This is “Down on the Farm,” your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. This week, we’ll update you on a collegiate prospect playing for a national championship and a European player poised to begin his North American journey by joining the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds for (at least) the next few weeks.

After that, we’ll get you up to speed on where the other Kraken prospects stand in their respective postseasons. Could the Kraken add a couple of CHL league championships and even Memorial Cup appearances to the list before all is said and done?

Oh yeah, and we’ll have our Kraken prospect notes, video, and the Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week, 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.

Goalie Kim Saarinen will join the Firebirds, but what about the Men’s World Championship?

According to a Finnish-language report from Finland’s MTV News, goalie prospect Kim Saarinen will depart Finland this week to join the Coachella Valley Firebirds in Palm Desert, California. Like other 19-year-olds before him, it seems the goal is “to get a feel for the Firebirds organization,” according to the Finnish news outlet.

“I’m going this week to at least get to know them and train. I don’t know if they’ll let me play,” Saarinen told MTV News.

Saarinen’s Liiga postseason came to an end last week, with HPK bowing out in the second round. But Saarinen was a pillar for the team. According to MTV News, Liiga advanced analytics had Saarinen saving 14 goals above expected in the playoffs alone (if my translation efforts are accurate). This mark is the highest in the playoffs so far, despite HPK’s elimination.

At the time, Saarinen noted that he had not heard from the Finnish Men’s National Team about the upcoming World Championship. “If I get an invitation to the national team, it’s not out of the question that I would go there,” Saarinen told MTV News.

Since then, the Finnish Men’s National Team did include Saarinen on its camp roster. Pre-tournament games don’t start for a couple of weeks yet, and the tournament itself doesn’t begin until May 9 in Sweden. We’ll have to see if Saarinen factors into that mix after spending time with the Firebirds, but we should note that the current roster does not include any NHL players who may join the team at a later time.

Hat tip to Dozer on the Sound Of Hockey Discord for bringing the original report to my attention.

Clarke Caswell scores, helping Denver advance to National Championship

On Thursday, Clarke Caswell had a beautiful tip-in goal to level the score late in the third period of the University of Denver’s Frozen Four semifinal against the University of Michigan Wolverines.

"That's a beaut Clark(e)" 🌟

Clarke Caswell tips it in for the Pioneers with under three minutes remaining to tie it back up! #MFrozenFour x 🎥 ESPN2 / @DU_Hockey pic.twitter.com/ZbvK5RRwFk

— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) April 10, 2026

With Denver going on to win in double overtime, Caswell and the Pioneers will now head to the National Championship game on Saturday, Apr. 11, at 2:30 PM PT. The Pioneers will face off against the University of Wisconsin Badgers, who defeated the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks in the other semifinal. Ollie Josephson’s return to the North Dakota lineup wasn’t enough to buoy the Fighting Hawks, who fell 2–1.

Surely all of Kraken nation, including Sound Of Hockey‘s Wisconsin Badger alum Darren Brown, will join arms in rooting for Denver on Saturday.

**Editor’s note: How DARE you?! On, Wisconsin!

With Caswell responsible for the single most significant moment of the week for the second consecutive time, he’s your Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week. You can check out Caswell’s shifts from the team’s tournament win over Western Michigan below.

Kraken prospect postseason check-in

The majority of Seattle’s prospects who reached the postseason remain alive. Below you’ll find series results as of Friday, Apr. 10, and the upcoming schedule for those players—first organized by date and then by player. The CHL leagues are in the second round; the SHL has reached its final four, and the KHL is down to eight teams, currently in its league semifinal matchups.

Of note, Kraken prospect Jake O’Brien has two goals and three assists through Brantford’s first two games with the North Bay Battalion, both wins. Zeb Forsfjäll’s SHL team, Skellefteå AIK, is up two games to none in its series. Semyon Vyazovoi played well in the first game of his KHL team’s series, saving 24 of 25 shots, but they lost 1–0. Vyazovoi sat in Game 2, another loss.

Firebirds clinch the playoffs

As we mentioned in an update to last week’s column, Logan Morrison is now out week-to-week for the Firebirds. On the plus side of the injury news for Coachella Valley, Kaden Hammell, Ty Nelson, and Andrei Loshko have all returned to the lineup from injury absences in the last few games.

Even better, the team clinched a playoff spot last weekend. With seven wins and three losses in the team’s last 10 games, the Firebirds sit at No. 4 in the Pacific Division playoff field with five games remaining. The Firebirds have a home-and-home against the top team in the Pacific, the Ontario Reign, on Friday, Apr. 10, and Saturday, Apr. 11.

Notes on four other Kraken prospects

Julius Miettinen | F | Everett Silvertips (WHL)

There is perhaps no more polarizing prospect in the Kraken system for outside observers than Julius Miettinen.

