This is “Down on the Farm,” your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. Believe it or not, we’re nearing the end of prospect seasons around the globe. Several prospects are already done with their seasons entirely, and others are entering their league’s playoffs this week. Where did the time go?
Today, we’ll offer some perspective on goalie Kim Saarinen’s sterling season in the Finnish professional league, and we’ll offer a few data points to consider when evaluating the Kraken’s development track record.
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, drop us a note below or on X or BlueSky at @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey.
Kim Saarinen’s Liiga season puts him in rare company
Liiga finished its regular season this past week, and Kim Saarinen ended up atop the save percentage leaderboard with a .916 mark. According to shot quality metrics published by NHL.com, Saarinen saved approximately 21 goals above expected in his 38 appearances. (For reference, according to Natural Stat Trick, Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer have both saved approximately 15 goals above expected in 41 and 27 game appearances, respectively.)
It’s worth noting again that Saarinen is only 19 years old. The last teenager to lead Liiga in save percentage was Kari Lehtonen in the 2001–02 season.
The last Liiga goalie under 20 years old to finish the season with a .916 or better save percentage was fellow Kraken prospect Nikke Kokko, who finished the 2023–24 season with a .917 save percentage just days before turning 20.
The Kraken’s development track record and the 2021 draft
From my limited vantage point, it appears there has been a narrative making the rounds on the internet that the Kraken have struggled to develop players.
There are many reasons one might legitimately criticize the organization. Their NHL success has not lived up to anyone’s expectations. One can second-guess the transactions they have made or not made, or the players they have drafted or not drafted.
I’m just not sure “development of young players in the organization” belongs on a list of categorical indictments. Developing an NHL player is very difficult, and I’d submit that there is ample evidence indicating the Kraken have succeeded as a development team when measured against fair benchmarks. At the very least, I think we have a more mixed, nuanced question than some would like to admit.
Four-plus seasons on, we are now in the range where we can start to evaluate the Kraken’s first draft class from the 2021 NHL Draft. The development results from that draft are excellent.
Five of the team’s seven picks from that draft have made their NHL debut: Matty Beniers, Ryker Evans, Ryan Winterton, Ville Ottavainen, and Jacob Melanson. This 71 percent pick-to-NHL-player rate is by far the highest in the league. The only other team to have five players from the 2021 draft make their NHL debut is Carolina, and the Hurricanes picked 13 times. No other team has had more than half of its 2021 draft picks reach the NHL. The average rate is 30 percent—about two out of seven.
Overall, the team’s 595 total NHL games played from the 2021 draft class ranks third in the league. Its 99 goals scored ranks fourth. And, despite being an expansion team, this wasn’t an NHL roster brimming with opportunity. The Kraken’s NHL roster has been stuffed with mid-level veterans throughout its existence.
One might be critical that high-end production has been missing from this group. Its .44 points per NHL game played ranks ninth in the league. That said, I think it’s important to consider the draft environment. Only Wyatt Johnston, Dylan Guenther, and Mason McTavish have offered similar or superior goal-scoring production to the players Seattle ended up with. Johnston and Guenther were not considered top-five talents at the time, and McTavish has been benched by the Ducks of late.
For his part, Beniers won the Calder Trophy with a stellar rookie season and has settled in as the player I always envisioned: a 50-to-60 point, defense-first, cornerstone center. Goal scoring was never going to be his calling card, so I don’t view it as a development failure that Guenther and Johnston are putting up higher totals now.
When talking about this era, we should also consider that the team’s sixth-rounder, Semyon Vyazovoi, might be the Kraken’s best goalie not currently in the NHL. It’s also fair to add in the undrafted signing of Tye Kartye on the ensuing free agency day.
One might fairly contend that Kartye’s play stalled out at the NHL level over the last year, leading to his waiver. In the big picture, though, I’d argue Kartye’s case must be viewed as a development success. The Kraken identified and developed an unheralded player and got 180 regular-season and 10 postseason NHL games from him.
Kartye’s case brings us to the key example most would cite for the initial premise: 2022 first-round pick Shane Wright. He is worthy of a separate offseason deep dive, but for today’s purposes, I will say only that it is probably unwise to draw sweeping conclusions from a sample size of one player. He has not taken the step forward many of us had hoped for this season, and it’s certainly fair to ask where to put the “blame” for that. Personally, I don’t have a confident answer to that question yet.
