Well, the Kraken can’t win ’em all. The Kraken especially can’t win ’em all when they take their entire top scoring line out, two of their top-four defensemen, and their top goalie, and send out whatever’s left to try to stop Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and essentially the entire regular NHL lineup of the Edmonton Oilers.
On Sunday, the Kraken dressed most of their veterans to take on an undermanned and very youthful group of Canucks. Seattle took advantage, looked good, and skated to a 5-3 win. As we said after that game, the result probably should have been taken with a grain of salt, based on which players had participated.
When we saw who was playing for Edmonton on Tuesday compared with who was playing for Seattle, we knew it had the makings of a bloodbath. We were right, but again, the result should be taken with a grain of salt.
Here’s what we took away from Seattle’s shellacking at the hands of McDavid and the Oilers.
Takeaway #1: Connor McDavid is good
Don’t worry, we’ll talk more about the Kraken, but the overarching story of Tuesday’s game was the otherworldly play of McDavid, who predictably drove the bus for the Oilers.
Have you seen this guy? Have you heard about this guy? Watching McDavid on Tuesday was both awe inspiring and terrifying at the same time. The way he was able to navigate the offensive zone doing essentially whatever he wanted was a bit concerning to watch from a Seattle perspective.
16 minutes into the first period, he slipped the puck around Nathan Bastian in a way that made the Kraken forward look a bit like a pylon. He didn’t convert on that play, but seconds later McDavid got the puck back and found new teammate Zach Hyman standing wide open on the doorstep. All Hyman had to do was put his stick on the ice, and McDavid found it for one of the easiest goals of Hyman’s career.
McDavid ended the night with a goal, two assists, three shots on goal, and several jaw-dropping moments.
Takeaway #2: Ryker Evans shows promise
It can be hard to find bright spots in a 6-0 loss, but there were a few for the Kraken. One sliver of silver lining (wow, “sliver” and “silver” are very similar-looking words, aren’t they?) was the play of 19-year-old defenseman Ryker Evans.
Evans, the second-round pick of the Kraken in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft, turned some heads in Saturday’s intra-squad scrimmage. That day, he had a few impressive offensive plays, including one where he toe-dragged around a defender off the rush and nearly scored.
We asked Hakstol if any young players made an impression in today’s scrimmage. He called out Ryker Evans, saying he looked like he “belonged” out there.
Couldn’t agree more. The youngster looked very smooth, showed his impressive offensive skill a couple times. pic.twitter.com/BGYQ2oyxnL
On Tuesday in Edmonton, Evans was back at it, looking smooth and poised on an NHL stage facing some of the best players in the world. He was officially credited with a shot on goal, two blocked shots, and two hits in 20:39 of ice time, significantly more time than we expected him to get.
At this stage, we still fully anticipate that Evans will be returned to the Regina Pats of the WHL, and as does he. But he has shown very well in this training camp and will almost certainly be knocking on the NHL door next season.
Takeaway #3: Joey Daccord impresses in small sample size
The other positive for the Kraken on Tuesday was netminder Joey Daccord, who took over for Chris Driedger in the third period when the score was already 5-0. There were a couple odd plays with the puck by Daccord, but aside from that, he looked rock solid in his Kraken preseason debut, turning away nine of 10 shots and allowing just one goal in five rounds of the just-for-laughs shootout that followed the game.
There were two stops that stuck out. The first was when Kyle Turris received a pass just a few feet outside the crease to Daccord’s left. For a moment, it looked like a sure goal for Turris, but Daccord slid across in plenty of time and gloved the shot, quickly taking away every inch of the open net that Turris had just been seeing.
The second was when McDavid flew into the zone, swooping low to cut around a defender and trying to take the puck across the goalmouth to tuck it around Daccord on the stickside. Daccord read it perfectly and threw a pokecheck that took the puck right off the stick of the best player in the world. It was a gutsy and perfectly executed play by Daccord.
Like Evans, we do not expect Daccord, a friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, to be on the Kraken roster when they break camp. Assuming no injuries to Philipp Grubauer or Driedger, Daccord is Charlotte bound. Still, it’s great to see that the third goalie appears to be NHL ready in case something comes up that presses him into action.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Hello from downtown Spokane, where the Kraken defeated a bunch of guys in Canucks sweaters (there’s a reason I’m not simply calling them “the Canucks”) 5-3 in Seattle’s first-ever preseason game at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Although the outcome was moot, it was a night that will live on in the hearts and minds of Kraken fans everywhere, especially for those in the sellout crowd of 10,208.
