to see if the numbers lined up with my eye test. The results were really interesting.
The NHL does not make analyzing NHL Edge data at scale very easy. It tends to present the data in counterintuitive ways. And it only provides results on an individual player basis, which makes scraping the data at scale quite difficult. That said, a couple of invaluable web resources, like Pucklytics, have done that yeoman’s work, and my insights are indebted to their efforts. (Pucklytics is missing a handful of players due to data retrieval errors here or there, but the numbers below should be in the right ballpark.)
According to NHL Edge, among all players with at least 10 games played, Jacob Melanson ranked ninth in the NHL in average skating speed at even strength. His average speed was second on the Kraken, behind only teammate Ben Meyers. This result was encouraging, but it also makes sense given that you want your fourth line to come out and play aggressively.
I also wanted to determine whether Melanson’s top-end speed was competitive. His top speed (22.19 miles per hour) ranked fourth on the Kraken, behind only Chandler Stephenson, Berkly Catton, and Ryan Winterton.
That said, what he may lack in true top-end speed, he more than made up for in his ability to hit speeds above 20 miles per hour with regularity. NHL Edge categorizes a skating speed over 20 miles per hour as a “speed burst.” Melanson has 19 speed bursts per 60 minutes on ice. This figure ranks third in the entire league, behind only Connor McDavid (23) and Vinnie Hinostroza (20).
This is an enormous developmental leap for a player who had “challenges moving around” as a junior player.
Put it all together, and Melanson is now able to deliver game-changing pace and physicality at the NHL level in 10-minute increments. In a 15-game sample, he leveraged those traits to positive relative shot-quality results despite starting more than his fair share of shifts in the defensive zone.
Everything about Melanson’s 15 games in the lineup points to a prototypical fourth-line profile moving forward. He’s not only an identity player, but also a positive play driver from the bottom of the lineup.
Notwithstanding all of this, Melanson’s run with the NHL team came to an abrupt end—for now—on Thursday, when the team reassigned him to the AHL. The move was necessary to open a roster spot for Brandon Montour in the defenseman’s return from injured reserve.
Why did this happen? As Sound Of Hockey‘s Darren Brown detailed before Montour’s activation, there was a necessary bit of “asset management” going on here. Only Melanson and Winterton could be reassigned to Coachella Valley without risking waivers. It’s understandable that the team opted to keep the longer-tenured Winterton for now.
That said, I think it’s fairly clear that Melanson has a real NHL career ahead of him as an 11th or 12th forward. I would be surprised if he was not in an NHL lineup “permanently” within the next 12 months.
As for the Kraken, they are winless in two games since removing Melanson from the lineup. After the team’s Jan. 14 game against the New Jersey Devils, coach Lane Lambert said: “I thought we played slow hockey tonight. Prior to the game, we said we were going to have to play fast and I didn’t think we were sharp. And part of being sharp is you play with some speed.” If that sharpness and speed isn’t there in the days ahead, the solution may be in Coachella Valley.
Notes on four more Kraken prospects
Nikke Kokko | G | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
Top goalie prospect Nikke Kokko had to leave last Saturday’s game with an apparent (significant) lower-body injury. The team announced later in the week that Kokko is out week-to-week. While we hope for the best, this seems like an injury that could be on the longer side of the week-to-week timeline. I wonder if the Firebirds may benefit from a conditioning stint for Matt Murray to help bridge the gap until Kokko returns.
Jagger Firkus | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
In his second professional year, Firkus has emerged as a point-per-game producer at the AHL level. He paces the Firebirds with 35 points (14 goals and 21 assists). That production has made him an AHL All-Star, as announced by the team on Jan. 15.
Tyson Jugnauth | D | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
AHL rookie blueliner Tyson Jugnauth will join Firkus at the All-Star Game. This is an especially impressive feat for the rookie professional, and the achievement has its roots in hard work in Seattle this past summer. From my vantage point, Jugnauth still has a lot of work to do defensively, but this honor provides meaningful validation. The arrow is pointed in the right direction.
Jani Nyman | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
After a bit of a slow start back in the AHL following his reassignment, forward Jani Nyman caught fire over Coachella Valley’s last two games, compiling four goals in that stretch. Overall, he has five goals and an assist in seven AHL games this season. He seems to have gotten his legs back under him in an offensive role. The plan for the time being is likely for Nyman to keep that production rolling with the Firebirds until an injury (or other transaction) creates space for his recall in a top-nine role.
🚨 nyman extends the lead to 3-1! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/w7rinlqcu3
— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) January 15, 2026
Kraken prospects data update
Jakub Fibigr debuted for the Windsor Spitfires this week, registering an assist in two games.
Jake O’Brien has yet to return to Brantford’s lineup due to a multi-week injury. Most recently, he missed a matchup with Fibigr and Nathan Villeneuve’s Spitfires last Sunday.
Fresh off a disappointing World Junior Championship, in which he didn’t play a single minute, Kim Saarinen started twice in Liiga this past week. He won both games, one by shutout. This effort was enough to edge fellow Finn Jani Nyman for Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week.
Semyon Vyazovoi continues to stack success in the KHL. His three-win week warranted Prospect of the Week consideration too.
Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker
3: Jagger Firkus, Kim Saarinen
2: Julius Miettinen, Nathan Villeneuve
1: Barrett Hall, Ollie Josephson, Tyson Jugnauth, Nikke Kokko, Jake O’Brien, Semyon Vyazovoi, Zaccharya Wisdom
Previewing the week ahead
We have an active week ahead of us. We’ll give our Deep Sea Hockey Games of the Week to Friday and Saturday matchups between Clarke Caswell’s Univ. of Denver Pioneers against Ollie Josephson’s Univ. of North Dakota Fighting Hawks. The NCHC matchups features two top-10 teams and should be great competition.
