The Kraken got off the schneid with an important—albeit uncomfortably tight—2-1 overtime win over the Sharks on Thursday. With the team getting back to Seattle in the wee hours of the morning, we expected coach Dave Hakstol to nix practice Friday, favoring rest and recovery for his team. Instead, he did call for a brief on-ice session at Kraken Community Iceplex that lasted all of about 13 minutes.
Hakstol explained that with Seattle’s next game against the Edmonton Oilers coming Saturday at 1 p.m., there won’t be time for a morning skate prior to that game. “This just gives us the opportunity to get a sweat, to touch the puck, to get our bodies moving,” said Hakstol. “You know, it was a late night last night, so it was important to get up and get going.”
An important win in San Jose
We’ve talked many times on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast and on this website about the ebb and flow of an 82-game season. Sometimes things are going your way, and sometimes they’re not, and that’s just part of the journey. Things were going well for the Kraken when they won five straight games between Feb. 28 and March 5, but the Kraken fanbase was understandably on edge when the team followed that up with a loss against Ottawa and two more losses against Dallas.
It wasn’t always pretty, but the Kraken got a desperately needed win in San Jose Thursday to stop the bleeding and get things going back in the right direction.
Hakstol gave a lot of credit for the win to netminder Philipp Grubauer, who made 31 saves on the night and only allowed a penalty shot goal to William Eklund. “We didn’t give up any ten-bellers, but we gave up a few chances,” Hakstol said. “He was solid, he was calm, we got going, and obviously the tying goal was a big play for us and got us going back in the right direction.”
Gourde / Tolvanen / Bjorkstrand back together
Another key in the win was the reunited line of Yanni Gourde, Eeli Tolvanen, and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Bjorkstrand had the game-tying goal in the third period off a great stretch pass by Gourde and assisted on Vince Dunn’s overtime game winner.
Hakstol had split that trio up prior to the game against the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 28. He had seemed reluctant to break them apart, as the three had been his most consistent line for some time. But he ultimately slid Bjorkstrand into a top-six role with Jaden Schwartz and Alex Wennberg, replacing Andre Burakovsky on the wing. That change temporarily worked; the Kraken immediately went on a five-game win streak, and we don’t think that’s a coincidence.
But with things going sideways more recently, and the team back on a three-game skid, Hakstol went back to the trio that he knows and trusts for the San Jose game.
“Ollie’s a guy that— he’s found success with Wenny and Schwartz,” said Hakstol. “You know, he’s done a nice job there. But the chemistry that those three guys, he and Gourdie and Tolvy, have is really good.”
Hakstol added that the comfortability between the players stems from being good friends and teammates both on and off the ice.
“They spend a ton of time together off the ice. Half the time, when you walk around the corner of the facility, if you find one of them, you’re going to find all three of them.”
Gourde, Bjorkstrand, and Tolvanen sit in a row next to one another in the dressing room. We asked Bjorkstrand Friday if he likes playing with Tolvanen, and he joked, “No! Hate it!” before Tolvanen responded with a loud, sarcastic laugh.
**Editor’s note: Sound Of Hockey actually had an extensive conversation with both Bjorkstrand and Tolvanen Friday. We hoped to bring you a lot more insight from those players directly, but we had a recording mishap. So, summing up the conversation from memory, they really like playing together and trust one another. The chemistry is certainly there, even in the dressing room.
John Hayden makes his presence known
John Hayden was recalled from AHL Coachella Valley this week. There was no corresponding roster move made, so Jesper Froden remained with the Kraken. After the trade deadline, rosters expand, meaning teams can carry more than the 23 players that were allowed before March 3. This gives the Kraken a bit more roster flexibility, as they had carried two extra defensemen and just one extra forward since the Jaycob Megna deal in early February. Now, Hakstol has the option to insert a physical presence in Hayden when he sees fit.
“He’s just a character, straight-line guy,” said Hakstol. “You know what you’re gonna get, he’s honest in his approach off the ice, he’s honest in his approach on the ice. That [physical] element is a welcome element in our room, and he’s done a nice job whenever he’s been in the lineup for us this year.”
Hayden was physical early and often in San Jose. He laid a big hit on Logan Couture in the first period, and later crashed the net before getting in a skirmish behind James Reimer.
From the clip above, you can see how comfortable Hayden is pushing his opponents around, a quality that doesn’t exist for a lot of Kraken players.
Edmonton Oilers rolling into town
The next game for the Kraken is a big one, as Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Edmonton Oilers visit Climate Pledge Arena Saturday. The intra-division matchup against the world’s best player always brings a heightened level of excitement, but now there are serious playoff implications on the line. Seattle officially trails the Oilers by just one point in the standings but holds a game in hand.
