Halfway through their season opener in Calgary on Oct. 1, the Seattle Kraken were leading 3-0. They didn’t have the hottest start to that game, but a young line made up of Berkly Catton, Shane Wright (sorry for bringing him up, but he was part of the story that night), and Ryan Winterton had put the Flames on their heels for a few shifts in the first period and created momentum for their teammates. That led to a 6-1 drubbing and an encouraging launch to the 2026-27 campaign.

As I watched the game tilt in Seattle’s favor from the rickety old press box that dangles above the playing surface at Scotiabank Saddledome, a pro scout leaned over to me in an unsolicited manner and asked, “Does Berkly Catton ever play on the first line?” He then followed that up very matter-of-factly with, “He’s Seattle’s best player.”

Seattle’s best player?! That was a big statement to wrap my head around.

The answer to the initial question was yes, Catton did spend a few games on Seattle’s top line at the end of last season. But that follow-up statement from somebody whose full-time job is to evaluate talent on teams around the NHL was striking.

As a 19-year-old in the NHL last season, Catton had moments where he looked out of his element. He spent his first 27 pro games without scoring a goal, and although he often showed flashes of raw skill, it felt like there was a long runway for him to become a key contributor on the Seattle Kraken.

It was an eye-opening rookie season, but it also gave Catton an understanding of what it’s like to face adversity and showed him where he needed to improve.

“I think last year was a big learning year for me in lots of ways,” Catton said. “Like, you come into the year not knowing what’s going to happen, crack the squad, don’t score for 27 games. And then at that point you’re kind of like, ‘Alright, the mental side of the game is important.’”

So that was how his first season in the NHL went. He did show plenty of improvement as the campaign wore on, but we didn’t expect him to be in the “best player” conversation to start 2026-27.

And yet, there we were at Game 1 of Catton’s second season, and somebody in the know was calling him “Seattle’s best player.” Is he the star that the Seattle Kraken have so desperately needed?

Elite skill shining through

Catton largely credits his improvement to his offseason training “tour,” in which he spent time in Vancouver and Boston practicing with some of the league’s most elite talent. Along with roommates Mackie Samoskevich and Matty Beniers, Catton skated and competed with players like Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Charlie McAvoy, Noah Hanifin, Zach Benson, Logan Stankoven, and several others.

“That was pretty fun to see [those guys operate], and obviously I think it helped my game a lot too to kind of just watch those guys and pick their brains,” Catton said.

When you consider that list of names, it’s easy to see how Catton may have gone from a wide-eyed 19-year-old who was “in awe of just realizing he was where his dream is,” as defenseman Brandon Montour said, to driving the bus offensively for the Seattle Kraken.

Fast forward from Game 1 of the season to Seattle’s most recent contest this past Wednesday against those same Calgary Flames. It was Catton who put the Kraken on his back and dragged them out of an early-game sleepwalk, first creating momentum with a goal that was ultimately disallowed for offside.

Having a goal negated can take a young player off his game and hurt his confidence, but not Catton. Instead, he struck again in the second period, taking a pass from Samoskevich, shooting in stride from the right circle, and sniping it over Dustin Wolf’s glove. That was Seattle’s only goal of the game before Matty Beniers scored on a breakaway in overtime to win it for the Kraken.

THE LI’L CAT! 🐱 🚨 This one counts. Samoskevich finds Berkly coming over the line with speed, and he snipes it over Wolf’s glove. 1-1 #SeaKraken https://t.co/JSRq4oRdxC

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 5, 2026

On those two plays, Catton showed everything that makes him such an exciting young player: the speed, the hands, the hockey sense, and even the shot.

Catton’s development from last season to this season is plain to see. He’s playing fast and confidently, and when he gets on the ice, you can see that he doesn’t just want to “belong” in the NHL; he wants to be the guy who takes the reins and drives his team to victory.

Wednesday was a fine example of Catton being Seattle’s best player.

With his performance so far this season, Catton has put himself into elite company. Comparing him with other active players in their “draft-plus-two” seasons, meaning two years after they were selected in the NHL Draft, Catton ranks 23rd in points per game.

The names on this list are quite impressive, and Catton now fits right into this group.

Teammates noticing Catton’s progression

NHL veterans know an impact player when they see one, and they see one in Berkly Catton. Montour said he could see it right away when Catton made the team out of Training Camp last season.

“The whole year, you could tell his skill, his speed,” Montour said. “He needed to get the confidence, the belief that he can do it… And now, I think just another summer going into camp, you can tell he’s got another step to him, and it’s translated the first month noticeably.”