This is curious because he’s not a player with an obvious flaw that some scouts could find disqualifying while others disagree. Miettinen is an athletic, well-rounded, strong-statured prospect who seems destined for a long pro career, likely with substantial NHL time. (If you were searching for an issue with his game, you could say his skating—both in terms of speed and dynamism—is closer to average and will need to improve if he’s going to be a long-time NHLer.)

This makes his widely divergent rankings an interesting case. On the one hand, Craig Button of TSN had Miettinen as the Kraken’s best prospect, and No. 21 overall in the sport, at the midseason mark. At the other extreme, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic had Miettinen as Seattle’s No. 11 prospect.

I don’t think I’m with Button because I have some concerns about his ceiling, currently viewing him as a complementary, bottom-six piece unless there are notable skating and puck-possession improvements. But Wheeler’s low-end ranking seems farther off to me.

Miettinen had a goal and an assist in Everett’s Game 1 win over Kelowna on Friday, Apr. 10.

HOW PRETTY! 🤩

Matias Vanhanen, Landon DuPont and Julius Miettinen combine for a beautiful play to add to their lead! @WHLsilvertips | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/ljvhbF7OEt

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) April 11, 2026

Blake Fiddler | D | Edmonton Oil Kings (AHL)

After coming up short in overtime of Game 7 against the Saskatoon Blades, Blake Fiddler’s Edmonton Oil Kings are the only CHL team with a Kraken prospect to be eliminated in the first round. Fiddler was injured in Game 2 and didn’t play for the remainder of the series, and who knows—that could have been the difference for Edmonton.

I speculated we might see an amateur tryout agreement for Fiddler and the Firebirds down the stretch, but that hasn’t come to pass yet. The injury could factor into the equation. If Fiddler isn’t healthy enough to play, his rehabilitation for a full offseason could take precedence.

Tyson Jugnauth | D | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)

Firebirds rookie blueliner Tyson Jugnauth had a wide-ranging conversation with Sound Of Hockey‘s John Barr and Darren Brown this week, which was included in the most recent Sound Of Hockey Podcast. Among many other things, Jugnauth touched on his areas of on-ice development, his summer workout plans, his best teammates to play with, who cooks the food among him and his Firebirds roommates, and, of course, his golf game in sunny Coachella Valley.

On the ice, Jugnauth continues to lead all AHL rookie defensemen in both total points (43) and assists (35).

Nikke Kokko | G | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)

The Seattle Kraken recalled Nikke Kokko on an emergency basis following an injury to Philipp Grubauer against the Winnipeg Jets. Now, with Joey Daccord under injury evaluation too and Matt Murray away from the team on a personal matter, it’s possible Kokko could leap all the way from No. 4 to No. 1 on the NHL depth chart down the stretch.

Even if it’s only one game, it’s now very possible Nikke Kokko will earn a Kraken start this week. It would be the first of his NHL career, with his previous NHL appearance coming in relief in St. Louis last season. He allowed two goals on six shots in 30 minutes of ice time in that game.

**Author’s Note: Shortly after this column was originally published, on Saturday, Apr. 11, the Firebirds recalled Victor Ostman on an emergency basis. This indicates that even with Nikke Kokko previously recalled, the team does not have two other goaltenders healthy enough and available to play at the moment. This further suggests Joey Daccord will, indeed, miss time with a lower-body injury.

Jack LaFontaine (and another goalie, perhaps Kim Saarinen?) will carry the load for Coachella Valley in the short term.

Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker

3 wins: Jagger Firkus, Jake O’Brien, Kim Saarinen, Julius Miettinen

2 wins: Clarke Caswell, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, Logan Morrison, Nathan Villeneuve, Semyon Vyazovoi

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

Tracking 2026 NHL Draft prospects: Caleb Malhotra

CHL center Caleb Malhotra echoes his Brantford Bulldogs teammate Jake O’Brien. Like O’Brien, Malhotra has turned heads with big point totals. His 84 points in 67 games as a first-time draft eligible fall only slightly short of O’Brien’s 98 points in 66 games.

Malhotra backs up the scoring with a well-rounded profile that has led to his usage in all situations, including heavy minutes on both the power play and penalty kill. Malhotra is a likely lottery pick, checking in at No. 10 on the midseason Big Board and No. 10 on Scott Wheeler’s most recent draft ranking for The Athletic.

Recent prospect updates

April 4, 2026: Kraken prospects to the Frozen Four, Firebirds face a rash of injuries

March 28, 2026: Kraken prospect playoff preview

March 21, 2026: Saarinen’s Liiga dominance, and the Kraken development track record

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