Getting back into the third spot in the Pacific would mean Seattle would take back an “automatic qualifier” spot that gets awarded to the top three teams in each division. Dropping out of the top three means Seattle is in the wild card conversation and fighting with teams in both the Pacific and Central for the final two spots in the postseason.
With the win against the Sharks, the Kraken have a four-point cushion over the Jets, who are in the last wild card spot, and a seven- and eight-point gap over Calgary and Nashville, two teams currently outside the bubble.
So, Seattle is still very much in the playoffs, but sitting in the top three in the division is a much more comfortable place than the wild card race, where there are so many more teams at play.
The Oilers are coming off a convincing 4-1 win over the Stars, a team that just beat the Kraken twice at Climate Pledge Arena. After Saturday’s game, Seattle will go on the road to play Dallas (again), Nashville twice, and Minnesota.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
The Musings post is usually published on Mondays, but with a big Kraken win on Sunday, we thought it might be good to let the victory content breathe a bit.
Kraken Thoughts
When I wrote the Musings last week, I was a little nervous. The boys had just lost three games in a row, and the playoff cushion was starting to shrink. My message was, “Don’t panic,” but if I am going to be honest, my hand was on the panic button.
As an act of defiance, the boys would go a perfect four-for-four on their road trip that ended with a thrilling come-from-behind overtime win against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames got just one point out of a possible six during the same time span. Now, it is Nashville who finds itself just on the outside of the playoff cut with several games in hand on Winnipeg and Edmonton. The Oilers and Jets currently sit in the Western Conference wild card spots.
What a difference a week makes.
Getting back to the Kraken games, all four were either tied or just a one-goal game entering the last minute of regulation play. Even in victory, the first two games of the road trip against St. Louis and Detroit felt a little shaky. Several defensive breakdowns kept those games closer than they should have been, but to the team’s credit, Seattle buckled down and figured out ways to win. It wasn’t until the third game of the week, against Columbus, did the Kraken look like the team we have come to expect this season.
Philipp Grubauer
Most regular readers of this column will know that I am a Philipp Grubauer supporter. I punched the numbers on my abacus and feel that all signs point to Grubi being the better goalie right now. Heading into last week, Grubi was coming off back-to-back losses to Boston and Toronto where he allowed 10 goals over those two games. They weren’t great performances by any statistical measure, but being how well the Bruins and Leafs played those nights, I am not sure Dominik Hasek at the peak of his powers would have made a difference in those games for the Kraken. It made me think that Grubi had been getting the more challenging starts this season, so I looked it up.
The data bears it out. On average, Grubi plays the better teams in the NHL and has faced just five teams under a .500 points percentage. That said, Seattle needs Grubauer to steal some games against the best teams in the league. I do not feel Sunday’s win against the Avalanche would constitute stealing one, but it was a big win against a quality opponent.
Trade deadline
It would have been nice to see the Kraken add a middle-six forward as a stop gap for Andre Burakovsky being out of the lineup and as insurance for any additional injuries down the road. The trade deadline is a time when teams overpay for players, though, and Ron Francis is more disciplined than a lot of us would be in the same position. The team still has draft picks and will have salary cap flexibility rolling into next season, so you wonder if the Kraken might be willing to pull some bigger levers this offseason.
Other Kraken musings:
Francis said Andre Burakovsky was back on the ice for the first time since his injury on Feb. 7. The team has missed him in the lineup. At the time of his injury, he was leading the Kraken in points, and although it has been better lately, his absence is most notable on the power play.
As an indicator of how teams tend to overpay during the trade deadline, the Kraken obtained Oliver Bjorkstrand for just a third- and fourth-round draft pick last summer. First-round picks were being passed around the league like candy last week for players inferior to Bjorkstrand.
Bjorkstrand’s shooting percentage is 12.5 percent since Jan. 1, compared to 5.4 percent prior to New Year’s Day. This is the Bjorkstrand we expected.
Jaden Schwartz had five points over the last three games, and his forecheck to get the puck for Brandon Tanev’s tying goal Sunday could have been the biggest play of the week.
Speaking of big plays, how about Grubauer’s save in Detroit? You never know how a goal there could have impacted the outcome of the game.
Chris Driedger is now 2-1-0 in three starts for the Coachella Valley Firebirds with a .907 save percentage. I believe we will see him get some starts for the Kraken before the end of the season.
If the Kraken finish the season with just 50 percent of the points available, they will finish the season with 97 points. The current forecasted playoff cut is right around 93 points.
Really enjoyed Alison Lukan’s article on the Kraken website on the different possession styles of Bjorkstrand, Wennberg, and Gourde who are all in the league top-10 in takeaways minus giveaways.
