Welcome to “Down on the Farm,” your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. In this quick holiday weekend edition, we’ll get you up to date on a couple of Seattle Kraken prospects playing in the Memorial Cup, one signing his entry-level contract with the Seattle Kraken, and the season-ending loss for the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the Pacific Division Finals. We’ll return with a full Firebirds post-mortem and player-by-player breakdown as we move into offseason mode in the weeks ahead.
I’ve noted a few good questions from social media posts and recent columns that I plan to address in a mailbag-style column soon. If you have a Seattle Kraken prospect-related question you’d like to see featured, drop us a note below or on X or Bluesky at @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey.
Superlative Coachella Valley Firebirds season ends with loss to Colorado Eagles
In our season-preview piece for the 2025-26 Coachella Valley Firebirds, we noted that the team was significantly less experienced than prior squads and projected to be the youngest collection of players in the American Hockey League. With those facts in mind, we suggested that making the playoffs in any capacity should count as a successful season on the ice.
The Firebirds surpassed those expectations. Playing the full season with a lineup that, in fact, proved to be the AHL’s youngest — even after acquiring AHL veteran Cooper Marody — the Firebirds accrued 88 standings points. That earned Coachella Valley the No. 4 seed in the Pacific Division playoff structure and first-round home-ice advantage.
Of course, the Firebirds’ success did not end there. Coachella Valley defeated the Bakersfield Condors and the Ontario Reign, the Pacific Division’s top team, in playoff rounds one and two. By reaching the Pacific Division Finals, the Firebirds not only bested their postseason performance from last season, they also achieved rare success for a young team.
The Firebirds’ two postseason series wins are currently tied for the most among all AHL teams with above-average regular-season performances and younger-than-average rosters, matched only by the Chicago Wolves. (The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins could join those two if they prevail in the Atlantic Division Finals on Saturday, May 23.)
Through this prism, it’s difficult to allow the frustration of a blown 2–0 lead against the Colorado Eagles in Game 4 of the Pacific Division Finals to linger. The Firebirds dropped the series three games to one to the oldest team in the AHL (by far), and one with legitimate Calder Cup aspirations. (If history is any guide, the Eagles are a shoo-in. The Firebirds still have never lost in the postseason to any team other than the eventual Calder Cup winner.)
For now, a salute to the performance of the players, Coach Laxdal, and his staff is in order. The future remains bright in Palm Desert.
As mentioned, we’ll return with player-specific analysis in future editions. For current purposes, we’ll note that Nikke Kokko posted a .926 save percentage and a shutout last week, which earns him Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week honors.
Minted WHL Playoffs MVP, Miettinen leads Silvertips to the Memorial Cup
As documented last week, Julius Miettinen drove play for Everett throughout the WHL postseason, piling up points individually and wins for the Silvertips. Miettinen capped off his triumphant playoff run with a most valuable player award and a victory over the Prince Albert Raiders.
YOUR 2025/26 WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE MVP, JULIUS MIETTINEN!🫡@WHLsilvertips | @SeattleKraken | #WHLChampionship | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/tdQFdGSBoJ
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) May 16, 2026
This performance earned Everett its first WHL Championship and punched its ticket to the Memorial Cup — a tournament pitting the champions of the CHL’s member leagues, plus the host team (this year, the Kelowna Rockets), against one another.
Cameron Riggers has your Everett preview here. The Silvertips take the ice for their first game tonight (Saturday, May 23) at 6:00 p.m. PDT. The full tournament schedule is as follows:
Fri, May 22 – Kitchener (5) vs. Kelowna (0), 6 p.m. PDT
Sat, May 23 – Everett vs. Chicoutimi, 6 p.m. PDT
Sun, May 24 – Kelowna vs. Chicoutimi, 6 p.m. PDT
Mon, May 25 – Everett vs. Kitchener, 6 p.m. PDT
Tue, May 26 – Chicoutimi vs. Kitchener, 6 p.m. PDT
Wed, May 27 – Kelowna vs. Everett, 6 p.m. PDT
Thu, May 28 – Tiebreaker, 6 p.m. PDT*
Fri, May 29 – Semifinal, 6 p.m. PDT
Sun, May 31 – Championship game, 4 p.m. PDT
*if necessary
Alexis Bernier signs entry-level contract, reaches Memorial Cup
As we mentioned in a recent update, the Seattle Kraken faced a June 1, 2026, deadline to sign 2024 third-round pick Alexis Bernier, or the young blueliner would re-enter the 2026 NHL Draft. The Kraken beat that deadline, signing Bernier to a standard three-year entry-level contract on May 19, 2026.
