This is “Down on the Farm,” your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. This week, we’ll have part two of our “midseason” mailbag, answering more of your questions from around the Kraken organization. (I have a few more questions I’d like to get to, so I think we’ll have a part three in the not-too-distant future. Keep the questions coming.) After that, we’ll have additional Kraken prospect news, video, and data updates, 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 (or mailbag, pt. 3), drop us a note below or on X or BlueSky at @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey.

Seattle Kraken prospects mailbag

You’ve highlighted Julius Miettinen a few times recently. Have you upgraded him your last assessment which (I think) projected him as a future 3C for the Kraken?

Julius Miettinen has been lighting up the scoreboard of late. And Craig Button of TSN recently ranked Miettinen as Seattle’s top prospect and No. 21 overall in the sport. (Button had Jake O’Brien at No. 31.)

I think the probability of an NHL future for Miettinen is as high as it’s ever been, but I’m not sure I see his realistic high-end projection rising above a third-line center profile. He is skilled, athletic, and big, but none of those are true carrying or difference-making traits. In particular, I think his limitations as a puck carrier hold him back just a bit. If he develops further in that area, things could change. For now, I think he has everything to be a very solid player, and I’m fairly certain he will be a solid player. (I wouldn’t rank him No. 1 in the Kraken system personally.)

Can you do a little focus on the goalie situation in the system for next year. I understand Vyazovoi is expected to come over. What about Saarinen? Is there a logjam in the AHL next season?

The goalie position is an area of organizational depth over the medium term, but short-term roster management questions will need to be answered.

Resetting the depth chart, the Kraken have Philipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord under contract for the 2026-27 season at the NHL level. Matt Murray is a pending unrestricted free agent. Grubauer will be a free agent after next season.

Below the NHL level, the Kraken have Nikke Kokko, Victor Ostman, and Kim Saarinen signed to entry-level contracts. Kokko and Ostman have been playing in a timeshare at the AHL level this season, while Saarinen is the top goaltender for HPK in Liiga. Ostman’s deal expires after this season; he will be a restricted free agent this summer.

Additionally, the Kraken have drafted but not yet signed Visa Vedenpää (2023 sixth-round pick) and Semyon Vyazovoi (2021 sixth-round pick). Seattle has until next summer to sign Vedenpää, while it will continue to hold Vyazovoi’s rights indefinitely as a Russian-born player.

Working from the top down, assuming both Daccord and Grubauer are back, who is the third option? The team carried a third veteran option on the NHL roster this season, but I suspect that was due to a unique combination of uncertainty about Grubauer’s performance and the condensed schedule.

Looking at a more standard schedule in 2026-27 and an improved Grubauer (not to mention the CBA-negotiated emergency third goalie, which will go into effect next season), would the team be comfortable with Kokko as the third option at the AHL level?

It’s a close call because Kokko’s production has taken a step back behind a porous AHL defense. I’d project the team to protect itself by bringing in a veteran third option on the level of a Magnus Hellberg in the offseason. Ultimately, though, that player never sees significant time with the Kraken or the Firebirds if all are healthy, and Kokko earns the “next option” mantle coming out of training camp.

After that, how does the Coachella Valley depth chart stack up? I’ll suggest Vyazovoi signs his entry-level contract in the offseason, as the team has indicated is the expectation. Ostman then re-signs on a one-year deal. If Daccord, Grubauer, Kokko, and Vyazovoi are all healthy, Ostman may end up taking some starts at the ECHL level, but I suspect he earns plenty of AHL time as well. Saarinen stays in Liiga for one more season.

Then, for the 2027-28 season, Kokko or Vyazovoi could ascend to pair with Daccord at the NHL level, while the other could form a tandem with Saarinen in the AHL.

How should the “Data Score” be interpreted and how is it calculated?

I’ve seen this question come up a couple times in the comments, and each time I was meaning to answer it but never got around to it. So we’ll handle it here.

“Data Score” is a metric we at Sound Of Hockey developed to iterate on a bedrock NHL equivalency (“NHLe”) for use in comparing prospects. NHLe is a method to compare the scoring proficiency of players in the various professional and junior leagues across the globe. Sound Of Hockey uses Thibaud Chatel’s model, which is the most up-to-date public research in the area. Check out Chatel’s Substack for an in-depth discussion of NHLe. For the 2025-26 “Data Score,” Chatel’s newest model is used, which has been updated to account for 2024-25 season data.