Kraken themes for the week ahead
The theme of the week should be getting points where you can, because this week kicks off the toughest 10-game stretch the Kraken will play the rest of the season. Anaheim, Ottawa, and Dallas have been relatively hot teams as of late and will each have their own motivations to beat the Kraken. Getting three out of six points will be fine, but if they can get more, excellent. If the Kraken can get the consistent goaltending from Grubauer (or Jones) and special teams stays hot, at least three points should be expected. The back-to-back games against Dallas should be a benchmark game to see how ready both teams are for the playoffs.
What normally would be thought of as an easy game Tuesday against Anaheim, the Ducks have won four out of their last five games with their only loss in that stretch being an overtime loss to the Washington Capitals. If there is anything the Feb. 20 San Jose game has shown us, you cannot take a night off against a lesser opponent and expect to win.
Thursday does not get any easier with the Ottawa Senators coming to town. Prior to the loss last night, the Senators won five games in a row and will be fighting for their lives to get into the playoffs.
Stick Taps / Player Performance
Philipp Grubauer (SEA) – three wins over four days with a .921 save percentage.
Kyle Jackson (NBB/SEA) – The unsigned seventh-round pick from the 2022 NHL Entry Draft has a five-game point streak for the North Bay Battalion in the OHL.
Jared McCann (SEA) – He had four goals and three assists over his last five games, including his 30th goal of the season, becoming the first Seattle Kraken to hit the 30-goal mark in a season.
Did you realize Jared McCann has scored 30 goals already this season? The former Canuck leads all skaters in shooting impact at even strength. pic.twitter.com/mbdXP4i58i
There has been a lot of talk about how well the Kraken special teams is playing right now. Here is a look at the outcomes of games depending on who wins the special teams in the game.
If you have any questions or comments on Monday Musings, please leave them below, and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Ottawa Senators forward Dylan Gambrell grew up in Bonney Lake, Wash., playing youth hockey for local associations. As his skills grew, he had aspirations to pursue a career in hockey. To do that, he needed to play against better competition and get better exposure to scouts than he could get locally.
At the age of 14, he and his parents decided that he would go to Colorado to play AAA hockey for the Colorado Thunderbirds, one of the top programs in the country.
“That was hard,” he said when asked about it years later. “I remember the day I was leaving. My parents are crying, and I had never seen my dad cry. It was a tough day, but it was totally worth it.”
It worked out for Gambrell who was eventually drafted by the USHL and then went to the University of Denver where he would be drafted by the San Jose Sharks. He is not the only local player to face this decision. The local youth programs are quality programs but don’t have teams that face top talent that can gain their players’ exposure to college and junior scouts.
That can change, however, and the Seattle Kraken’s youth hockey program is hoping to be the fix.
“Washington right now is in a spot where kids leave after they’re 14, 15 years old go to different spots,” director of Kraken youth hockey association Marty Hlinka said. “So, for our region and for our state and for Seattle, and definitely for the Kraken, we want to have a path for the players, where they have a chance to develop, stay at home, go to the same schools, have the same friends.”
That path will be here as soon as next hockey season.
The Kraken and Kraken Youth Hockey Association have been given USA Hockey’s approval to run and operate a AAA hockey program. AAA hockey (also known as Tier 1 hockey) is the top level for youth hockey and the level that many junior and college players are scouted and drawn from.
Seattle Junior and Sno-King hockey are handing their Tier 1 programs over to the Kraken, who will combine the two into one Kraken AAA team.
Tryouts will happen in April, and the Kraken hope to begin play in the fall. Hlinka and his staff are currently looking for coaches and a league to play in, as well as tournaments to travel to and play in.
“The hope is to have the talent actually get better,” Hlinka said. “Because the teams are going to get stronger, I should say, because there’s more talent available, and we’ll see what that looks like.”
For now, the program will include U14, U16, and U18 age groups. Hlinka said they are exploring other age groups and eventually a girls program.
Part of youth development
The Kraken youth program has become a popular place for the area youth to learn and develop as players.
“We opened the building, and since then we have had over 3000 kids take our learn-to-skate program,” Hlinka said. “We have 1000 kids that went through our learn-to-play programs. We have over 400 players in adult leagues and adult learn-to-play… the NHL being here, obviously the kids get more excited. The parents get more excited, and when the Kraken win, it’s a lot more fun. A lot more kids get into the game.”
The Kraken hope to offer a development path from beginner to playing beyond with the AAA program.
“We want to make sure that our development model emphasizes skating, and that’s why all our players that start in our building have to go to a learn-to-skate program,” Hlinka said. “Once they graduate, they go to our learn-to-play program that we’re very fortunate that the NHLPA sponsors.
