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 Vicktor Fyodorov, the first-ever Russian-born forward to be drafted or signed by the Kraken organization, and Jagger Firkus, a second-round pick in 2022 and Seattle’s second-leading AHL scorer during the 2025-26 season. These are two players I like a lot, so I’m excited to dig in.
If you like these breakdowns, stop by every Friday because we’ll have two 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.
Viktor Fyodorov | Center/Winger | Chaika Nizhny Novgorod (KHL)
Profile: Left shot | 18 years old | 5-foot-10 | 183 lbs | 2026 Seattle Kraken fourth-round pick (unsigned)
Summary: Viktor Fyodorov (a.k.a. Viktor Fedorov) is a two-way center who succeeds with strong processing, a relentless work ethic, solid playmaking habits, and attention to detail. He drives possession through anticipation, puck retrievals, defensive pressure, and quick connective passing rather than dynamic individual skill. His off-puck awareness, scanning, and transition support are among his best traits, making him a reliable player in all three zones.
His NHL projection is limited by an undersized frame, average skating for his size, and inconsistent offensive creation and finishing against stronger competition. If Fyodorov continues to develop, he projects as a complementary, bottom-six, forechecking-and-defense forward.
Video: Fyodrov is the left-shot center wearing No. 41 in blue.
Strengths:
- Very strong, potentially excellent hockey sense, anticipation, and ice vision could carry him a long way.
- Processes the game quickly and consistently makes smart decisions.
- Instinctual off-puck positioning in all three zones; he’s usually in the right place defensively and in transition support.
- High-end defensive habits, including bucket-emptying backchecks.
- Always forechecking; frequently a productive tip-of-the-spear neutral-zone defender.
- Relentless motor and consistent competitiveness.
- Strong puck retrievals and ability to extend offensive-zone possession.
- Quick, accurate short-area and connective passer with solid one-touch passing ability.
- Reliable transition player who links defensive recoveries into offensive possessions.
- Physical engagement habits are very strong despite below-average size.
- Very good defensive stick detail, including lifts, passing-lane disruptions, and puck pressure.
- Has shown soft hands in tight areas to maintain possession and drive offense.
- Good puck protection through body positioning and deception.
- Seems to play well within systems and should be a coachable, translatable type of player.
- Gained experience against pro-level competition in his draft-minus-one year (VHL, KHL) and held his own in a limited role, finding ways to contribute.
- Captain for his junior team (MHL), which suggests leadership ability.
- Position versatile.
Weaknesses:
- Undersized frame can limit his disruption, recovery, and protection abilities against stronger competition.
- Physical strength limits his ability in puck battles and at the net front against higher-level competition.
- Lacks above-average offensive upside and game-breaking individual skill; relies heavily on systems and teammates rather than creating offense independently.
- Average skating explosiveness and top-end speed relative to his size.
- Doesn’t consistently create separation one-on-one.
- Passing can lack creativity and tends toward safe, schemed plays.
- Finishing ability and shot are below average.
- Offensive production often falls short of the quality of his underlying process and does not, itself, suggest an NHL future.
- Questions remain whether he will be able to generate enough offense to survive against NHL-caliber defenders.
- Ceiling seems more complementary than impactful, with a bottom-six NHL projection if he reaches that level.
Notes: Fyodorov has strong hockey sense and work habits and has demonstrated the capacity to match up against quality competition. He has a complementary skill set that lacks obvious dynamic elements. A sustained, impactful NHL career likely hinges on bolstering his strengths such that the totality of his small contributions drives team advantages all over the ice (think Yanni Gourde with Seattle). Continued strength and skating improvements are necessary. I’m high on this player, probably more so than most.
More video: Dec. 19, 2025 v. Gornyak-UGMK (No. 41 in white).
Jagger Firkus | Forward | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
Profile: Right shot | 22 years old | 5-foot-11 | 163 lbs | 2022 Seattle Kraken second-round pick (signed)
Summary: Jagger Firkus is a skilled, offense-first winger whose game is driven by creativity and great hands that he uses to create offense in a variety of ways. He has strong hockey sense and scanning habits that help him find soft ice, allowing him space to create quick shooting opportunities and precision passes. His shot is a significant asset, with a deceptive, quick release. His vision as both a finisher and playmaker is excellent.
His motor is strong, and he’s a willing forechecker despite his modest size. While his evolving play along the boards has improved his NHL prospects, he remains physically limited. He can force plays off the rush. If he continues adding strength and refining his offensive execution, an NHL future as a scoring winger with power-play value is in play.
Video: Firkus is the right-shot forward wearing No. 57 in white.
Strengths:
- Very strong hockey sense, making proactive reads with and without the puck.
- Dangerous shooter with a quick, deceptive, and versatile release.
- Innate ability to find open space off the puck.
- Creative playmaker capable of slip passes, delays, and other innovative sequences.
- High-energy motor with consistent forechecking pressure and puck pursuit.