Sound Of Hockey derives an NHLe base from the scoring data and adjusts for age, height and position. A modest upward adjustment also applies to low-scoring players competing in high-level professional leagues. From various studies, each of these factors has been shown to correlate with the probability of NHL success (typically measured by games played). Sound Of Hockey then normalizes the resulting output to generate the prospect’s “Data Score.” This number no longer projects NHL scoring but is (hopefully) useful in describing the relative strength of prospects. The methodology is reviewed in more detail here and here.

Notes on four Kraken prospects

Logan Morrison | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)

With two goals and two assists in two games last week, Morrison is your Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week. Morrison has been Coachella Valley’s top-line center this season, playing heavier minutes than players like Mitchell Stephens and John Hayden. Morrison has rewarded that confidence by coming up big for a team desperate for offense. His 26 goals and 53 total points are both fifth-most in the AHL. The players ahead of him are all older than the 23-year-old Morrison.

Ollie Josephson | F | Univ. of North Dakota (NCAA)

Josephson’s University of North Dakota team advanced to the semifinals of the NCHC Playoffs thanks in no small part to the Kraken prospect’s goal and four assists in two wins over the University of Nebraska Omaha. (Josephson had a point on 50 percent of his team’s goals.) North Dakota will square off against Minnesota Duluth on Saturday.

Zaccharya Wisdom and Western Michigan Univ. will take on Clarke Caswell and the Univ. of Denver at the same time in the other semifinal.

Barrett Hall | F | St. Cloud State Univ. (NCAA)

Barrett Hall’s St. Cloud State Huskies fell in the first round of the NCHC playoffs. Hall was held off the scoresheet and ends his junior season with an NCAA career-best 10 goals and 18 assists in 36 games.

Ben MacDonald | F | Harvard Univ. (NCAA)

MacDonald’s Harvard Crimson also advanced in the ECAC Playoffs last weekend with a 4-3 overtime win over St. Lawrence. Harvard will face a tough test this weekend, squaring off against Cornell in a best-of-three series.

Kraken prospects data update

Jani Nyman and Jagger Firkus joined Morrison with highly productive weeks. Nyman had two goals in two games (which is fairly standard), but he also contributed two really nice assists. If a playmaking element clicks for him with Firkus and Morrison, it could unlock his game even more moving forward. Firkus was equally impressive with a goal and two assists.

Firebirds forward Eduard Sale flashed a bit this week as well. He had two goals, which brings his season total to nine.

All of the organization’s goalies were strong this week, posting save percentages over .900.

Saarinen continues to lead Liiga with a .917 save percentage.

Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker

3: Jagger Firkus, Kim Saarinen, Julius Miettinen

2: Logan Morrison, Jake O’Brien, Nathan Villeneuve, Semyon Vyazovoi

1: Alexis Bernier, Barrett Hall, Ollie Josephson, Tyson Jugnauth, Nikke Kokko, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, Victor Ostman, Zaccharya Wisdom

Previewing the week ahead

This week’s Deep Sea Hockey Game of the Week is the Saturday afternoon NCHC semifinal matchup between Wisdom and Caswell.

Tracking 2026 NHL Draft prospects: Niklas Aram-Olsen

Aram-Olsen is this year’s consensus top-ranked player out of Norway. He is a prolific, pure-scoring forward with a 6-foot-1 frame. He has been held scoreless in limited minutes in the SHL this season, but has 20 goals and 20 assists in 29 games at the Swedish under-20 level. Aram-Olsen was No. 44 on our mid-season Big Board, but seems to be steadily on the rise. Corey Pronman of The Athletic had him at No. 24 in his recent ranking.

Recent prospect updates

March 7, 2026: Seattle Kraken sign Ryden Evers, trade from draft asset depth

February 27, 2026: Rangers claim Tye Kartye, Kraken re-sign two forwards

February 20: 2026: David Goyette suspended for 20 games

February 13, 2026: Projecting NHL futures for Logan Morrison and Jagger Firkus

February 6, 2026: Seattle Kraken prospects midseason mailbag

January 30, 2026: Kraken prospect trade value tiers

January 23, 2026: Alexis Bernier set to return, early 2026 NHL Draft thoughts

January 16, 2026: Jacob Melanson is speeding toward an NHL future despite the demotion

January 9, 2026: World Juniors reports, CHL trades

January 2, 2026: Mid-season Kraken prospect ranking