“So, you learn how to skate, you know how to stand up, fall down without any gear on, so we put the gear on, and now you have the awesome blue jersey with the Kraken logo on it. Then we need to teach you how to skate and play and develop you as a hockey player.”
Hlinka, who has an extensive background playing and coaching at various levels of professional hockey, says that the coaches they ultimately bring in will be experienced in the game and will be in tune with the ultimate development path that the Kraken have implemented.
“There’s a lot of good players here, and we want to make sure that we give them a path if they want to stay. Everybody’s development path is a little different,” Hlinka said. “The hope is we’ll have a Kraken player that started here. We’re here to develop ladies and gentlemen and people, give them life skills that they can use in life when they’re done playing, but at the same time, we’re building hockey players for life.”
The Seattle Kraken took the ice together Monday for the first time since Jan. 28, and it was a sight for sore eyes in several ways. Not only was it the team’s first action since breaking for bye week and the NHL All-Star festivities, but there were several indicators that the previously banged-up group could be made whole again very soon.
We were pleasantly surprised to see every Kraken player (except Joonas Donskoi) present and accounted for at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow, N.Y. That included the likes of previously injured players Matty Beniers, Justin Schultz, Jaden Schwartz, and even Chris Driedger, who took live reps from his teammates for what we believe was the first time since tearing his ACL in the offseason.
Good morning from Long Island, where the #SeaKraken are on the ice.
EVERYONE is here and accounted for, including Justin Schultz, Jaden Schwartz, Matty Beniers, Jaycob Megna, and Chris Driedger. pic.twitter.com/MwsPsTGjS2
Coach Dave Hakstol was unwilling to say who would be officially available for Tuesday’s game against the Islanders, but he did reveal to Sound Of Hockey that at least *some* of the injured players are on track to play.
“We’re gonna wait until tomorrow to get closer to making some decisions,” Hakstol said. “I think a couple of guys should be ready to go by the looks of it, but we wanted to get through today’s practice, and then as we get to tomorrow morning, we should be able to make some final decisions. And there might even be a game-day decision in there.”
So, take that as you will, but all three of Beniers, Schultz, and Schwartz were full participants.
Here is how line rushes shook out for the Kraken at Monday’s practice:
Those who have paid close attention to the team’s lineup this season would recall that before Schultz went down, the defense pairings were practically set in stone, with Jamie Oleksiak playing alongside Schultz on the second pairing.
But, Will Borgen was still paired with Oleksiak Monday, indicating Hakstol and his staff really liked what they saw from that duo in Schultz’s absence.
“We left [Borgen] together today with [Oleksiak],” said Hakstol. “Those two played really well over the last few games with Schultzy out of the lineup. So there’s a potential of leaving that group of four together, and then depending upon Schultzy’s availability coming off the injury, there’s likely some different options in that third pair.”
The “group of four” that Hakstol was referring to was Vince Dunn with Adam Larsson on the top pair and Oleksiak with Borgen on the second pair.
Jaycob Megna’s first Kraken practice
The makeup of Seattle’s third pairing will be interesting to monitor moving forward, especially if Schultz truly is ready for a return. Lest you forget, the team acquired Jaycob Megna Sunday for a conditional fourth-round draft pick, adding another depth left-shot blueliner to the mix.
First look at big Jaycob Megna in #SeaKraken gear, acquired from the Sharks yesterday.
Based on what we saw Monday, we would guess Hakstol is leaning toward keeping Carson Soucy in the lineup for Tuesday, but it’s only a matter of time before Megna, the 6-foot-6 former Shark who played big minutes next to Erik Karlsson, makes his debut.
After seeing Megna practice for the first time, Hakstol said he likes what the 30-year-old brings to the table. “He’s had a pretty fast-moving last 12 hours, but it was good to get him in for practice,” Hakstol said. “He’s done a real nice job this year in a two-way role. He’s been really solid in playing some important minutes, so he’s a guy that we feel really adds to our group on the back end. He’s reliable, he’s a big, heavy body, he can move the puck.”
If everybody is healthy, Seattle looks poised to go back to carrying two extra defensemen and one extra forward, as it did most of last season. We suspect that means Cale Fleury will return to being a healthy scratch (rather unfairly, considering how well he has performed), while one of Megna or Soucy will get the nod each night on the left side of the third pair.
It was a needed break for a banged-up team
The long layoff came at an ideal time for this group, which had recently gone from having all its regulars in the lineup every night to us wondering, Who is actually available to play tonight?
Injuries aside, even the healthy players were showing signs of fatigue after battling through an arduous January schedule.
“The break was good; I mean, we needed a break,” Hakstol said. “Obviously health-wise, we needed a break, mentally, I believe it’s a good time for the break. The guys are— you know, you can see the energy coming back, and you could feel that last night and today. Now we have to dial that into a game level.”