I’ll speak from personal experience here. I did not expect to get choked up as the puck dropped and fans started chanting, “Let’s go, Kraken!” But get choked up I did. There were a lot of emotions that came rushing in at that very moment, as the gravity of it all suddenly hit home.
The Expansion Draft was neat. Training camp has been great. But this was different. This was real hockey being played by Seattle’s shiny new NHL team, and thankfully, the rest of the night did not disappoint.
Whoa. Actual chills. We are playing hockey. The fans are chanting, "Let's go Kraken!" Holy guacamole.
Though it’s right to feel optimistic after the victory, expectations should be managed a bit. The Kraken looked like a much better team on Sunday, but the caveat is that they also dressed the majority of what will certainly be their regular lineup when the season gets underway. Vancouver, on the other hand, trotted out quite a few young players and prospects, including two goalies who are unlikely to crack an NHL roster any time soon.
Here are our takeaways from Seattle’s preseason-opening win Sunday night in Spokane.
Takeaway #1: The depth players mean business
At the onset of training camp, I delved into which Kraken players I thought should be carefully monitored by fans. I had Ryan Donato and Riley Sheahan as probables for making the roster but perhaps challenging one another for playing time. Meanwhile, I surmised Morgan Geekie would really have to prove himself in camp just to make the big club on opening night.
Lo and behold, all three found themselves on the scoresheet Sunday, with Geekie notching two goals (his first was a strange and lucky gift, courtesy of Vancouver), and Sheahan and Donato getting one apiece.
But it wasn’t just about the goals. Those guys were involved offensively seemingly all night. Geekie easily could have had a couple more, as could Donato. It’s still very early, but if training camp were to end this week, it would be nearly impossible to leave any of those three in the press box or off the initial roster. If things continue this way, head coach Dave Hakstol is going to have some extremely tough decisions on his hands over the next couple weeks.
Dave Hakstol on the sentiment in the room, performances of some individuals tonight: pic.twitter.com/O97YXksGcL
At the Expansion Draft in July, Brandon Tanev — who had previously played with McCann in Pittsburgh — confidently stated that not only was Seattle getting a great guy, it was getting a great player as well.
McCann was slotted on the top line with Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz and came out with guns ablaze on Sunday, driving offensive zone time and creating scoring chance after scoring chance.
In the first period, he hit the post on Seattle’s first power play and later had two consecutive open looks from right on the doorstep but was robbed twice by Latvian man of mystery Arturs Silevs.
Jared McCann was outstanding in the Kraken’s win over the Canucks. (Photo Brian Liesse)
In the second, McCann rifled a shot from the left halfwall that caught Silevs up high and caused the Canucks netminder to delay the game while he recovered. Seconds later, with Seattle on the power play, McCann took a similar shot from the left face-off dot that found it’s way just under the bar and leveled the score at 2-2.
After the game, McCann said he recognizes general manager Ron Francis is giving the players a great opportunity here, and he plans to “take full advantage of it.” Sunday was a great start toward proving that to the Kraken brass.
By the way, since I mentioned Brandon Tanev in this takeaway, we do need to point out that he did one of the funniest things in the history of post-game media scrums on Sunday:
half-naked brandon tanev sneaking past jack rathbone's post-game interview is the highlight of the day pic.twitter.com/L2KZBZPdEg
Honestly, that’s some pretty quick thinking to use the curtain in that way to slide past. He’s like the world’s worst magician doing the world’s worst disappearing act.
Takeaway #3: Hints at what Kraken Game Ops department has up its sleeve
Though this game was played in a Western Hockey League building — the Spokane Chiefs’ home building, there was definitely an NHL feel to the overall presentation. The videos played throughout were funny, thoughtful, and well produced. My own personal favorite piece of content was when the voice of Freddie Mercury rang through Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, getting the crowd to sing back with several variations of “Day-o!”
Though the voice heard was that of the legendary Queen frontman performing at Live Aid from Wembley in 1985, the image on the video board was that of an animated blowfish. It reminded us once again that we are in the world of the Kraken, which exists solely at the bottom of the sea. There, the inhabitants are fish that sound exactly like Freddie Mercury.
We also saw the likes of SpongeBob and Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory requesting additional noise from the fans, and we heard several options for goal songs during the course of the night. I also loved hearing a little riff from Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Posse on Broadway,” which played under and just after the announcement of the first goal.
Without the bells and whistles of the state-of-the-art Climate Pledge Arena, the Kraken put on a really good show in Spokane. I, for one, cannot wait to see how the finished product will look.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
SPOKANE – The game didn’t count in the standings, and to drive that point home the NHL didn’t send a statistician to tally who scored the goals. But to the Seattle Kraken franchise, its players, and fans, the game meant everything. It meant that NHL hockey was here.