Three years for Bernier 🔥
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) May 19, 2026
The #SeaKraken have signed defenseman Alexis Bernier to a three-year entry-level contract! pic.twitter.com/zJrHwkTCCA
What took so long in Bernier’s case? The defenseman suffered an ACL injury last season and got a late start to his 2025-26 campaign, first taking the ice for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in late January. The team likely wanted to ensure Bernier was fully recovered and productive before committing to a deal. Bernier assuaged any concerns with a solid run of defensive production in the QMJHL.
Check out Bernier’s shifts from the Saguenéens’ QMJHL Championship-clinching win over the Moncton Wildcats on May 17, 2026:
Like Miettinen and the Silvertips, Bernier and the Saguenéens earned a spot in the Memorial Cup with their championship run. It just so happens their first game is against Everett on Saturday, May 23.
Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker
4 wins: Julius Miettinen, Jake O’Brien
3 wins: Jagger Firkus, Kim Saarinen, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard
2 wins: Clarke Caswell, Nikke Kokko, Logan Morrison, Nathan Villeneuve, Semyon Vyazovoi
1 win: J.R. Avon, Alexis Bernier, Barrett Hall, Ollie Josephson, Tyson Jugnauth, Victor Ostman, Zaccharya Wisdom
Tracking 2026 NHL Draft prospects: Ethan Belchetz
Belchetz is an object of curiosity among scouts and amateur draftniks alike because he has the physical profile to be an imposing NHL power forward (6-foot-5, 227 pounds) and the scoring touch to match (34 goals for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires). He can use his frame to impact the game at junior speed; the question is whether he can raise his pace enough for that to become an asset professionally. If there is a player primed for a Beckett Sennecke-style rise high into the top 10 based on physical projection, it’s likely to be Belchetz or Wyatt Cullen. Belchetz was No. 8 on our midseason Big Board and is No. 9 among North American skaters on the final NHL Central Scouting list. He should go in the first half of the first round in June.
Recent prospect updates
May 15, 2026: Julius Miettinen dominates WHL playoffs, Jake O’Brien makes his pro debut
May 8, 2026: Firebirds one game from Pacific Division Finals, Forsfjäll wins a championship
May 1, 2026: Firebirds advance in AHL playoffs, Kraken have sixth-best lottery odds on May 5
Apr. 11, 2026: Caswell to National Championship game, Saarinen to Coachella Valley
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
Header photo of Julius Miettinen taken by Evan Morud, courtesy of the Everett Silvertips.
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.
Finally giving Belchetz his due!
you know who else won the WHL playoff MVP? Leon Draisaitl. our franchise is now saved!
Gemini and I (mostly me with Gemini agreeing) just solved all of the Kraken’s problems. Following letting Tolvanen, Oleksiak and Schwartz walk…
1. We re-sign Bobby McMann on a “reasonable” 3-4 year deal. He get’s to play top line minutes with Matty and Eberle and a chance to be on the PP instead of going somewhere to “win” where he gets middle 6 minutes and no PP. Obviously he takes the deal.
2. You see NJD already signed Luke Hughes for $9m, and Nemec is going to want at least that. Plus NJ needs a center and they have plenty of D. We offer them Jared McCann plus our 2026 25th (because we would rather keep our 7th if we can, unless NJ gives us their 12th) and possibly our 2nd round pick, or a prospect like Clarke Caswell (NCAA champion center) for Simon Nemec. Maybe they pre-sign him to a 6x 9m or something.
We don’t make any other big moves, focus on giving Beniers, Wright and Catton maximum ice time toward their development, finish in the bottom 5-8 again, and get at least one more solid draft in 2027. We also get a good pick at #7 (like Viggo Björck, or Smits to play with Nemec?) and we aren’t moving anyone up too early from Coachella Valley. Can it be done?