The Kraken coach said he believes the team is ready to get back to work and knows the task at hand on what could be a tough road trip through the New York metro area, then Philadelphia and Winnipeg. He did mention he thinks the “crispness and sharpness” could take a dip in the early going against the Isles, but he expects his club to have good energy.
“It starts tomorrow,” Hakstol added. “Grinding starts tomorrow, and that opportunity starts again.”
Did the team grow closer during the break?
If you follow any Kraken players on Instagram, you know several of them jetted off to tropical locales during the hiatus, with several players heading to Los Cabos and several more checking in from Hawaii.
For the closeness of the team, it was encouraging to see many of the players together, soaking up rays, going on deep-sea fishing excursions, and celebrating a successful first half of the season.
“That’s a characteristic of this group,” Hakstol said. “They like spending time together, and that’s why they spend a ton of time together away from the rink. That’s been part of what’s translated on the ice for us into being a pretty tight, hard-working team.”
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The Kraken get back to game action Tuesday against Bo Horvat and the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Long Island. Our “Twitter intern” plans to be at morning skate, so drop us a follow @sound_hockey for lineup updates.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
There has not been a single Seattle Kraken game since last week’s Monday Musings, but that has not stopped me from obsessing about this team. I have been digging into game logs, goalie data, shooting percentages, and more. Like all good data analysis, not all explorations bear fruit, but I did find some interesting observations in my data journeys this last week.
Shooting percentage
The early season narrative by some in the national media was that the Kraken were on a shooting percentage bender during the month of November, and ultimately their shooting percentage would slide back to Earth and the team would assume their expected place near the bottom of the Pacific Division. Obviously, that has not happened. The Kraken still maintain the highest shooting percentage in the league at 12.0 percent.
I am sure there are still some doubters, but eventually people might need to be open to the idea that this team could be one of the better shooting teams in the league. Some team needs to lead the league in shooting percentage, and it might as well be the Kraken.
Strength of schedule remaining
Another piece of data I looked into was the strength of schedule of the remaining games for Seattle. A concern I wondered about is if the first-place record in the first half was based on the fact the Kraken have generally played weaker teams in the league. Conversely, what does the rest of the season look like from a strength-of-schedule standpoint?
To my surprise, the Kraken have one of the weakest schedules remaining, which should give the team an easier road to the postseason compared with some of its challengers.
This bodes well for the boys of the Puget Sound, but it is worth pointing out the Kings and Flames also have a relatively weak schedule remaining this season.
Trade deadline
We have been getting a ton of questions about what the Kraken should do at the NHL trade deadline. Darren Brown and I were asked about it on KJR last week.
In my humble opinion, I wonder about adding some toughness for the playoffs. No, I am not talking about adding a goon or a fighter, those days are done. I would like to see the team add a bit of a bully that won’t let the Kraken get pushed around in the playoffs. Anybody that has watched the Stanley Cup Playoffs before knows that there is a scrum after every whistle and the checking seems heavier and more frequent. I just wonder what Seattle Kraken player will get opposing teams to think twice before running Matty Beniers. I think of players like Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow for Tampa in their two Stanley Cup wins. Both can score, and they brought a bit of a snarl to the Lightning.
I am not questioning the Kraken’s toughness. There have been several games where it would appear the opposition is trying to bully the team around only to see the Kraken respond in kind. Ryan Donato and Will Borgen have both impressed me with the ability to step up the physicality when needed, and we all know Yanni Gourde does not back down from anyone. So, it is entirely possible that this “skill set” is not needed, but it is something I would like to see.
Other Kraken musings:
The Kraken penalty kill has been on fire lately, having not allowed a power-play goal in seven games. That is 17 power plays killed in a row.
Oliver Bjorkstrand looks like his normal self these days. After posting a 4.0 shooting percentage in his first 30 games with the Kraken, he is shooting 11.8 percent in his 19 games since Dec. 18. He has not finished an NHL season with a shooting percentage under 10 percent since 2017-18, his first full NHL season. He is sitting at 7.1 total for the year right now.
The Kraken announced trading a fourth-round draft pick to the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Jaycob Megna. This was a depth add for an area that was becoming increasingly worrisome. Cale Fleury has stepped in nicely since Justin Schultz went out with an injury, but even with Schultz nearing a return, the blue line was still thin. Gustav Olofsson has been out injured in Coachella Valley, which left just three other defensemen under NHL contracts. Two of those defensemen are Ryker Evans and Peetro Seppala. Evans is having a great season, but he might not be ready for NHL action. Darren had a good write up about the trade and what Megna might bring to the table.
Chris Driedger has been back on the ice for a while now, but Monday marked another milestone by getting onto the ice and taking live reps from his teammates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time he has been taking in a regular practice with the rest of the team.
