The preseason is done, and the games will count from here on out, starting with the season opener in Calgary on Thursday. It’s difficult to extrapolate many insights from a shortened preseason when only the last two games resembled NHL lineups. It’s also worth noting that one of those games, the Kraken versus Flames preseason game on Thursday night, was basically the full NHL Kraken playing against Calgary’s AHL team.
The roster is set for now
The Kraken made their roster moves on Sunday to be roster compliant for the NHL deadline on Tuesday. Unfortunately, there weren’t many tough decisions to be made because the Kraken designated Mackie Samoskevich (day-to-day) and Jake O’Brien (week-to-week) to injured reserve.
As I see it, there are five bubble players: Ben Meyers, Curtis Douglas, Ville Ottavainen, Cale Fleury, and Josh Mahura. In my opinion, Fleury and Mahura’s spots are more secure, but the team could be concerned about losing the 24-year-old Ottavainen in a possible waiver claim.
Here is how the lines look going into the season:
I don’t expect those lines to stay intact for very long, but I did like the Winterton-Catton-Wright line on Saturday night against Vancouver.
Jake O’Brien status
The Kraken’s first-round selection from the 2025 NHL Draft played the first preseason game before being classified as injured. It was only one game, but he seemed much more NHL ready than I expected. He looked comfortable with the puck and made some nifty skilled plays that showcased his potential. The scouting report on O’Brien is high-end hockey sense and excellent vision. I anticipate he will be more of a playmaker, but his timing and positioning are top notch here in his preseason goal last Saturday.
I anticipate that, once healthy, he will be sent down to Coachella Valley. It would have been nice to see him play one of the final two preseason games against some tougher competition, which would have provided a better benchmark for his game and helped us understand just how “NHL ready” he really is.
Heading into Training Camp, I expected him to spend the entire season with the Firebirds, but there could be a scenario where he gets some NHL games later in the season.
Pack mentality
I don’t think every hard hit or questionable transgression requires a response or a scrap, but I did like the pack mentality that the team showed over those last two preseason games. To prove the doubters wrong, this team needs to be better than the sum of its parts. From everything I’ve heard around Training Camp and through different media outlets, it feels like there is a deliberate effort to build a better team commitment and culture on and off the ice from the players themselves.
This shows up in that pack mentality on the ice. It’s a “you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us” type response. It showed up when newcomer Mackie Samoskevich took a hit after a shot on net last Thursday. You also saw a response on Saturday when Ryan Winterton went after Elias Pettersson after he hit Shane Wright late in the third period.
Other musings
- There are currently eight defensemen and 13 forwards on the roster. The Kraken only used eight unique defensemen but 19 different forwards all last season. Some of the guys sent down will certainly get an opportunity later this season.
- Mackie Samoskevich is currently listed as day-to-day and on injured reserve. IR indicates he is out at least a week, though IR can be retroactive to when the injury occurred. So, it’s still possible he plays the opener.
- Even if Samoskevich is out on Thursday, the Kraken will likely have five players under 24 in the lineup. That will be the most under-24 players the Kraken have suited up for a season opener in their six-season history.
- Matty Beniers seems to be taking a bigger leadership role this season. When speaking to the media, he seems more assertive and vocal when talking about the team and eager to prove the pundits wrong.
- The Kraken allowed two power-play goals against in four shorthanded situations on Saturday night. It was more like three power-play goals in those four opportunities since time expired right as Vancouver scored its fourth goal. That’s bad, and the penalty kill must improve this season, but it is way too early to freak out about the penalty kill.
- Speaking of killing penalties, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard is going to be a regular NHLer very soon. He is starting the season in Coachella Valley, but he is knocking on the door right now.
- In case you missed it, the Seattle Torrent’s first round pick “threw” out the first pitch at a White Sox game over the weekend.
USA Hockey Olympic gold medalist Abbey Murphy made the ceremonial first shot at the White Sox game 🏒 pic.twitter.com/OUYU9IWmlj
— MLB (@MLB) September 27, 2026
Player performances
Bobby McMann (SEA) – I know it is just preseason, but Bobby McMann had a goal in each of his two preseason games. During his 18-game stint with the Kraken last season, he was on pace for 47 goals over an 84-game season. I would settle for 30 this season.