What I am confident in saying is that the Kraken have produced NHL-capable players from the 2021 draft at a strong clip. The team’s more recent drafts are harder to evaluate, but there certainly seem to be some “hits” (and “misses”) in there. The Kraken are still looking for a star performer, but it’s early yet for that and probably not a fair expectation given the “modest” quality of the 2021 and 2022 NHL Drafts.
Notes on six other Kraken prospects
Nathan Villeneuve | F | Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
Nathan Villeneuve was injured on a hit by Kitchener’s Matthew Andonovski on Mar. 8, which resulted in supplemental league discipline for Andonovski. Villeneuve has not appeared in Windsor’s four games since that time. He remains out of the lineup as of Friday, Mar. 20.
Check out his shifts from Windsor’s Jan. 21 game against Kitchener below.
Lukas Dragicevic | D | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
The Coachella Valley Firebirds announced that Lukas Dragicevic is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Dragicevic has one goal and 10 assists in 43 AHL games this season.
An AHL blue line that once looked overstuffed with playable young prospects has been ravaged by injuries this season. Gustav Olofsson, Ville Ottavainen, and Caden Price have all missed long stretches of the season, though Olofsson has returned to the lineup recently.
Ville Ottavainen | D | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
There is also good news on Ottavainen. He skated with the team in warmups before Coachella Valley’s Wednesday, Mar. 18 game in San Jose. According to Firebirds announcer Evan Pivnick, Ottavainen is on the verge of returning to the lineup. His presence is desperately needed.
Jake O’Brien | F | Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)
According to a survey of OHL scouts conducted by The Athletic, Jake O’Brien has been the best player in the OHL Eastern Conference this season in terms of on-ice intelligence and playmaking ability.
By scoring two goals and adding six assists in three games this week, O’Brien also earned another accolade: Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week.
Logan Morrison | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
With an assist against San Jose on Wednesday, Logan Morrison reached 81 career AHL regular-season assists. This mark is the most in Coachella Valley Firebirds history, passing Kole Lind. His 54 total points are the most on the team this season.
Jani Nyman | F | Seattle Kraken (NHL)
With Ryan Winterton out of the lineup due to sickness, the Kraken were down to 11 healthy forwards. This prompted the team to recall Jani Nyman on an emergency basis. He was in the NHL lineup right away again, but only played six minutes against Nashville on Thursday. Nyman, who has 18 goals and 27 total points in 29 AHL games, figures to return to Coachella Valley once the NHL team gets a bit healthier.
Kraken prospects data update
J.R. Avon stepped into Nyman’s spot on a line with Morrison and Jagger Firkus on Wednesday. While the line is not quite the same without Nyman, Avon had a goal on three shots, and the team was plus-one with him out there. With the goal, Avon matched his previous AHL career high in goals (7) and surpassed his previous AHL total points high-water mark—and he has done it in only 31 games. He’s played well for the Firebirds when healthy. He’s a pending restricted free agent.
We’ll return with full-season recaps, likely next week, but in the meantime, it’s worth noting that the NCHC seasons for Zaccharya Wisdom and Ollie Josephson, as well as the ECAC season for Ben MacDonald, all came to an end last week with conference tournament losses. Clarke Caswell and Denver remain alive in the NCHC tournament.
Semyon Vyazovoi had a strong week, posting a .948 save percentage in three starts. Had his team played better around him, he may very well have been the Prospect of the Week. As it was, he won only once—and it was via a shutout.
As the KHL moves toward the playoffs this coming week, Vyazovoi stands fourth in the league in regular-season save percentage.
Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker
3 wins: Jagger Firkus, Jake O’Brien, Kim Saarinen, Julius Miettinen
2 wins: Logan Morrison, Nathan Villeneuve, Semyon Vyazovoi
1 win: 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 final pitting Denver against Minnesota Duluth on Saturday at 5:07 pm PDT.
Video from the vault
I’m soft-launching a new section here, one that I’m calling “video from the vault.” Each season, I make dozens of prospect videos that I don’t end up sharing publicly. (The goal is that they will have a home and purpose eventually. More on that this offseason. Maybe?) For now, I’m going to start sharing them here. They may be—and likely will be—older videos. So this is for the real film nerds and prospect enthusiasts like me out there.