Chris Driedger in net taking actual reps with his teammates.
It is not Kraken specific news, but it was announced last week that Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights had back surgery and would be out indefinitely. Even in limited time, Stone was second in goal scoring for the Golden Knights this season. Vegas could be in real trouble here with a 2-6-2 record over its last 10 games. It is conceivable that the Golden Knights miss the playoffs for the second year in a row.
By now we have all gotten over that the Kraken were not represented at the NHL All-Star Game, but you still have an opportunity to check out some Kraken prospects representing the Coachella Valley Firebirds at the AHL All-Star Game. Ryker Evans and Max McCormick will play in the game on Monday, airing at 4 P.M. Pacific on the NHL Network.
Shane Wright returned to the lineup for the Windsor Spitfires Thursday and posted a one-goal and two-assist night in the Spitfires 7-4 victory against the Soo Greyhounds. The return was short lived. He was back out of the lineup for the Spitfires two games this weekend due to a lower-body injury.
Kraken prospect and third-round selection from the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Ty Nelson, posted his first career hat trick in the OHL on Sunday. The defenseman has been lighting it up this season with 60 points over 49 games.
The Arizona Coyotes announced that 2021 first-round selection, Dylan Guenther would be assigned to an already stacked Seattle Thunderbirds roster. I thought the 2016-17 Thunderbirds were a lot of fun to watch, but this is going to be insane. There are still plenty of home games before the playoffs start in late March.
The Thunderbirds welcome the Red Deer Rebels to town on Friday. This game should be a good showcase on how the Thunderbirds matchup against one of the top teams from the Eastern Conference.
A bit off the radar, but the University of Washington ACHA club hockey team finished its regular season with a record of 22-2-0. It has been an incredible season for the Huskies as they head to Cheney, Wash., for the Pac-8 Tournament. Good luck to the boys.
Kraken themes for the week ahead
This feels like another tough road test for the Kraken with four games over six days, including a run through the New York City metro area. Game action kicks off Tuesday against the revamped New York Islanders, which now feature Bo Horvat. After the boys go through the New York teams, they play the Flyers in Philadelphia, a team they have never beaten, and then finish the five-game swing in Winnipeg next Tuesday. Hitting the road right after the bye week/All-Star break can be a bit of a challenge, so capturing five out of the possible 10 points would be a success.
Outside of the team success, I think it will be interesting to keep on eye on Bjorkstrand to see if he maintains the same level of play we saw heading into the break. We also will be looking for the returns to the lineup for Beniers, Schwartz, and/or Schultz. Based on early reports out of New York this morning, things are looking good for at least a couple of the injured players to return.
Here are the lines for the #SeaKraken at this morning's practice.
Jacob Melanson (PDS/SEA) – Melanson continues his torrid pace since being traded to the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL. He has six points in his last four games. Ty Nelson (NBB/SEA) – As mentioned above, Nelson had his first career OHL hat-trick on Sunday. Tye Kartye (CVF) – Kartye was an undrafted free-agent signing over the summer and is quietly having a good season in his first year as a professional. Kartye has four goals and three assists over his last six games.
Goal of the week
Add David Goyette to the list of Kraken prospects having excellent seasons for their respective teams. The late second-round draft pick has 30 goals and 31 assists over his 42 games with the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL.
Going into the season, one of the big question marks around the Seattle Kraken was goaltending. The tandem of Philipp Grubauer and Martin Jones has been decent for the season as a whole, but since Dec. 15, they have been performing above the league median.
If you have any questions or comments on the Monday Musings, please leave them below, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. In the meantime, enjoy the week. The Kraken are back!
After a Kraken-player-less NHL All-Star weekend and what has felt like a never-ending hiatus from game action, Seattle finally goes back to work this week with a five-game road trip through the New York Metropolitan area, Philadelphia, and—oddly—Winnipeg. The Kraken acquired Jaycob Megna from the Sharks Sunday, so we wanted to touch on that, but we also thought it was a good time to take stock in what the organization has, consider how it got to its current spot in the standings, and think ahead to what else it might want to add at the NHL Trade Deadline.
Before we get to the Megna deal, we wanted to mention that last season, we wrote a similar State-of-the-Franchise-type article when the Kraken returned from a COVID-induced extension of the Christmas break that resulted in an 11-day layoff. Writing that article was a reckoning for us here at Sound Of Hockey. We are perpetual optimists, but even we had a hard time putting a positive spin on the situation and had begun to realize that the inaugural season had gone sideways with no hope of salvaging it.
The tone of this “State of the Franchise” article will be markedly more positive than that one, as the Kraken exit the All-Star break in first place in the Pacific Division with reason to believe that the team can have sustained success well beyond this season.