Meanwhile, center Freddy Gaudreau has been thoroughly impressed by what he’s seen from Catton, playing in the best league in the world at such a young age. Gaudreau put it into perspective by comparing what Catton has accomplished at age 20 to his own path through the QMJHL, where he played parts of three seasons with the Shawinigan Cataractes and half a season with the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

“When I was 19, it was my second year of junior. And that’s when he came [into the NHL],” Gaudreau said.

One year before that, Gaudreau recalled that he considered bailing out of a major junior Training Camp opportunity because he was so anxious about how it would go.

“My first year junior was 18, and I was nervous,” Gaudreau remembered. “I almost didn’t go to camp because I was too nervous. And actually, my mom was like, ‘Hey, we’re on the road trip.’ We stopped to eat, and she’s like, ‘We made it that far, you’re going to camp. At least just do one day, and if you don’t like it, leave. I was so nervous, you know? And [Catton] was showing up at an NHL Training Camp [at that age].”

For Gaudreau, now 33 years old, it took eight more seasons beyond that petrifying first junior camp to crack the NHL, which highlights just how rare it is to step straight from junior hockey into the NHL. Gaudreau recognizes that Catton has elite skill, but he thinks it’s the young Saskatoon, Sask., native’s mental fortitude that has helped him leap into this position as (perhaps) Seattle’s most dangerous player.

“He’s very smart, in my opinion, very smart socially,” Gaudreau said. “The way he carries himself, and then I feel like it translates on the ice more and more, where it’s like you don’t… At first you kind of observe everything, and the game is intimidating because [the other players] are men, and they’re older. And then eventually, it translates in a way that you just become part of that flow. And then once you become part of that flow, you want to turn a notch higher where you want to be good in that flow and better in that flow and one of the best in that flow.

“You can see his brain is translating more and more towards [wanting] to make a difference. And that’s what impresses me more, because then he has the skills to do that, but his brain wants that more too. You can see his brain is carrying him and is going to keep carrying him in the right direction, in my opinion. So that’s what impresses me more.”

That’s high praise from a player who has been around the league since 2016-17 and played 493 career games across four different teams. Gaudreau is a guy who has seen a lot of players come and go.

“And then, like I said, to back that up, he’s got all the skills in the world.”

National media also starting to catch on

You could tell that Catton had moments of doubt last season, especially when the calendar year turned over from 2025 to 2026, and three months into the season, he still had not scored his first professional goal.

“I worked on [the mental side of hockey] a lot,” Catton said, thinking back to the challenges he experienced as a rookie. “And I think as crappy as that was in the moment [to not score for 27 games], I think I did learn a lot from that and how to deal with that kind of adversity.

“Coming into this year, it was just about being positive and looking forward and being excited for every day, which I’ve done and I’m going to continue to do.”

While Catton’s teammates saw his potential, it was fascinating to watch the national sentiment toward him take a hit last season after he went from highly regarded prospect to NHL rookie struggling to produce… again… as a 19-year-old making the jump straight from the Western Hockey League.

Had the Kraken sent Catton back to the Spokane Chiefs, and had he scored a bajillion goals in a league that he torched for 109 points in 57 games as an 18-year-old in 2024-25, Catton’s stock in national circles probably would have remained high entering this season.

That’s not what Seattle did, though, instead opting to keep him with the big club and let him take his lumps and learn at the highest level. And because Catton only notched 17 points (7-10—17) in 66 games in 2025-26, pundits began questioning whether he could be an impact player.

But even those folks are coming around again and starting to notice what Catton is doing this season, in which he’s already racked up 12 points (5-7—12) in 15 games.

As one example of a national writer taking notice of Catton, The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn recently wrote: “It’s always interesting seeing young players taking steps early in the season and whether they can sustain it. The Seattle Kraken, who are in desperate need of star power, could have a real one in Berkly Catton, taken eighth in 2024.”

“I mean, whatever,” Catton said with a laugh when asked about national media recognizing his come-up. “I don’t know, I haven’t really looked at it, to be honest. I feel like when you’re in the year and playing and in the games, you’re just kind of playing, and I’m trying to do the best I can. And obviously I feel like I am getting a little more comfortable and making more plays and stuff. So I’ve just got to continue doing that, and I think the other stuff will fall into place.”

If he keeps playing the way he has through 15 games, Catton will start seeing national media writing about him a lot. Because he is Seattle’s best player, and he is turning into a true star.