Over 10,000 fans packed into the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena Sunday and cheered every move the Kraken made during a 5-3 preseason win over their would-be rivals, the Vancouver Canucks. Winning felt like icing on the cake.
Playing the game meant the Kraken had won no matter the final score.
“It was unbelievable to be honest,” Kraken forward Ryan Donato said. “I’m from the East Coast, so I’ve never been out here, and it just goes to show how exciting hockey is and how much it’s growing. Coming in here and seeing all the Kraken jerseys and how everything’s grown so fast, it’s truly awesome to be a part of it.”
Donato scored a power-play goal Sunday – Seattle would score three power-play goals despite little to no work on special teams during training camp – and his line with center Morgan Geekie and winger Joonas Donskoi continued to play well.
They were in the Canucks zone throughout the night and helped the Kraken earn nine of the game’s first 10 shots. As efficient as they were, they weren’t the only line to produce.
Jared McCann scored a goal and once again was put together with Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz.
“We have the day off tomorrow, we’ll go back and re-evaluate that and look at the changes that we want to make and some of the new combinations that we want to look at,” Hakstol said. “There are things there that we liked. If we do go away from them to look at something different, we can always come back to that combination. But that’s something we have to really look at closely and we’ll discuss and talk about tonight and tomorrow through the day off.”
Lots of promise
The Kraken showed off what could be possible in the coming season.
While the Canucks iced a younger roster, they still stole their way to a 2-0 lead in the first period. The scores came against the flow of play and were of the odd variety.
The first goal came just after a Seattle power play had expired when Jack Rathbone came out of the box to pick up a loose puck and beat goalie Philipp Grubauer. Shortly after, Vancouver’s Brock Boeser flung the puck into traffic, and it struck a Seattle defender and deflected in.
Just like that, Seattle’s early work had been erased.
Seattle came out in the second period and stuck to the game plan. Riley Sheahan would convert a crafty pass from behind the net by Nathan Bastian to cut into the Vancouver lead. He also solidified himself as the answer to a future niche and borderline minutiae trivia question.
Seattle’s Jared McCann tries to score during the Kraken’s 5-3 preaseason win Sunday. (Brian Liesse photo)
McCann would get the game square when he somehow found an opening on the short side of Vancouver goalie Arturs Silovs’ position in the net.
“(You have to) just move the puck quicker,” McCann said. “I feel like we had to get them running around a little bit. They’re a hard forechecking team, they like to get on the puck a lot. Just make them skate and get tired and open up lanes for you.”
The Canucks would tie the game in the second period, but Geekie would score twice in the third to put the game away.
A moment in Seattle hockey history
It was a successful night for the Kraken on the ice and off.
Winning is nice, but the launch of the Kraken experience felt bigger. The wait was over and instead of debating about arena sites and parking, we can now talk about the Kraken forecheck that pinned Vancouver in its own zone for most of the night.
A full building four hours away from the Kraken’s home was impressive and proved this Kraken squad is in fact Washington’s team.
“To come here to Spokane and play in front of this kind of a crowd on night number one of the exhibition season was awesome,” Hakstol said. “You know, the Spokane Chiefs hosting us and taking care of both teams in this building was a great way to start the exhibition season.”
After a day off Monday the Kraken will next travel to Edmonton to play preseason game two against the Oilers on Tuesday.
The time has come! Here is a quick pre-game video from our own Andy Eide and Darren Brown, as well as the projected Seattle Kraken lineup as they get set to take on the Vancouver Canucks.
We’re hoping you’ll use the comments section on this page as your landing page to communicate with your fellow Kraken community members during the game.
SEATTLE – Kraken prospect Ryker Evans grew up in Calgary, Alberta, watching the Flames and defenseman Mark Giordano. Thursday morning, Evans found himself checking Giordano during quick passing drills on the first day of an NHL training camp.
Later, the two would play together.
“Out there being a D partner with him, it’s surreal,” Evans, 19, said. “I was just soaking it in and learning off of him.”
Learning is the reason Evans is at training camp with the Kraken.
Seattle selected the defenseman during the second round, with pick No. 35, of July’s NHL Entry Draft. Playing in training camp is a valuable experience for Evans as he prepares for his final year in junior hockey with the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats.
“It’s been cool so far,” Evans said. “Just kind of soaking everything in, learning from those older guys. It’s a good pace out there. It was competitive and obviously that’s what makes it fun.”
With Regina last season, Evans led all WHL defensemen in assists with 25 in 24 games. He is poised for another big year with the Pats once he is inevitably sent back by the Kraken.