Kraken acquire Jaycob Megna from San Jose
Kraken general manager Ron Francis made his first deal in the lead-up to the NHL Trade Deadline Sunday, acquiring 6-foot-6, 220-pound defenseman Jaycob Megna from the Sharks for a conditional fourth-round pick. Megna, 30, is a left shot and has spent most of the season as Erik Karlsson’s defense partner in San Jose, regularly logging north of 20 minutes of ice time in games.
A stay-at-home defenseman that can help on the penalty kill, Megna has four goals and 21 assists in 135 career NHL games over five seasons between Anaheim and San Jose. The 48 games he has played this season are the most he has played in a single campaign in his career, explaining the relatively low cap hit.
Megna figures to be a depth addition to the blue line in Seattle, but interestingly, he is not just a traditional rental; he has a year left on his contract after this season at a team-friendly $762,500. That seems to imply that even if fellow left-shot defenseman Carson Soucy stays with the team past the deadline, Megna would replace Soucy for next season, as Soucy is on an expiring deal.
Jaycob Megna, traded to SEA, is a solid defensive defenceman who has been Erik Karlsson's primary partner on the Sharks' blueline this season. #SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/iECtXJ8oQ1
This is exactly the type of trade we would have expected from Francis and company, and it seems to be a good deal for the Kraken in terms of value. Megna brings size, depth, good analytics, PK improvement, a low cap hit, and another year of term, and he cost Seattle next to nothing.
It will be interesting to see where he slots in.
Are the Kraken nasty wasty?
There’s a running not-so-inside joke between Sound Of Hockey and Kraken radio voice Everett Fitzhugh that dates back to the pre-season. Seattle got off to a great start in its September and October tune-up games. Even as the lineup got shuffled to give bubble players opportunities and to manage workloads, the team was finding different ways to win, regardless of who was playing each night. Fitzhugh said he would look around the arena during games and wonder to himself, Are the Kraken… good?
Sound Of Hockey shared the cautiously optimistic sentiment with Fitzhugh and escalated the question to, Are the Kraken… nasty? And then, Are they… nasty wasty?
Fast forward four months, and the Kraken have proven that they are, in fact, nasty. But are they nasty wasty? We say the jury is still out on wastiness, but the first unofficial half of the season laid a solid foundation for Seattle to hit nasty wasty status.
Coming in, we knew the team had improved over last season, but in the early stages, we had a hard time believing it would be competitive all season long.
We started to trust our eyes in early November. Backstopped by Joey Daccord, Seattle came back from two goals down in the third period to beat Calgary on the road, then followed that up with impressive wins in Minnesota and Pittsburgh to sweep the three-game trip.
From there, the club steamrolled its way through November with an outrageous 10-1-1 record before predictably faltering in December. As it always goes after long win streaks in the NHL, bad habits crept in while the team was cruising through victories in the month prior.
But, to the credit of the players and the coaching staff, they all seemed to get pissed off after getting smoked on home ice by Edmonton to close out the 2022 calendar year, and they responded by righting the ship and putting together an exceptional month of January. The team set an NHL record with a perfect two-week, seven-game road trip to earn 14 standings points and closed out the month with an 11-3-1 record.
If Seattle has a similarly successful month of February, it will officially be time to call the Kraken nasty wasty.
How we got here
Before the season, Francis, coach Dave Hakstol, and several Kraken players indicated the team’s goal was to make the playoffs. We are certain none of them expected to be in first place in the Pacific Division at the All-Star break with 63 points, having already surpassed their 2021-22 total for the entire season.
So how did this turnaround happen?
First, Francis and his front office made a series of shrewd moves in the offseason that changed the makeup of the roster. By signing Andre Burakovsky to a five-year, $27.5 million contract, trading for Oliver Bjorkstrand, and getting Matty Beniers back for his first full NHL season, the Kraken effectively added a full top-six forward line.
Though streaky in his productivity, Burakovsky quietly leads the team in scoring with 39 points. Bjorkstrand hasn’t scored in the way we would have expected, but even when he isn’t scoring, he finds ways to make himself impactful. He has also now settled onto a line with Yanni Gourde and Eeli Tolvanen (more on him in a moment) that looks like the real deal. Beniers, who leads all NHL rookies in goals (17) and points (36), was selected for the All-Star Game but couldn’t attend due to injury.
Andre Burakovsky leads the Kraken in scoring with 39 points on the season. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
That’s an impactful trio of Killer B’s.
And let’s not forget the offseason additions of defenseman Justin Schultz, who has quarterbacked the power play and brought balance to Seattle’s blue line, and goaltender Martin Jones, who has had a renaissance year en route to a 23-7-3 record.