This week it’s Berkly Catton at the 2024 CHL Top Prospects Game. Enjoy.
Tracking 2026 NHL Draft prospects: Jack Hextall
Jack Hextall is a 6-foot, right-shot center for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL. He started his draft season off very well with an impressive showing for Team USA at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He plays a high-energy but sound, smart, pro-projectable game. His scoring has not always lit up the boards (53 points in 55 USHL games), but he does many little things right. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic had Hextall No. 33 in his most recent prospect rankings. Hextall was No. 32 on our mid-season Big Board. Hextall is committed to play at Michigan State University next season.
Recent prospect updates
March 13, 2026: Kraken prospects mailbag – part 2
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
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.
Beniers never played a developmental game in the Kraken organization. More a “set and forget it” straight to the NHL example who’s been given the time and minutes to hone his game, despite obvious regression. He’s the great exception for this franchise.
Favoring mid tier vets over the youth isn’t an organizational strength this team ought to be trumpeting, either; that’s what people are critical of. None of the actually Kraken-developed players have cracked the top 6 in 5 years
Nice article!! Good for for thought.
Your expectation that 2nd round picks are going to crack the lineup before their early 20s is the problem here. All of our firsts sans Sale, who was a late 1st pick, have.
“Semyon Vyazovoi had a strong week, posting a .948 save percentage in three starts. Had his team played better around him, he may very well have been the Prospect of the Week. As it was, he won only once—and it was via a shutout.”
He’ll be right at home!
shame! Jake O’Brien set a new franchise points record and you said nothing! (I only knew that by chance)
Thanks for the report, Curtis! Agree that objective assessment of the 2021 draft indicates a good outcome for Kraken.
I feel that they definitely have a very high percentage of drafted players that play in the NHL but I feel that it’s how RF drafts that has been the biggest factor in that. He is a very safe drafter and doesn’t take chances, it’s also a very big reason we don’t have any true first line players that we’ve drafted yet. Maybe it’s time to take a few shots on players with high potential and not necessarily pick the safest option?
Is it better to have 6 middle lineup players that you have drafted and developed or two top tier players that you have drafted and developed? I don’t feel that just the number of players who make the NHL is the way to evaluate his success.
Nobody… not a single scout or pundit came out with Cutter Gauthier ahead of Shane Wright – nobody.
“Players I was wrong about – Ryker Evans. I didn’t think he’d be an NHL defenseman.” – Corey Pronman at the Athletic. That was a pick that has a lot of folks scratching their heads, they were wrong.
Berkly Catton… most folks, myself included, thought Ziev Buium was the pick – and he may turn out to be the better choice – but this certainly doesn’t fit the “safe and conventional” narrative.
I don’t deny there are arguments to be made that are critical AND legitimate about the Kraken front office. I don’t think this is one of them.
Throw enough darts and anyone can have a few nice shots, I’m talking about his full body of work.. he’s a very safe drafter, very adverse to risk taking. Very much like he builds teams, very heavy focus on the middle of the lineup.
Give RF $100 to bet in Vegas and he walks away with $100 pointing out that it wasn’t worth the risk to bet it. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but you need to be a little more aggressive as a “GM” to build a contender.
Look at his focus on centers, less risk because centers typically have better trade value. Is that necessarily bad… maybe not but if that’s your focus you’re going to miss out on a few home runs.
So your complaint is he doesn’t take enough chances and focuses too much on building down the middle?
Is that correct?
Absolutely, he’s too focused on one element and that is going to cost us a few great players.
Got it.
Why even bother engaging with good faith arguments when many in here are allergic to facts?
I would not characterize Eduard Sale and Lukas Dragicevic (not an exhaustive list) as “safe” picks, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to take a mix of “safe” and “risky” options. The problem is that none of their upside swings have really hit yet (it’s too early to say that they definitely won’t hit at all). That is, on some level, what you should expect from taking the riskier option, but it’s also probably what’s driving the “are the Kraken good at development” question. Are you good at development if you can get the lower-risk, lower-upside players to the NHL (in bottom of the lineup roles) but can’t do the same for any higher-risk, higher-reward ones? I think it’s too early to say that’s the case but the early results could be more promising.
I will say, I think it’s dangerous to draw any kind of definitive conclusions (positive or negative) from the 2021 draft in particular.
