Friday Film Room – Finn Kearns, Carson Rehkopf

Welcome to Friday Film Room, our offseason Seattle Kraken prospects series here at Sound Of Hockey. Today, we’ll look at gameplay video, data, and analysis of Finn Kearns, an off-the-radar 2026 fifth-round pick, and Carson Rehkopf, a high-profile forward prospect who played for the Coachella Valley Firebirds last season.

If you like these breakdowns, stop by every Friday because we’ll cover two prospects per week (one 2026 Kraken draft pick and one other organization prospect) until Kraken players are back on the ice for camp this fall.

Any suggestions or questions for future posts? Please let us know below or on social media at @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey.

Finn Kearns | Defenseman | Sudbury Wolves (OHL)

Profile: Left-shot | 18 years old | 6-foot-3 | 212 lbs | 2026 Seattle Kraken fifth-round pick (unsigned)

Summary: Finn Kearns’ game is built around physicality. He is a big, imposing shutdown defenseman who leverages his strength, reach, and punishing contact to produce. At his best, he disrupts plays with heavy hits, strong net-front coverage, and effective gap engagement, while showing enough mobility to project as a defensive specialist at higher levels. Although he flashes competent puck-carrying ability and escape skating, his puck-moving consistency, skating pace, and offensive impact are limited at this stage.

Kearns is still raw, relatively untested, and underdeveloped compared with his draft-class peers, having spent most of his draft season playing prep hockey. He is a long-term development project with the size and enough skating ability to become a dependable defensive defenseman.

Video: Kearns is the left-shot defenseman wearing No. 2 in green.

Strengths:

• Elite physical presence at lower levels of competition; delivered heavy, game-changing hits regularly.
• Excellent size, strength, and reach to deny space and separate opponents from the puck.
• Good mobility for his frame, with flashes of solid edgework and escape skating.
• Flashed strong defensive instincts and positional awareness.
• Effective at denying zone entries at the blue line and defending the net front.
• Capable of closing plays along the boards with physicality before making simple, effective outlet passes.
• Willing, competitive defender who embraces a shutdown role and mentality.
• Showed a useful, heavy point shot at the prep school level.
• Physicality and an on-the-edge playing style (163 penalty minutes in 53 prep games during his draft season) bring “identity” potential in the mold of Jeremy Lauzon.
• Scouts indicate Kearns is team-oriented, self-aware about the strengths and weaknesses of his game, and a hard worker.
• Long-term developmental upside due to his physical tools and defensive foundation.

Weaknesses:

• Adequate four-way mobility will need to take steps to be pro-ready.
• Linear skating lacks explosiveness and could use technical refinements.
• A bit more stiffness than fluidity in his movements.
• Struggles when he does not maintain speed and momentum while closing gaps.
• Puck-moving ability lacks creativity, and the results are inconsistent.
• Offensive upside and transition impact are limited.
• At times, he deadens his feet in the defensive zone, becoming too stationary and overly reliant on net-front physicality.
• A limited sample of transition rushes at the prep school level did not generate much.
• Very limited time at the major junior level (20 OHL games) and even less production (one assist).
• Overall, his game remains raw and will require significant development time.

System rank: 15-30 (organizational depth).

Notes: Kearns is a pure defensive-defenseman projection. While he is buoyed by strong reports on his character and team-first mentality, he’ll need to find more puck-moving and basic playmaking ability to traverse higher levels. He has a long runway ahead to make those gains, with a post-draft year in the OHL on tap before joining the University of Massachusetts Minutemen in 2027-28. If he can get into the 20-30 point range for the Sudbury Wolves this season, it would be a good sign that there could be enough offense in his stick to dream on a professional future.