While he’s practicing against players that are bigger, stronger, faster, and more experienced than he is, this is not completely new territory.
“In the summer we skate with a lot of those pro guys so it’s not too big of an adjustment,” Evans said. “But you’ve just got to give them a bit more respect because they know what to do.”
Evans played half the season last year with budding hockey superstar Connor Bedard. The 15-year-old Bedard was the first player to be granted exceptional status in the WHL, which allowed him to play a year earlier than every other player. He responded by leading the league in scoring until he left to play for Canada in the U18’s where he would set more scoring records.
“He’s obviously a great player and it just came across easily,” Evans said. “We’re both offensive guys and just reading off each other we had a great team and a lot of success.”
For the rest of camp Evans is going to take in every moment, learn from the pros, and go back to Regina to finish his junior career off with a run he hopes will lead to a championship.
He isn’t the only 2021 Kraken draft pick in training camp this week. Third-round pick Ryan Winterton and fifth-round pick Jacob Melanson are soaking up the action with Evans.
Kraken prospect Ryker Evans is soaking in the experience of an NHL training camp. (Brian Liesse photo)
Battle drills and a hard day
The intensity of camp picked up a notch Friday as the Kraken took part in a number of battle drills that included one-on-one action, defensive zone work, and more hitting.
“It was more competitive,” Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol said. “But, you know, there was still a combination of systems and teaching within it.”
There was some hitting, more players knocked to the ice, and at one point Morgan Geekie and Giordano got tangled and crashed into goalie Philipp Grubauer in a moment that got everyone’s attention. All three skated away unscathed.
Going hard against teammates can be tough, but the Kraken managed through without any bad blood bubbling to the surface. The play was hard, it was intense, and it showcased the competitive nature and style the team possesses.
“There’s a boundary that you have to have, and maybe other teams or other camps, you see some fights or whatever, but you don’t want to expect that,” defenseman Vince Dunn said about the Kraken remaining calm. “But, at the same time there’s guys that need to solidify certain roles.”
The ramped up intensity of Friday’s training camp sessions were possible thanks to the work put in during the first day. A great deal of day one was spent on systems and because the team was comfortable, they could add the physical aspects to those systems.
Defenseman Cale Fleury leans on Mason Appleton during Kraken training camp Friday. (Brian Liesse photo)
Seattle is going to be a tough team to play against once the regular season kicks off on Oct. 12 in Vegas. One player referred to Friday’s camp as ‘hard,’ which suggests the Kraken may already be a tough team to play against.
Don’t expect the club to go backwards moving forward, as it’s safe to say that intensity will only rise from here on out.
“I mean we’ve been skating together for a couple of weeks,” defenseman Jamie Oleksiak said. “A lot of us [have], and it’s been a lot of scrimmaging and obviously not too physical. And now that we have a system, we kind of know what we’re doing in the D zone and we can ramp it up a little bit more and play a little more structured. So, I think it’s been a good camp so far and you know we just got to keep up that mentality moving forward.”
A top line may be emerging
Hakstol made a point Thursday of pumping the breaks on lines but did hint that they are beginning to put some combinations together to see how they mesh.
“I want to try to give most of the combinations that we’re starting with an opportunity,” Hakstol said Friday. “Not just one day at a time, that’s not enough to see the ups and downs. So, we’re trying to give each and every combination… a few days together, and maybe one or two exhibition games to really see how it comes together.”
For the second day, Jared McCann was centered between wingers Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz. They played well and showed some chemistry, especially between the two wingers.
On Thursday, Eberle spoke on the connection the two have off the ice thanks to growing up near each other and common connections through their respective brothers. Schwartz echoed those connections on Friday.
“A lot of familiarity there and a really, really smart hockey player ever since he was young,” Schwartz added. “[Eberle is] skilled and sees the ice well, always knows where guys are and always finds a way to get to those open areas so just an easy guy to read off of when he has the puck.”
Biggest laugh of the day
During the morning session the team went through one-on-one battles in the offensive zone.
At one point Haydn Fleury’s stick got in the feet of Adam Larsson’s skates, dropping him to the ice. It was a clear trip.
Despite no refs on the ice, the penalty was still called as the remainder of the team yelled, raised arms, and called tripping.
The Kraken will be back on the ice at training camp Saturday as the team will play a full scrimmage in preparation for Sunday’s preseason opener in Spokane against the Vancouver Canucks.
…And what a day it was! Get caught up on everything that happened at the first day of the first-ever Seattle Kraken training camp with this very fun video that features two very fun Sound Of Hockey Podcast hosts.