Edward Sale was definitely a safe pick, in fact about as safe as they get. He was projected to go in the first round I believe around 17 or something. He’s exactly the kind of player that RF would draft thinking he’s gotten lucky he slipped so much, motivation and consistency have always been issues with Sale and probably the reason so many GM’s passed on him, I don’t think it’s a great idea to draft a guy that is not a hard competitor.
You could honestly make a similar argument about Lukas Dragicevic, he’s a player that slipped about 20 spots in the draft, classic RF choice.
Oh, if you’re defining “risky” as “drafted significantly higher than the consensus ranking” then I can somewhat see your point. The big reaches by that metric seem to be Evans, Winterton, Kokko, Villeneuve, Bernier, and Reynolds, and none of them have demonstrated huge upside.
I was using more of a “high ceiling, low/nonexistent floor” definition, which I would argue Sale and Dragicevic do fit.
I don’t know how you can good faith argue that Evans and Winterton haven’t show huge upside when the projection for 2nd rounders is to play way less NHL games than either of those two. Evans being a legit NHL defenseman and Wints playing as may games as he has is proof of the development strength of the org.
Koist you’re obviously not reading what I’m writing or maybe it a comprehension problem I don’t know. Never once did I say that we haven’t had success with any of our pick, I’m saying we haven’t had great success with higher quality players. That’s I my opinion the most important aspect of drafting and development.
No I’m just saying that they were scouted a lot higher than what they were drafted at, it’s pretty hard to argue that they don’t fit into the “safe” picks category. The context of this particular conversation was that RF is a safe drafter I thought, you brought up two players that you said were not safe picks then I responded that they were actually very safe picks…. I don’t know 🤷♂️
Let’s put it this way, at the end of the day who cares how many middling players you’ve drafted and developed. Great here’s your Boy Scout badge. Those guys are the easiest to get at a decent price as a FA or via trade. How many of those guys do you actually need and why exactly do we care.
How the evaluation process should be is how many great finds did you get. I’d be much happier with a player every draft or two that becomes a standout and I honestly don’t care if the other guys even make the NHL.
Let’s go ahead and use Cutter Gauthier as an example since you brought him up. There is a zero percent chance that RF would have ever drafted him. There will be other Cutter Gauthier like players in the draft moving forward and there is a zero percent chance RF will ever draft them unless he changes focus on how he’s drafting.
Do you disagree that how an organization should be evaluated is on the quality not quantity? Who cares how many.
On a side note I do have to say that as much as I disagree with you on so many things I really appreciate that you’re a good person and for the most part you keep your posts civil and in good taste. We need more of you out there.
Thank you… I’m trying to improve on “for the most part” because you’re right about that.
I don’t think it’s an “either/or”, I think it’s both. I think Toronto is a good example of a team .that drafted very well at the top but then seemed to be constantly shuffling around their bottom six because thay didn’t produce any volume of prospects that could be cost controlled through their RFA years. Sure, they’ve been a perennial playoff team over the last decade, but I don’t think Maple Leafs fans feel great about the last ten years.
I think Curtis makes a good case for the volume side. From the quality side, it would be disingenuous of me to second guess their top picks. Catton was the only one I questioned and that is still very much to be determined.
Yes having a crazy cap hits can make it very difficult to fill out a roster, that’s the downside of a Mathews and something McDavid figured out. I don’t know if that’s necessarily a reflection of their drafting and development? Maybe, I don’t follow the leafs that closely.
I mostly agree with you on the first round picks but maybe taking a shot a a guy that wasn’t a center in the first round wouldn’t have been a horrible idea? When we get past the first round though, wouldn’t it be kinda nice to take a few shots on a make or break player? Or we could just be safe and have our brownie badge for the highest percentage of nobodies in the NHL. I honestly feel chat GPT could draft as well or better than RF.
He’s a test let’s see who wins if RF is around long enough to draft again.
