Seattle Kraken Training Camp has arrived!
The full group will take the ice at Kraken Community Iceplex for the first time on Thursday, with preseason kicking off Saturday.
NHL camps have been shortened for the foreseeable future, with only two weeks (instead of three, like in past years) to prepare for the regular season and four preseason games (instead of six). So, roster cuts will happen fast and furiously as Seattle’s front office works toward its Opening Night group.
Like any season, there are plenty of questions surrounding the Kraken as they open camp. We gathered our team here to give our own answers to those questions and make a few predictions along the way. Enjoy!
Q1: What caught your eye at Kraken Rookie Camp or the Prospect Challenge games?
John Barr: One of my biggest takeaways from the Prospect Challenge games was that Jagger Firkus looked a cut above everyone else. His shot and release have always been there, but his pace and vision looked outstanding. He even handled the physicality along the boards from time to time. I’m not overreacting to what I saw, but it’s encouraging to see the progress.
Blaiz Grubic: Jani Nyman is huge. He is now listed at 6-foot-4, two inches taller than his draft-year height.
On the opening day of rookie camp, I stood near the glass during a drill, and his stature was impressive. His shot remains his greatest strength, and it was on full display as he scored in drill after drill.
Nyman’s skating also caught my eye. He takes a while to reach top speed, but his movement looked more fluid once he got there.
Darren Brown: I went in thinking Tyson Jugnauth was going to stand out, and he proved me right. He’s so smooth and elusive, and in the game we watched in person in Abbotsford on Saturday, his poise while skating the puck out of danger gave me reason to believe he’s at the top of the call-up list for blueliners this season.
We often hear that the concern for Jugnauth is whether he can defend well enough to stop NHLers. But every time I noticed him in the defensive zone, he had the puck on his stick and was skating it out of harm’s way.
Curtis Isacke: I thought Oscar Fisker Mølgaard looked physically bigger—which is not to say “big,” but he looked meaningfully sturdier. And this development came with no diminishment of his crisp skating or impressive handling skills. He routinely abused his competition in one-on-one drills at rookie camp.
We know Mølgaard can contribute defensively and on the penalty kill. If more strength further elevates his forechecking and puck-protection skills, he could be a real factor in driving transition play for the NHL team this season.
Q2: What is the headline story you will be watching as Kraken Training Camp begins?
Blaiz: The headline story for me is whether Shane Wright can earn a larger role.
I recently posted Five questions heading into Training Camp, and that was my first one. I want to see the offseason distractions fade and Wright focus fully on hockey.
I have not lost faith in Wright. At only 22, he can still become the player the Kraken envisioned when they drafted him. A major step forward would mean moving up the depth chart and into a second-line role. This will remain a key storyline into the regular season, too.
Curtis: On paper, the top-nine winger roles are set: Bobby McMann, Jared McCann, and Berkly Catton in some combination at left wing, and Jordan Eberle, Kaapo Kakko, and Mackie Samoskevich in some order on the right side. But I still think an important story to follow in this camp concerns two young, skilled wingers we’ve already mentioned: Firkus and Nyman.
Both need to prove there is substance and depth to their NHL games beyond the occasional offensive flash. If one or both “look like they belong” in the NHL during camp, it could prompt a roster move to break the logjam or at least put them first in line for a call-up when injuries strike, and perhaps eventually vault them ahead of the likes of Freddy Gaudreau or Ryan Winterton.
John: I think Shane is obviously one of the storylines to watch, but I’ll also be watching Jared McCann. If the Kraken expect to take a step this year, I think they need a healthy and fully functioning Jared McCann. He’s really been the best player on the roster every year, but injuries have stifled his production over the last few seasons.
Darren: My two biggest storylines are Wright and McCann, but since I don’t want to double up, I’ll go with how Bobby McMann fits in. We obviously got a good look at the scoring winger after he was acquired late last season, but it will no longer have the temporary feel it did when things were unraveling for the Kraken down the stretch.
Getting McMann in the fold more permanently was important to general manager Jason Botterill this summer, and now is his time to show he was worth the long-term investment.
Q3: What could we see at Training Camp that would be an indicator the Kraken may exceed expectations?
Darren: I’ll just echo John’s sentiments from the previous question and say that everyone needs to get through camp at full health. Key players were dropping like flies at Training Camp last season, and McCann—as critical a piece of the team’s success as there is—never really got to full strength.
There are young players knocking on the door, but there isn’t a lot of veteran depth in this organization right now. So, stay healthy, fellas.
Blaiz: My expectations for the Kraken are higher than most. I see them as a team capable of making the playoffs.
As poorly as last season ended, the Kraken held a playoff spot through March 18, 67 games into the season. They then went 3-10-2 over their final 15 games and fell out of the picture.
At camp, I want to see players aged 23 and younger create healthy competition for roster spots. Only Matty Beniers and his former Michigan teammate, Mackie Samoskevich, cleared the 30-point mark last season. More consistent offensive production from that age group would go a long way toward the Kraken’s success.
Players who spent last season in Coachella Valley, including Jagger Firkus, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, and Jani Nyman, can help provide that competition and offensive boost.
John: Indicators of a successful team in Training Camp? Nothing. As flashy and exciting as some players might look in Training Camp and preseason games, I don’t think we will know how this team might perform until we get 10 games into the season.
Curtis: I think Blaiz is onto something in the sense that we can be reasonably confident in the defensive production we’ll get from Josh Mahura or Cale Fleury. Up front, we have a pretty good sense of the level of play we can expect from Gaudreau or even Kakko.