Semyon Vyazovoi (SYU/SEA) – The Russian goaltender has five wins and two losses in the KHL this season, with two of those wins being shutouts. He is the Kraken’s most promising goaltending prospect in the system.
Brandon Montour (SEA) – He had two goals and an assist in his two preseason games. Again, it’s just preseason, but it’s nice to see that Monty is starting the season healthy. (Check out Darren’s interview with Monty if you want to hear what he was dealing with last season.)
Goal of the week
I love this entire sequence.
The week ahead
The regular season kicks off for the Seattle Kraken on the road with a Thursday game against the Calgary Flames and then they face the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday in Edmonton before heading home for the home opener on Sunday in another game against the Flames.
The Flames are expected to be a bottom-five team in the league, but a lot of pundits are predicting the same for the Kraken. Meanwhile, predictions for Edmonton are all over the map, so who knows what to expect from them. The Kraken are a collective 4-14-1 against the Oilers in franchise history. Their last win in Edmonton was Jan. 3, 2023.
I am not expecting much from the game against the Oilers, but it is important to get a few points from the two games the Flames. The Kraken do have a back-to-back scenario over the weekend, but so do the Flames, so no excuses.
I will settle for three points out of the three games.
And finally
I know not many people are giving this team much of a chance this season, but I think the path is there if they can stay healthy. A full season of Bobby McMann should be an upgrade over what they got last year, Samoskevich adds another scoring threat, and I’m very excited to see what Catton can do in his second NHL season. If those things break the right way, I can see this group sticking around the playoff bubble. And if they’re still in the mix come March and April, anything can happen.
Go Kraken!!!
I’m curious about other peoples’ early impressions of Jared McCann. He looked pretty neutral to invisible in his two preseason games. My sense is he is just taking it easy (as he probably should be in preseason games) but it also looks like he’s not fully recovered, or maybe even aggravated his injury.
To be fair – he looks like that every preseason. They keep saying he’s fully healthy and has looked great, so I’ll reserve judgement for at least a few games. It could also just be that he isn’t a great fit with Samo and/or Kakko. It would not surprise me at all to see them move Eberle back up to the top-line if Samoskevich is going to miss extended time
I’d say he looked invisible as well. Also thought the same for Eberle and Kakko but I think that is the nature of preseason for those guys so not necessarily concerned about anything…yet.
I’d be interested in some analysis about how teams handled the 4-game preseason and the revised “veteran” rules, because it did seem that there was some variation on how teams both deployed across the 4 games as well as when they made their cuts. For example, some teams played close to their full NHL lineup as early as game 2.
I’m not sure I’m a fan of the veteran minimum, even with the expanded definition. It basically meant that there was only a single game opportunity to see a team’s full lineup when to the 2-game rule for veterans was taken into account.
You think so? In the Calgary game I specifically remember McCann throwing his body in front of shots and just going full speed all night like the game actually mattered. While watching, I was reminded of Earl Thomas at the Pro Bowl back in the day when AFC players would go up to Kam Chancellor and ask him, “Does he know this isn’t a real game?” to which Kam would respond, “Oh, he’s always like that.” By the way, is it blasphemy to mention that Cam Neely had the nickname “Bam Bam Cam” first?
I hope we finally start to see some high level production from their high level draft picks. I feel like until that happens (or until they change the leagues perception of this franchise) the team will be stuck in mediocrity.
We need a Wright or Catton or Beniers to become elite A few of them and we have a contender to watch.
Considering where we were this time last year with injuries, not just to McCann and Montour but also Kakko’s pre-season injury and how long it took for him to be fully back from that… If the team is actually starting pretty healthy that’s a big difference. The vets are a year older, but overall the team should be off to a healthier and faster start. They also can handle physicality better. If we can get OFM back soon, that will also help a lot. I think they have a very solid chance to shut some people up.
It seemed like there was a lot of talk about how our youth looked good against a Calgary AHL team but that didn’t mean they were ready for a NHL test, well we saw out full NHL squad looking horrible against the same AHL Calgary team…. Then followed it up looking poor vs the NHL’s current cellar dwellers. I know it’s preseason but we seem like we don’t really care about how players play things are already set before they walked through the door. At the stage where we are that might not be the best position for the kraken to be in, maybe create some competition for roster spots? Make the vets prove their worth.