Jared gets to go to NJ where he has a chance to win and be closer to family in Ontario, so he’s happy.
An article somewhere listed the one UFA each team needed. McMann was listed on a large number of them. I don’t think there is any chance he re-signs with Seattle.
Nemec had 26 points and was -11 last season. Is that worth $ 9 million AAV? It is fine for trading for him as indicated but that is too much money.
Another bottom 5-8 finish seems very likely.
Bjorck does seem like the right choice at #7, as they still need offensive talent the most.
That’s way too much to give up for Nemec… he has some upside but he’s also got some serious warts in his game on the defensive side that needs work. I like the idea of trading for him but McCann is worth more than Nemec.
And I have no interest in giving Nemec $9 million a year. Hoo boy.
If Seattle could package a non-O’Brien/Molgaard/Miettinen forward prospect and picks to get Nemec… sure, take a shot.
I mostly like getting rid our trio but I’m on the fence with Tolvanen. You are probably right about Tolvanen unfortunately though, we do need to change the look of this team. I really really hate that all these players are probably going to walk for nothing. We had horrible assets management at the deadline.
I’m not so sure McMann sings a reasonable deal, I fear that we need to overpay to keep him and I don’t think we are in the position that we should be overpaying for a player…. But will we if it comes to that?
I like giving our young centers more ice time but two questions with that. What happens to Chandler our pipe line blocking clot? Secondly this could obviously not happen with our current coach, do we bring in a coach that’s willing to focus on youth?
I feel like you need to give up more to get Nenec, maybe wright instead of caswell?
It’s weird to be a seller at the deadline when you are in a playoff spot. The issue is the Kraken imploded after the Olympic break, which I don’t think anyone expected.
Not just a playoff spot, but sitting in 3rd place. Had they been sellers at the deadline it would have been fairly historical because that just doesn’t happen. I think much of the complaining about asset management is just a perfect encapsulation of hindsight bias.
I don’t agree with this we were overflowing with mid level players and shipping a few off would not have hurt our playoff chances. I said that at the time and what do you know I was right. We need a GM smarter then the stupid people that post on SOH 😂
We could have easily shipped off Schwartz and the rig at the deadline, still traded for McMann and brought Fleury into the lineup full time and arguably be a better team then we were. Maybe even added two second round picks and maybe even would’ve looked like idiots to the rest of the league.
“…then the stupid people that post on SOH”.
It sounds like you’re calling yourself stupid. Fair enough, I call myself stupid all the time.
I believe what you’re failing to consider with your “after the fact” analysis is if the organization had shipped out players and then had the finish they did… would any player ever want to sign with an organization that so obviously quit on their players?
Yes and was thinking of you as I posted, not calling you stupid but was playing off it.
So you think anyone wants to sign with us? We were a bad team all season just playing in a bad division with good goaltending. It was painfully obvious we weren’t going to do anything, hockey players would know this and be completely ok with a smart approach to team management.
I really don’t know whether players are willing to sign here or not. Honestly, I don’t think anyone on the outside looking in really has a clue. I do know I’ve heard several players state publicly that they don’t care about draft picks. I don’t think an NHL player or agent is going to say to themselves, “Yeah, that team that was in third in their division and then went in the tank to collect a handful of 2nd and 3rds… yeah, that where I wanna go.”… but maybe.
I mean, we had evidence all year of how badly this team falls off when their regulars aren’t available.
I think it’s fine if you wanna say the Kraken should have sold despite being in a solid playoff spot. I don’t think there’s anyone who could be convinced that they would have been a better team as a result.
I also think this is example #39285 of how criminally underrated Schwartz has been to this franchise.
Well we actually did better with regulars out of the lineup, we fell off when we were more healthy.
Another thought experiment. With regard to the prospect pool, when people say, “we don’t need more centers,” what if none of our current young players are our future centers? Then you end up with something like this for wingers.