If young players are making a push for those roles, and there is a legitimate conversation about whether, for example, Ty Nelson is the team’s best bet as a third-pair defenseman, it could raise the ceiling on the season. If Samoskevich is outplaying a veteran for a top-six role and power-play time, our hopes might justifiably rise—even if John is right that you can’t earn standings points in Training Camp.
Q4: Which player has the most to prove at Training Camp?
Darren: Wright. The guy requested a trade this summer, and when that didn’t come to fruition, his agent changed his tune and made it sound like Shane is fully committed to the team. A big reason he wanted out in the first place was his usage, but he still has to show this team and its coaching staff that he deserves bigger minutes.
Plus, he may now have to reassure his teammates that he wants to be here and contribute. At 22 years old, he created his own drama this summer. Now, if he wants to quiet that noise, he has to start performing like the top forward he thinks he is.
Curtis: Some might consider this a “zag,” but I’ll say Vince Dunn. Rewind a couple years, and we were talking about Dunn as a No. 1 defender with impressive two-way skills. Due to a mix of injuries, performance malaise, and some speed bumps adjusting to Lane Lambert’s systems, I think many have shifted Dunn from the “franchise cornerstone” category into the “probable trade bait” category.
Now going into a contract season, and still only 29, Vince Dunn was named an alternate captain for the first time. Can he build off that vote of confidence and reassert himself as a skilled force on the blue line? And, if so, does he play himself back into the future story of this team—and perhaps even make himself an early extension candidate?
John: If we’re just talking about Training Camp, I would say Jani Nyman. The team gave him plenty of opportunities last season, but he didn’t seize them and prove he was ready for the NHL. To be effective, he can’t just make the team and play in a fourth-line role. He needs to earn a spot in the top nine and prove he can be trusted with more minutes.
If he doesn’t break through this season, he’s in danger of slipping into the “really good AHL player” category.
Blaiz: Jared McCann is my candidate for a player with something to prove. A lower-body injury has lingered for the past two years, and Training Camp should show whether he is fully healthy.
McCann led the Kraken in scoring through the franchise’s first four seasons. He was on pace to lead the team again last season, but he missed 30 games because of injury.
Since scoring 40 goals in 2022-23, McCann has not reached the 30-goal mark again. He scored 29, 22, and 20 goals over the past three seasons. Even while managing the injury, he was on pace for 32 goals last season, so reaching 30 goals again would be a worthy target as McCann enters a contract year.
Q5: What under-the-radar story or player has your attention over the next couple weeks?
Curtis: I’m curious if there is a “surprise” young player who sticks with the NHL team longer than we would expect. Two years ago, Nathan Villeneuve survived multiple rounds of roster cuts before being reassigned to his junior team closer to Opening Night. Last year, it was Oscar Fisker Mølgaard who left an impression with his lengthy training camp stay.
If I had to guess on a similar bit of “will-he-or-won’t-he” drama this season, Villeneuve would be a decent bet to repeat, but I’ll throw out Ty Nelson.
Blaiz: Dolan Gilbert. Who, you might ask?
Gilbert is the Kraken’s first full-time emergency backup goaltender, or EBUG, and he is on the Training Camp roster. The role marks a bit of an end of an era, as NHL teams must now carry a full-time EBUG who travels with the club.
Previously, the home team had an EBUG in the building who could play for either team if needed. Gilbert explained his role this way: “I’ll be traveling with the team per the new rules, so [participating in] scratch skates, injury skates, rehab skates or whatever they are, being available there. Giving some time off to the goalies on the Kraken, and let them be ready for game nights is the big thing.”
While he doesn’t factor into any roster decisions, it will be fun to see him practicing with NHL players.
John: Competition. It’s no secret the Kraken lack high-end talent, which means they have a glut of middle-six forwards. Other than Matty Beniers centering the top line, I think all lineup combinations are on the table. This should create healthy competition for who gets which opportunity.
I don’t expect Ryan Winterton to be on the power play, but he could sneakily earn an expanded role this season. I wonder if we’ll get a glimpse of that over the next few weeks.
Darren: Curtis got it. I love watching which youngsters stick around deeper into Training Camp.
Bonus: Who scores the first goal in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Calgary Flames?
Curtis: I’ll go with Vince Dunn. We’re kind of guessing which “group” will play in this game, but if there is any line or pair that I think will get the home game rather than Sunday’s road game, it’s the Dunn-Larsson duo. So, let’s say Dunn.
John: Nathan Villeneuve. He is going to get a greasy one.
Blaiz: Since it is the first preseason game, there is a good chance I pick someone who does not even dress. That said, I am going with Shane Wright.
He has the offensive tools to succeed, and I think he starts the season on the right—or Wright—foot by scoring goal No. 1.
Darren: This reminds me of the Celebrity Jeopardy sketch on Saturday Night Live, where Will Ferrell—playing the late Alex Trebek—gets so fed up by the idiocy of the contestants that he makes the Final Jeopardy question, “Where are we right now?” Then he accepts any semi-coherent answer as correct.
Imagine Ferrell saying, in his best Trebek voice, “Name a Kraken player. Any player will do, just name one.”
To which I say, “Karson Kuhlman.”
Now, in my best Sean Connery, “YOUR ASH IS MINE, CURTISH ISHACKE!”
Is there anything you’re looking for during training camp? If so, share it with us in the comments section.