- Agile, elusive puck handler who creates separation with cutbacks, deceptions, and pace changes rather than pure speed (akin to Matty Beniers in this way).
- Improved ability to handle pressure and make plays along the boards.
- Competes hard despite his smaller frame, including on net drives and in puck battles.
- Succeeded in a first-line role at the AHL level during the 2025-26 season, averaging 0.9 points per game and proving trustworthy in all three zones while playing heavy minutes.
- Regularly generated offense, including high-danger looks for himself, even when the points weren’t coming.
- Though he does not dominate possession, when you lose him in coverage, he will quickly link scoring sequences.
- Intelligent player who knows his game well, including the areas that need improvement.
Weaknesses:
- Wants to play with pace in transition attacks but lacks the pure speed to threaten professional defenders.
- Undersized and still loses puck battles due to limited strength.
- Production can be limited when engaged physically by defenders.
- Can be knocked off the puck too easily when unable to gain separation.
- Occasionally forces one-on-one attacks rather than protecting possession for another opportunity.
- While the shot is an asset overall, there were times his accuracy wavered, particularly in tight, contested situations; he ought to have been a 30-goal scorer last season.
- Skating has improved through hard work but is not a carrying trait.
- He makes his wiry 5-foot-11 frame work, but size and length will never be assets.
- Has some feel for disruptions high in the defensive zone, but overall defensive production is modest.
- Questions remain about his ability to level up to the NHL due to his underwhelming combination of size, speed, and strength.
Notes: Firkus has three traits that are hard to find: hockey sense, gifted hands, and the intelligence and commitment to self-assess and improve his game. These traits have carried him to the top of the AHL ranks despite consistent scouting skepticism about his physical profile. He’s a problem solver out there, and I do believe there is a path to NHL contributions for a team that is patient enough to stick with him through an initial transition period. His ceiling may be a complementary, middle-six scorer, but he has the aptitude and mindset to reach it.
More video: Nov. 21, 2025 v. San Diego Gulls (No. 57 in white)
More Friday Film Room
July 17, 2026: Chase Reid, Eduard Sale
July 24, 2026: Finn Kearns, Carson Rehkopf
July 31, 2026: Casey Mutryn, Tyson Jugnauth
August 7, 2026: Hawke Huff, Jake O’Brien
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.
I enjoy your analysis Curtis, but I think you’re a bit high on Firkus. His passes are a little reckless at times and he has a propensity to serve up an absolute pizza a period in the AHL. NHL players are going to capitalize for points against. That’s not going to fly with Lambert. I think it’s more likely he gets a cup of coffee in the NHL but that’s all.
I’d agree that your outcome (cup of coffee) is still “most likely,” for one reason or another. And your observation is a good one. I saw those junior-style passes/tendencies still in his game. Whether he fits with Lambert is another fair concern.
I do suspect I’m more generous/higher on him than most (as I attempted to foreshadow at the beginning but didn’t really follow up on). I think I’m inclined to the positive because I’m persuaded there’s a good hockey mind and hockey sense in there, and I like betting on that. This is pretty big year for him, though. If he doesn’t take another step in the AHL or show he can hang in the NHL in whatever audition he gets, he starts to look like a long shot again.
I would really hate to see our prospects graded and evaluated based on how they would fit into Lambert’s system. I honestly can’t see him staying with the team more than another year or two and well we definitely need offense. Those type of players are the ones we should be focusing on more than anything else right now.
He’s a young player trying to make things happen yeah mistakes are going to happen that’s how they learn.
Is he really undersized? The average height for an NHL winger is 6 feet, if he really is 5’ 11” he is just slightly under the average. I feel like he needs to add some bulk but you can’t do that too quickly it will take years. All in all though he could finish out to be a pretty average NHL sized player with good offensive ability, something we shouldn’t throw away just because LL happens to be in town for a minute.
I would be disappointed if he wasn’t given some time with the kraken this upcoming season to give him a better taste for what he needs to develop to become a helpful part of the kraken.
Thanks Curtis. I’m very high on Fyodorov. One thing that stands out immediately watching that video is he can already play with pace, which is one of the most important adjustments for a young player, no matter how skilled they look playing against other 18 year olds. Some can’t do it, or it takes 3-5 years for them to make the adjustment. He doesn’t look like a typical 18 year old playing against grown men. It also doesn’t look like being 5’10 matters much to him.
Other observations. He always has his stick blade down toward the ice. Usually at knee level or lower. O’Brien still needs to work on that, often skating around with his blade at waist level or higher. He also doesn’t shy away from contact, but uses his body intelligently, and even takes a run at a guy or two. He dumps that one dude in the corner.
There’s another element to this, which is Vyasavoy has been looking great, and it always helps to have another RUS in the system in advance of bringing another one over, especially if the first one already speaks English, like Viktor. I’m excited.
