With the sixth pick in the second round, the Seattle Kraken selected Casey Mutryn from the U.S. National Team Development Program. Mutryn, a 6-foot-3 right-shot winger, was ranked No. 32 on the Sound Of Hockey Big Board.

Mutryn is a strong-skating, physical presence on the wing who scored 18 goals and added 28 assists for the U18 U.S. National Team in 62 regular-season games. As the captain of the United States team at the U18 World Junior Championship in April, it’s clear his impact extends off the ice and into the dressing room as well.

Corey Pronman of The Athletic had Mutryn ranked as his No. 14 overall prospect in the 2026 NHL Draft. (Notoriously, Pronman also had Chase Reid as his No. 1 prospect.) Here’s what Pronman had to say about Mutryn:

Mutryn is a hardworking, physical 6-foot-3 winger. He’s a good skater who can play at an NHL tempo and carry pucks up ice competently at the top level. His offensive game has developed more than expected. He has some puck skills and scoring touch. His pure playmaking won’t inspire, and he can play with his head down, but he sees the ice well enough and creates offense. His versatility, ability to provide secondary scoring, while also playing a hard-nosed style, checks all the boxes to play significant minutes as a pro.

Pronman compared Mutryn’s game to Ilya Mikheyev’s, and others have mentioned Josh Doan. For his part, Mutryn said he models his game after Matthew Knies and Brady Tkachuk. You can see it in the way he plays.

Check out Mutryn’s shifts from the U.S. National Team Development Program’s Jan. 18, 2026, game against the Green Bay Gamblers. Mutryn is the right-shot forward wearing No. 12 in white.

The Massachusetts native comes from a sporting family. His father was a football player, and his brother Teddy was drafted No. 95 overall by the San Jose Sharks last season.

While previous information had Casey committed to Boston College for the 2027-28 season, Casey confirmed to Seattle-area reports after the selection that he will, in fact, be attending Boston College starting this fall. He’ll join his brother Teddy in the Eagles’ lineup.

Get to know a little more about Mutryn here:

We’ll have much more analysis of Mutryn and each of Seattle’s other selections in the days ahead.

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In our 2026 Mock Draft, seven-round Seattle Kraken edition, I wrote this about my No. 1 “alternative” for the No. 38 overall pick: “If Casey Mutryn (Big Board No. 32) falls [to No. 38], he’s the pick for me. While the Kraken haven’t drafted a U.S. National Team Development Program player since 2021, Mutryn plays such an appealing pro-style game that it’s easy to project him into a bottom-six role, even if he doesn’t develop on the offensive side (which I think he could).”

This is another terrific selection, in my opinion. What do you think of the pick and Seattle’s draft so far? Drop your comments below or send them to us on X (@deepseahockey and @sound_hockey) or Bluesky (@deepseahockey and @soundofhockey.com).