I’m not a huge fan of the move to put kakko on the top line after the injury to Samoskevich. To me it was the perfect opportunity since they have Wright playing wing anyway to move him up with Matty. Hear me out… you could make a strong argument that Wright hasn’t “earned” that opportunity but you could say the exact same thing about Samoskevich. He was given very limited minutes on a not very good FL team with lots of injury holes to fill, he comes to Seattle and instantly becomes a top three player? Going back to Wright… this is a player that we desperately need to succeed for if nothing else turning him into a desirable trade option to get as much value as possible. Why the hell would we not pair him with the center that makes everyone look good and improves everyone’s game? Especially in an injury situation where we need a body to fill that position.
Of note I found Marty’s comments interesting. Mentioning that they were going to be playing with much more tenacity speed and offense this season. That matches up with how we have seen them play in the preseason so far, I wonder if there is a strong focus on changing our system from last season. We did bring in a new offensive coach who is known for a stronger for checking system and as much as he if known as a defensive coach it’s more along the line of the Hurricane system then the crap we saw last season. Was Jessica the problem 🤷♂️. It will be interesting to see how their system develops but so far it looks nothing like last season. I do think we haven’t looked good at least with our vets in the lineup but it needs time to develop.
I feel like we should be playing with more offense and if our lineup isn’t good enough to do it then change the lineup, do not simply play boring no event hockey because we “aren’t good enough” to do otherwise.
Sink or swim Kraken let’s get this sorted this season and focus on a path forward.
I am with you on moving Wright to the Beniers line in Samoskevich’s absense, either him or Winterton who has also looked good this preseason. Kakko can play right wing, but he is left-handed, and, oddly enough, the Kraken are a bit light on left wingers at the moment. Putting Kakko on Catton’s left seems like a natural fit to me. That said, I can see why Lambert may be hesitant given John’s excellent choice for play of the week. Wright, Catton, and Winterton looked dynamite together on that play. We all wanted to see Wright get better at breaking the puck out of the defensive zone, and was that ever a beauty of a break-out. Maybe we give that combo time enough to see if it can keep producing like that. Or maybe they put Wright on Benier’s wing and, like you said, see if that Matty magic rubs off on Shane. Either way, it will be something to watch.
Is it a bad thing for Shane to play with Catton? Not sure. I’m hoping Berkly takes a step. He certainly has the tools. Or maybe it’s better for him to not play with Shane? I actually wouldn’t mind seeing Catton with Samoskevich.
Jessica wasn’t the problem. Lamberts defense was and is the problem. How about that PK? Not exactly a pro level system. Hope we don’t have to watch that much longer. But still, Go Kraken!
Now, I am a Chandler Stephenson fan, but, woof. Two of those goals were on him, and both happend the same way, namely he got drawn up high and lost control of the top of the slot. He can be dangerous short-handed when he gets aggressive like that (he gets two shorties every season), but it looked like the Canucks anticipated that move or at least recognized a potential advantage. On the other two, the whole PK was just a total mess. On the one where the penalty ran out just before the goal, all four guys were watching the puck like it was a game of ping-pong. The only killers who looked good on the night, I thought, were Freddy Gaudreau, who was a one-man show on the first successful kill, and Ryan Lindgren who I just kept noticing for good reasons on 5-on-5 as well. Otherwise… they gotta try some new people on the kill. They can’t be any worse. I almost want to get Oscar Fisker Molgaard in Seattle just for his PK, but I can understand Lambert’s plan to develop his offensive game on the Firebirds’ top line this year. Ha! How funny would it be if, after all the first round picks they have spent on centers, the team’s future star center turned out to be a defense-first guy selected in the second round?
Can we get Matty on the PK now? I know he is already getting a lot of minutes right now as the clear top guy both 5-on-5 and on the power play, but if there is one place where he is desperately needed it’s on the PK. If McDavid can play every phase, why not Matty? I bet he would jump at the opportunity. But maybe I shouldn’t overreact to essentially the second pre-season game, eh?
I’m not defending LL in any way, just curious if the system changes we have seen in preseason carries forward.
This time I won’t fat finger my name 😉
I have little hope of success as long as Lane is Head coach. I know it is preseason but I did not see an system they played that is a winning one. O well, I applied to return to Vancouver. Kranken are too expensive for mme to see games and the Canadian exchange is looking mighty good right now
i know the lines have had catton listed at center and wright listed on the wing, but watching the preseason games wright has been playing more as a center especially in the offensive zone.