Fyoderof had a noticible leg up on his contemporaries at dev camp. I imagine that has a lot to do with his experience in the VHL and KHL where the level of competition is quite a bit higher than it is at juniors. It makes me wish that playing a year or two in one of the European leagues were possible for young North American players. They just look so much more ready than the players who come up through only the CHL do. Absent that opportunity, maybe the new CHL-to-NCAA path will help with making the transition to the pro leagues less jarring, because right now it looks very jarring from the outside, like the game completely changes.
Getting back to Fyoderof, I have read a lot about how he lacks offensive creativity, but I do wonder how much of that will just develop as he gains the confidence that comes with mastering the system that he is playing. A guy who believes in the efficacy of hard work and in the right-mindedness of his coaches may be inclined to follow that path strategically. A kid who learns English as a teenager in anticipation of one day being a pro in North America? He is playing with a plan.
I still believe Firkus has what it takes to make it in the NHL, but he won’t get a fair shake with Lambert there.
Lambert didn’t deal cards to himself. He played the hand he was dealt. And that hand is largely bereft of offensive talent. So the way you survive that is to try and play a tight defensive game to keep it close. For much of the season that worked. Doing otherwise would have been akin to pounding square pegs into round holes.
The only thing that worked last season was our goaltending. Actually on ice play was some of the worst in the league all season long. If we start evaluating coaching based on how well our goaltenders play then we’re looking at the situation completely wrong. We played a low event game but we were still outplayed, outshot and out chanced all season long. If we keep this blueprint and keep LL we will be stuck just bringing up plugs that can dump the puck and get stuck in the cards you are dealt as an infinite argument.
Daccord had a down year, and the team was still second in the division at the Olympic break. I swear, you didn’t watch the games at all. You know rabbit ears still work if you can’t afford tickets.
I’m not sure if this is a joke or not and since you didn’t actually say anything there is nothing to respond to.
You may want to go back and look at the stats before posting next time maybe though?
“Look at the stats.” Look at the games. If you want to look at numbers, remember that the three really important numbers are under a W, an L, and an OTL.
This is true to a certain extent, if you are winning off of goaltending alone it’s not sustainable unless you have an elite goaltender and we don’t.
Even with a reasonable position in the standings last season the hockey experts were placing us as one of the cellar dwellers in the NHL because they saw the stats and knew that the kraken were very unlikely to have any sustained success.
Basically it mattered more to them what the kraken were actually doing game to game more than if they walked away with a win or a loss… guess what they were right.
If you want to dig deeper into this all that matters is wins here you go.
2021–22: 27 wins (60 points)
2022–23: 46 wins (100 points)
2023–24: 34 wins (81 points)
2024–25: 35 wins (76 points)
2025–26: 34 wins (79 points)
We were actually had our second worst amount of wins ever last season. It would be very hard to argue that our lineup wasn’t better last season than in year one. We had much better goaltending last season vs year one. We play roughly 30% of our games vs the pacific division… last season the pacific division was sustainably worse than it was in year one. We actually got 42% of our points last season from a division that was historically bad!!!
You add this all up and it equals the worst coaching that the kraken have ever had. I’m sorry these are all facts and stats. Another key indicator of poor coaching is periods of extended losing streaks… oh wait we had those as well. In fact LL has had nothing but periods of extended losing streaks throughout his entire head coaching career. The facts all line up and point to him being an absolute horrible head coach.
You keep talking shit about Lambert, Nino, as if you know what’s better for the team. I’m backing the guy with 14 seasons standing behind an NHL bench in one coaching position or another.
Ultimately, the goal should be for the team to compete in the playoffs, and that usually requires responsible defensive play, regardless of what individual stat lines are. Generally speaking, young players suck at defense, which means the vets are working overtime on D until the young guys figure it out, and everyone’s Individual stats are going to suffer. But there aren’t any shortcuts. It has to be done, especially if the backend isn’t one of the best in the league. Seattle’s backend has a lot of room for improvement.
I think too much emphasis is put on acquiring flash and dash offensive minded D-men. I prefer Carolina’s approach, which is getting D-men who can play D, and freeing up your forwards to be more aggressive. Slavin’s stats wouldn’t impress someone like Nino, but the guy was key to winning the Cup anchoring the backend.
I’ve never said one time that we should be thinking 100% offense, a balanced approach is definitely required. The hurricanes are definitely a defensive focused team but the have a relentless offensive for checking system and play a puck possession game. Our system was dump pucks out and cross your fingers that they get frustrated and make a mistake. It’s a stupid system and let me remind you… nobody did anything in the playoffs attempting to play that style of hockey since you are bringing up the playoffs. LL is a fine defensive coach but is not suited to be a head coach, never has been he’s done nothing but fail in that roll.
I’ve said this before, when you actually look at the stats and look closely at the competition we were playing last season we actually had our worst season ever since we became a team. Worst ever!!! If that makes you happy I guess you are easily pleased.
Love the Friday Film Room posts! Thank you!