With two wins in two games, both against Pacific Division opponents, it was a strong opening week for the Seattle Kraken. It wasn’t perfect, but honestly, I don’t think anyone could’ve scripted a better start to the Lane Lambert era.
For the first time in franchise history, the Kraken not only won their season opener but their home opener as well, taking down the up-and-coming Anaheim Ducks 3–1. The first period was rough; Seattle was outshot 17–5, but Joey Daccord was stellar, and the game was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes.
To Seattle’s credit, most of Anaheim’s shots came from the outside and were low-danger looks, but that kind of shot differential still jumps off the page. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little worried after that first period, even with the score level.
Things turned around in the second. The Kraken tilted the ice when Brandon Montour stole a puck with some slick stick work, battled to keep possession, and set up Mason Marchment for Seattle’s second goal. At that moment, shots were 20–5 for Anaheim. The rest of the way? 25–16 for Seattle.
A different kind of game against Vegas
The matchup with Vegas had a completely different vibe, more balanced, but still a strong showing. The Golden Knights are loaded up front, so holding them to just one power-play goal (after they scored nine in their first two games) was no small feat.
Heading into overtime, Vegas had a 24–15 edge in shots, but the Kraken dominated the extra frame, controlling play and outshooting the Knights 7–3.
“On the game as a whole, in 5-on-5 play, the Kraken generated 43.8 percent of all shot volume but 57 percent of all shot quality. In regulation, the first period was the team’s strongest in each metric.”
And that doesn’t even include overtime, where the Kraken clearly built on that shot-quality advantage.
Speaking of overtime… let’s relive that winner that was buried with just 3.4 seconds left on the clock.
The Kraken have one power-play goal in five opportunities, not a big sample size, but there’s plenty to like so far. They’re working the puck below the goal line more, setting up options in the slot, and finding cross-ice seams for dangerous looks.
Here’s a look at the power-play time on ice so far:
Chandler Stephenson is logging heavy minutes while Kaapo Kakko remains out of the lineup. One name missing from the mix, though, is Jani Nyman, who was used in the one-timer spot late last season.
Other musings
The Kraken’s win over the Anaheim Ducks marked their 10th all-time victory against Anaheim, the most they’ve recorded against any opponent.
Conversely, heading into the Vegas game, the Kraken were just 3–11–1 all-time against the Golden Knights. But over the past three seasons, Seattle has flipped that script, going 3–0–1 against Vegas, including that memorable first-ever win at the Winter Classic.
The Kraken scored first in both games to open the season. That’s notable, considering they struck first in just 43 percent of their games last year, the third-lowest rate in the league. They also won less than 30 percent of the games in which they gave up the first goal, so playing from ahead is huge.
I’d really like to see Shane Wright get going on this upcoming road trip through eastern Canada. The opportunity is there, and a little momentum early could do wonders for him.
The ice has felt tilted in Seattle’s favor whenever the Jared McCann-Matty Beniers-Jordan Eberle line has been on together. That trio looks sharp and seems to be finding its rhythm again.
Ryan Winterton has also really impressed me through two games. He’s been noticeable breaking up plays and playing a strong two-way game. The coaching staff clearly trusts him too, as he didn’t miss a shift in the third period of the Vegas game.
On the flip side, Jani Nyman has averaged just 8:14 of ice time with no power-play minutes over the first two games. It’s not anything to panic about, but it’s quite a contrast from last season, when he averaged 14 minutes a night and played in almost half of Seattle’s power-play opportunities during his 12-game stint.
I’m also glad to see the Kraken organization welcome Joel Quenneville back to the league in the right way.
As much of a slog as that third period was against Vegas, that’s probably the kind of grind-it-out hockey the Kraken will need to play to beat elite, high-skill teams.
Overseas, 2025 seventh-round pick Loke Krantz made his SHL debut for Linköping HC and notched an assist in his first game.
Meanwhile, down in the desert, the Coachella Valley Firebirds got off to a rough start, dropping their home opener 5–0 to the San Diego Gulls. It could be a challenging season ahead for the Firebirds; they’re one of the youngest teams in the AHL.