Tracking 2026 NHL Draft prospects: Adam Valentini
After projected top-10 picks Gavin McKenna, Tynan Lawrence, and Keaton Verhoeff, Adam Valentini may be the next most notable draft-eligible college hockey player this season—him or Illia Morzov. Valentini’s 18 points trail only McKenna among all first-eligible NCAA players. Many draft prognosticators have the 5-foot-11, left-shot forward going within the top 50 picks in the draft.
Recent prospect updates
January 9, 2026: World Juniors reports, CHL trades
January 2, 2026: Mid-season Kraken prospect ranking
December 26, 2025: Watching Kraken prospects at the 2026 World Junior Championship
December 20, 2025: Resetting Seattle Kraken draft capital after the Mason Marchment trade
December 13, 2025: Ryan Jankowski talks Kraken prospects
December 5, 2025: World Juniors Announcements, Kokko saving the day for the Firebirds
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.
“As for the Kraken, they are winless in two games since removing Melanson from the lineup.”
For someone that leans into analytics, this seems like an odd statement… two games?
I read that as largely tongue in cheek, personally
I guess I didn’t really “mean” it as one thing or the other really. It was just context as a lead in to the Lane Lambert quote, which I found interesting given what Melanson brought to the lineup over the previous 15 games. I thought the team played fairly well against a mediocre Boston team (after another kinda flat start).
3, now
Yep, LL was quoted as saying he likes the new 4th line because he can put them out against anyone. Hey LL we don’t need that we already have three two third lines and a “1st” line… we don’t need another third line what we need is a 4th line that puts a little fear in their heads. Just pick another line for your matchup game and give us our 4th line back please.
As Don Cherry used to say “It is better to give a hit than to take a hit”. Hitting teams are far few now but the ones that have big player that hit, also have a psychological advantage before the games even start. Players fear injury and that fear force, slower and more errant passes as they protect themselves. Thus they do not have time to make good passes to players due to the loss of focus
I tend to notice this on the forecheck. In the home game against Boston, I recall Kraken defenders were often tentative on the puck and made suboptimal breakout plays when Tanner Jeannot was closing in on them below the goal line. Melanson can have a similar effect when he’s playing fast (despite being significantly smaller than Jeannot). Can turn a lot of dump-and-chase zone entries into possession.
I tried to ask this question a few entries ago, but my comment got swallowed by the platform, so here goes again: Everytime I look at Vyazavoi’s dummy-numbers they look sterling. It seems like he’s consistently had impressive GAA, his sv% constantly jumps out. But his W/L record is just ok. First I assume that goalie W/L record is treated similarly to pitcher wins in baseball where it’s neat and all, but not really THAT descriptive ultimately. My question is really twofold (and less about the wins and the losses, and more about the rest of the numbers and what they actually mean. and maybe a little bit about the wins and losses contextually.): Would that disparity be explained by him just being on a bad team? So he’s shutting folks down, but the team around him can’t score worth a lick? Or is the goal scoring environment really just that different over in that other league such that numbers that look impressive to my North American brain are really not actually that impressive in the KHL?
Basically… every time I see his stats posted I get irrationally excited about the future of our goaltending. Am I jjust chasing fools gold, or is there really something there and we just better hope he can make the transition over to the north american game?
This is a very good insight and set of thoughts and questions. I do think there are differences in play style between the various North American and European leagues and that effect what goalie save percentage numbers look like. There may also be a difference in how shot totals are tracked/tabulated between the leagues. Liiga and the KHL feel like they are on the opposite extremes in this regard. There is about a 4-to-5 SOG per game gap between what Kim Saarinen sees in Liiga and what Semyon Vyazovoi sees in the KHL. But this difference seems to be almost entirely saved shot attempts, as KHL save percentages are much higher than in Liiga. Saarinen is t-5th in Liiga with .914 save percentage, but that figure would be T-21st in the KHL.
All of this to say, based on the data we have (shot totals but not location, speed, or type) it’s probably best to keep save percentages within the context of the league the player is in. I think it’s reasonable to be excited about Vyazovoi because he has consistently put up top-of-the-league save percentages in any league he has been in. To a slightly lesser extent, the same is true for Saarinen, at least in recent years.
Great to see Jugnauth get an all-star nod. He was impressive last year in Portland – knowing he was a kraken pick took away some of the sting of his dismantling of the Silvertips in the playoffs. It’s fantastic to see it carry over into the next level.
Thanks, Curtis. Always love the prospect insight
Thanks Curtis. I’ve just started to get into these articles. One question I have for you, What is “data score”? Is this a score relating to data quality? How should I be interpreting that? High data score = lots of data?
For example, O’Brien has a higher data score than firkus, but they’ve played the same games AND firkus is in the AHL, a significantly deeper league.
As for the Melanson piece, I totally agree with you in terms of the eye test. He looked just that bit faster than other players, just barely getting to pucks first, that quite frankly he shouldn’t have. I’ve been impressed by him in that regard. I’m wondering how much of the NHL edge data you mention is actually attributed to effort or other things than just pure speed. That is to say context matters. I’d be interested to see how he stacks up against other players with a similar role. That energy role. That may be one reason his numbers seem to jump cause that’s what’s expected of him.
Everyone’s high on him mainly because he’s a fan favorite, rightly so but in terms of point production you’re spot on to call that out. Good insight on playing out of position and effectively playing 4v4. Didn’t think about it that way so thanks!