Via waivers, the Kraken also layered in an in-season steal of the 23-year-old Tolvanen, who has burst onto the scene with eight goals in 13 games. His wicked shot and hard work away from the puck have earned him the trust of the coaching staff, and as he continues to impress on that line with Gourde and Bjorkstrand, he’s looking more and more like one of the best waiver wire pickups of all time.
Improvement from within
The turnaround hasn’t just been about personnel changes, though. Seattle has gotten contributions from the entire roster, from Cale Fleury, who has recently filled in seamlessly for an injured Schultz, to Jared McCann, who could pot 40 goals this season.
And one of the great constants of the group has been its non-traditional fourth line, which wreaks offensive havoc on its opponents night in and night out. The key players on that line, Daniel Sprong, Ryan Donato, Morgan Geekie, and sometimes Brandon Tanev, have brought a consistent effort that creates chances without giving up much defensively.
Sprong and Donato are both having career years, and both are remarkable stories. Neither player was qualified by the team after last season, and after testing the market, the duo ultimately landed back with the Kraken on one-year deals. Heck, Sprong didn’t even have a contract when he got to training camp on a professional try-out, but he has earned everything he’s gotten this season, including his career-best 15 goals.
Speaking of career years, Vince Dunn has blossomed on Seattle’s top defense pairing, meshing with stay-at-home veteran Adam Larsson and contributing at both ends of the ice. Dunn has erupted for 36 points on the year and set a franchise record by recording a point in eight straight games in January.
Vince Dunn has been a leader on Seattle’s blue line. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
In the goal crease, Philipp Grubauer has effectively lost his starter role to Jones, but he too has improved after a disastrous first season in deep sea blue. Grubauer hasn’t gotten the same goal-scoring support from his team as Jones, which has led to an uninspiring 5-8-2 record. But, according to MoneyPuck, his expected goals saved has improved from -33.7 last season to +2.9 this season, while his save percentage has risen marginally from .889 to .897.
We expect Hakstol to continue giving Jones the lion’s share of starts—sticking with one primary goalie has been Hakstol’s modus operandi over the last two seasons—but Grubauer will undoubtedly play a key role down the stretch.
Mix all those impressive individual performances with a group that appears to have fully bought into Hakstol’s systems and philosophies, and you get a massive improvement from one season to the next.
Health concerns
Helping Seattle’s cause in its first half was a remarkably healthy squad… until recently.
The injury bug started biting when Jaden Schwartz disappeared from the lineup on Jan. 12. Schwartz, who is a key cog in Seattle’s top six, missed 45 games in 2021-22 with an issue that we believe he is still managing. It has become commonplace for Schwartz to either miss morning skates or to skate on his own in a tracksuit, only to be in the lineup that same night. It remains unclear if Schwartz’s recent absence is related to the same issue from last season or if it is something new.
Schultz left the game in Edmonton on Jan. 17 and hasn’t been seen on the ice since. The puck-moving defenseman took an innocuous-looking hit into the end boards and skated off looking fine. But he exited early and is on injured reserve, deemed “week-to-week” before the break by Hakstol.
Meanwhile, the Beniers injury was downright disappointing. After getting tossed by a completely unnecessary hit by Vancouver’s Tyler Myers, Beniers twisted awkwardly and then hit his head on the ice. With the timing of the All-Star break, the budding star has only missed two games but had to sit out from what should have been an unforgettable experience in South Florida.
The good news on this front is that Hakstol shared after the Columbus game on Jan. 28 that he doesn’t think any of the injuries are “too long term.” That’s about as specific as we’ve ever heard Hakstol get with timelines, so we’re hopeful the injured players will be able to return soon after the break. If that ends up being the case, the hiatus came at exactly the right time, giving Seattle time to lick its wounds after a brutal January schedule.
What else to add at the Trade Deadline?
The front office and the coaching staff have pressed all the right buttons this season. After selling off anything of value at last season’s NHL Trade Deadline and collecting up a treasure trove of draft picks, the Kraken are poised to be buyers before March 3. Francis has already showed with the Megna trade that he is willing to continue pressing buttons.
Francis is notorious for playing his moves close to the vest—the trades for Megna and Bjorkstrand are great recent examples—so throwing out any other specific trade targets would be complete speculation. That said, the team has a plan for long-term success, and we do not believe it will make moves that blow holes in that plan, i.e., trading away top prospects or first-round draft picks for rental players. Megna fits this profile.
In addition to this defensive depth, we think a forward that can provide grit and an occasional offensive punch could also help, and players like that can be added without altering the chemistry dramatically or breaking the bank.
The Kraken will return to the ice for practice Monday on Long Island before taking on the Islanders Tuesday at UBS Arena.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