Beniers…O’Brien
Catton…Kakko
Miettinen…Wright
Winterton…Melanson
Does picking Viggo Björck as a possible center at 7 look more attractive? Other current Kraken prospects down the middle look like
Mølgaard
Caswell
Josephson
Villeneuve
There are supposedly more high end centers coming in the 2027 draft.
The positions players play in generally the position they are best at, it definitely happens that centers get moved to wing but it’s crazy to think we would move all our centers to wing and bypass their natural positions.
Well, as young players progress through levels, usually the best players are put at center (it actually used to be defense) but there are only 4 centers and 8 wingers, so the higher you go, it’s normal to get moved to wing. Then when it comes to the NHL, a good center in Junior or College may not have the speed to play center in the NHL, or there is another better center on the team, so it’s common to get moved to a wing. It actually can free you up to score more. Basically everyone is just a forward, and some are better at faceoffs or have better vision, but usually those players can easily play wing.
Just like Seattle has done, a team isn’t going to pass you in the draft if you are the best player, but they already have centers, just because you have been playing center. You may just be considered the best player available, period. I think Wyatt Cullen is pretty good, but I’m not sure he will play center in the NHL.
There is a reason RF is gone…. He thought the same way.
LOL. It doesn’t matter where a 17 or 18 year old was playing. What matters is if they are a good hockey player. If you want to judge Beniers, Wright and Catton when they are 23 or under, that’s you. They are all going to be good players. Shane had 44 pts his first full season playing limited minutes, and he will be a very good player for a long time. Here are some players and how long it took them to break a certain number of pts.
Tom Wilson – 6 seasons to get to 40 points
Zach Hyman – 7 seasons to break 50 points
Nugent Hopkins – 8 seasons to break 60 points
Sam Bennett – 9 seasons to break 40 points
Brock Nelson – 6 seasons of to break 50 points
Valeri Nichushkin – 7 seasons to break 50 points
Vincent Trocheck – 11 seasons to break 50 points
“Oh! But Lambert is going to ruin him!”
Grow up. Shane will earn his spot. He’s 22.
Nino, thank you for reminding me why I shouldn’t beat my head against a wall in the SoH comments section. Articles are great! Keep it up!
BTW, Francis was a big reason why Carolina is going to the Stanley Cup final this season. Another is they got Stankoven, who defies “the rules” about who you would want on your team.
Don’t forget Nathan Mackinnon, who took 5 season to finally break a point per game pace, and whose fan base and local media were clamoring to trade 3 years in because he wasn’t what they expected him to be right away.
Beniers needs to gain 80 lbs and become twice as fast. I don’t see that happening.
Put on a wing, maybe O’Brien starts to look like Mark Stone, minus the gruffness Stone had. Maybe not the best skater, but brilliant vision and enough size (eventually, maybe) to protect the puck in board battles. He may actually be better on the wing.
All people talk about in here is how being a young team is the way to win a Stanley Cup. Someone suggests we trade McCann to lock up Simon Nemec and “whoa! We didn’t mean THAT young. He has all sorts of flaws!” Welcome to young players.
Oh no. We want Celebrini and Leo Carlsson! We should just be able to get them, right? LOL.
Yeah they really do. A lot of fans on social media think the same way. It could be 5 years or more before we get lucky and land a celebrini like player in the draft. I think this years playoffs dispels the notion that going ultra young wins you the cup. If I’m not mistaken, the Habs have the youngest roster of all the teams that made the post season, and they are on the verge of being eliminated by the Canes. I think it’s a little funny considering the canes roster has a good chunk of players in their 30s and they could potentially win the cup. Vegas has a lot of older players as well. I think winning the cup boils more down to having skill, talent, and discipline than age. You could be a shitty player at 20 and an amazing player at almost 40.
Also, Vegas has only two players on their roster that was acquired through the draft. We all know how successful they have been throughout their existence.
Pretty amazing what the Vegas organization just continues to accomplish.
I cannot follow the many posts from Seattle G. Are you for or against trading McCann for Nemec? Should the Kraken take Viggo Björck? Do the Kraken have too many or too few center prospects? Does Jake O’Brien belong on the wing or at center? Should the team get younger?
Please clarify what you are for the team doing.