More reading: Hard-nosed, hard-working Finn Kearns turns heads ahead of the NHL Draft

More video: 10/7/25 v. Powassan Voodoos (No. 2 in red)

Carson Rehkopf | Winger | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)

Profile: Left-shot | 21 years old | 6-foot-2 | 201 lbs | 2023 Seattle Kraken second-round pick (signed)

Summary: Carson Rehkopf has significant offensive skill in his stick, combining a high-end shot with deceptive release mechanics and intermittent offensive-zone playmaking ability. He has the offensive instincts to get to soft scoring areas. His strength and physical engagement have taken a step forward since he was drafted, which should give him more of a “B” game, at least in theory.

On the other hand, his ability to rush the puck in transition has not translated professionally, as he struggles to protect the puck or evade checks. His defensive engagement has taken some steps forward but remains significantly below par. His frame and skill set should yield more forechecking and puck-retrieval production, but his commitment and motor are not there often enough.

Even if he does not hit his ceiling, Rehkopf could still bring complementary offensive value as a spot-up shooter in the offensive zone and on power-play setups, but he needs to push his off-puck game up a level or two. He has the frame and skating ability to do it, but the compete needs to be there.

Video: Rehkopf is the left-shot forward wearing No. 16 in white.

Strengths:

• Elite major junior goal-scoring ability with a quick catch-and-release shot and a deceptive wrist shot (94 goals in 117 OHL games over two post-draft seasons).
• Strong offensive instincts and the ability to find soft areas in coverage; consistently creates separation and gets open in dangerous areas.
• Reads defensive rotations, coverage changes, and developing plays well.
• Improved playmaking ability at the major junior level, which also flashed professionally, including finding teammates through seams and using give-and-go plays.
• Physicality and willingness to engage opponents and battle for space have improved over time.
• Showed the ability to be a net-front presence and score from high-danger areas in the OHL.
• Shows patience with the puck and can delay plays to allow teammates to get open.
• Improved defensive engagement, including better awareness and earlier backchecking.

Weaknesses:

• Skating mechanics lack fluidity, particularly when changing direction or handling the puck laterally.
• Agility and edgework can limit his ability to create plays independently against higher-level defenders at the blue line or in the offensive zone.
• Above average junior pace in transition has not shown up professionally.
• Upright skating style leaves the puck exposed to checks.
• Puck skills are effective but can become less dynamic when forced into tight, one-on-one situations.
• His poor ability to protect the puck or evade defenders with east-west skating often frustrates his rush chances and has caused him to defer as a transition rusher, limiting his scoring potential.
• Development in explosiveness and overall skating range may be necessary to achieve offensive impact at the NHL level.
• His forechecking and physical game have taken strides, but neither has developed into a strength at the professional level. His “want to” also appears lacking at times.
• Defensive production is below average, both in terms of reads and execution; his lack of consistency in this area has cost him deployments in major international tournaments and now at the professional level.
• Too many stick infractions when his skating or compete level wanes.
• Has not gotten to the front of the net often enough professionally for a player with his physical profile.
• Regularly skated in a fourth-line role without power-play time in his first AHL season, having failed to show that he brought enough off the puck to earn more ice time.
• With just four points in his last 34 regular-season and postseason AHL games in the 2025–26 season, his scoring proficiency has not translated professionally.

System rank: 8-15 (NHL upside).

Notes: There are times when Rehkopf certainly passes the “eye test.” He can show enough skating and physicality in a 6-foot-2 frame to go along with effective offensive-zone play engagement. That said, I find it unlikely that the once-speculated high-end outcome of a top-six scoring winger is coming unless Rehkopf can take significant strides in his transition play-driving, puck protection, and/or skating agility. Absent that, Rehkopf will need to continue improving his off-puck play to earn NHL ice time in a complementary middle-six and power-play role.

Rehkopf is still young, but he needs to start showing more consistency defensively and on the forecheck this season to earn top-six AHL deployment. It’s hard to see anything more than the slimmest path forward if he’s mired in limited AHL minutes yet again this year.

More video: May 17, 2026 v. Colorado Eagles (No. 16 in white)

More Friday Film Room

July 17, 2026: Chase Reid, Eduard Sale