🔥 Ideal target: game-breaking winger
Gavin McKenna (LW)
• Still the dream scenario
• Pure offensive driver, something Seattle lacks
👉 He’d complement Beniers/Wright perfectly instead of overlapping
⸻
Ivar Stenberg (LW)
• High-skill, high-speed winger
• More dynamic than most players in the class
👉 Fits much better than adding another center
⸻
Ethan Belchetz (LW)
• Natural goal scorer
• Size + finishing ability
👉 This is actually a very “Kraken-type” pick if they’re mid-lottery
And on to the second round……
🎯 Forwards (best bets for a “steal”)
🧨 Lukas Sawchyn (LW)
• Elite hands and creativity
• Undersized, which is why he could slide
👉 Ceiling: top-6 play-driving winger
👉 Risk: size / durability
Kraken fit: PERFECT—adds skill they lack
⸻
⚡ Carter Klippenstein (RW)
• Big frame + legit scoring touch
• Still putting it all together
👉 Ceiling: power forward who scores 25–30
👉 Risk: consistency
Kraken fit: gives them size + finishing on wing
⸻
🎯 Emil Hemming (RW)
• Pro shot already
• Plays a simple, effective game
👉 Ceiling: middle-6 sniper with upside for more
👉 Risk: playmaking ceiling
Kraken fit: fills the “pure shooter” gap
I kinda wish we could bookmark this and see who drafted better in 5 years
, chat GPT or RF 😂
Ran the first round again with 10th pick in mind.
🎯 Best realistic targets at #10
🔥 1. Ethan Belchetz (LW)
This is my favorite fit at #10
• Natural goal scorer
• Size + NHL-ready shot
• Plays a direct game (fits Seattle identity)
👉 Think: a guy who can eventually ride shotgun with Matty Beniers or Shane Wright
⸻
⚡ 2. Ivar Stenberg (LW)
(if he slides—this happens every draft)
• High-end skill + skating
• More dynamic than Belchetz
👉 If he’s there, you sprint to the podium
⸻
🛡️ 3. Chase Reid (RD)
• Right-shot D with top-pair upside
• Can run a power play and defend
👉 Safe pick with high value—hard to find RD like this
⸻
🧱 4. Keaton Verhoeff (D)
• Huge ceiling
• Could become a #1 defenseman
👉 Slightly riskier, but highest upside on defense
“Realistic” options at 10: except for Belchetz, all ranked top 5 by nearly every public list I’ve seen. I’ll give you that those options will probably be better than whoever the Kraken draft (assuming no lottery win) but I don’t think this is an effective pitch for high-risk drafting.
You can argue with Chat GPT all you want I’m just posting what it said, with the context of who wins the Draft RF or chat GPT. Those are not my selections and if the are a “risk reward” selection has no bearing because well it’s not my choices.
You’re kinda mixing me up with Chat GPT…. Tink of it as another poster that has no relevance to me that might avoid the confusion that you are having.
You are the one posting the ChatGPT draft and you are the one who made the claim that its selections would be at least as good as the Kraken’s. What point is it that you’re trying to make? Because right now it sure looks like you believe drafting players who have already been drafted by other teams (and therefore ending up with literally nothing) is a superior option.
If you think you are making sense all the power to you, try a little harder to disconnect me from chat GPT….. we’re not the same person.
It’s very interesting that this pissed you off so much, sorry to anger you. I’ll go back and tell Chat GPT that it upset you.
It made an apology for upsetting you….
“That’s on me—I shouldn’t have posted that the way I did. I didn’t think about how it would come across, and I understand why it bothered you. Sorry about that.”
😝
Direct quote from a post that you presumably wrote:
“I honestly feel chat GPT could draft as well or better than RF. He’s a test let’s see who wins if RF is around long enough to draft again.”
If you simply intended to convey that ChatGPT is very confident in its own ablities, well, I still don’t know what that adds to the discussion but I apologize for misunderstanding.
Ok listen PhiPo, I was thinking about this and in between chuckles I suddenly started to feel bad for Chat GPT.
I mean it was its first day on the job… who doesn’t make mistakes on the first day, I mean and it apologized as well.
To be totally fair to chat GPT I think we should at least give it a chance with the picks still on the table don’t you agree? Let’s be honest nobody wants to lose to RF I feel we should at least give it a chance and see how I works out before we go and fire the poor it.
😝
I think the difference here is I think this is funny and well it appears that you don’t and that makes it ever more funny.
I am at least confident that Botterill won’t waste draft picks on players who aren’t eligible to be drafted.
True although it reminds me of Bure, the classic not eligible to be drafted draft pick 😂
Chat GPT has its limitations but so does RF or if you believe Botterill is pulling the strings then Botterill.