Goal of the week
There were plenty to choose from with the Kraken this week, but this whole sequence was just too good to pass up.
Matty Beniers (SEA) – Has a goal and two assists on the Kraken’s four goals so far this season.
Joey Daccord (SEA) – Sporting a .968 save percentage through the Kraken’s first two games and came up big in key moments of both. According to MoneyPuck.com, he ranks fifth in the league in Goals Saved Above Expected.
Jake O’Brien (BFD/SEA) – The Kraken’s first-round pick in the 2025 draft exploded for four goals and four assists in two games over the weekend.
The week ahead
The Kraken hit the road for a six-game road trip, starting Tuesday in Montreal for the Canadiens’ home opener. When the schedule came out this summer, this stretch jumped out as a tough early-season test, especially with players learning new systems under a new coaching staff.
Getting two wins at home probably helped accelerate the buy-in from the group which should be valuable heading out on the road. This week, Seattle faces Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. It’s still tough to gauge how good any of these teams really are and all three of these opponents already have losses. I’d be fine with three points out of a possible six, though four sure would feel nice.
What I’m watching:
Goaltending: Joey Daccord has started the first two games, but it’s hard to imagine the team wants him playing all three this week while Philipp Grubauer and Matt Murray gather dust.
Berkly Catton: I’m guessing Catton gets into a game after being a healthy scratch for the first two at home. I don’t mind the scratches, but you’d think he gets a look soon. Not sure if it means anything, but Beniers, Wright, and Winterton all made their NHL debuts on the road.
This trip should be another solid test for the Kraken. As I mentioned during the Kraken Roundtable, I just want to see them compete and be in every game.
Final thoughts
It’s early, but the vibes around the Kraken feel good — structure, effort, and a couple of new faces already making an impact. There’s still plenty to clean up, but two wins out of the gate and some promising trends under Lane Lambert? You’ll take that every time.
The preseason is done, and we’re just days away from the season opener at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday night, when the Seattle Kraken take on the Anaheim Ducks.
Every season starts with a sense of optimism, and this one is no different. With seemingly every media outlet down on the Kraken’s playoff chances, Seattle should come into the year with a chip on its shoulder and a “prove them wrong” mindset.
I’m not saying this is a no-doubt playoff team, but I do think they’ll be more competitive than pundits are giving them credit for. One of the biggest challenges last season was defensive structure, and the arrival of new head coach Lane Lambert should help tighten that up. The Kraken also made some subtle but strategic moves this offseason, acquiring Mason Marchment and Frederick Gaudreau, along with free-agent signings of defenseman Ryan Lindgren and goaltender Matt Murray. None of these moves are flashy, but each one addresses a specific need.
The return to depth scoring?
One of the keys to success for the Kraken this season will be rediscovering the depth scoring they had in 2022–23. That season, Seattle was one of just six teams with six or more players scoring 20-plus goals. During 2024–25, four teams hit that mark—and all four made the playoffs. There’s nothing magical about the 20-goal threshold, but it’s a solid indicator of depth scoring.
In fact, the Kraken’s 2022–23 success went deeper than just their top scorers. Beyond their 20-goal players, another seven skaters had 13-plus goals that year.
To see how Seattle’s current depth stacks up against the Pacific Division, I did a quick analysis. I looked at each team’s current roster, summed total goals over the past three seasons, and divided by total games played to get an average goals-per-game rate. I filtered out anyone with fewer than 50 games over that stretch, then isolated the top 12 forwards and top six defensemen for each team to visualize potential depth scoring.
The chart below gives a quick snapshot of where each Pacific team’s goals are likely coming from by using the players’ historical scoring rates as a proxy:
This is a simple analysis, but it highlights how the Kraken are light on elite goal scoring (the “dark red” tier) yet well stocked in the middle tiers. Collectively, their roster averaged the fourth-most goals per game (3.201) in the division over the last three seasons. The blank cells indicate players with fewer than 50 NHL games during that span—guys like Berkly Catton, Jani Nyman, and Ryan Winterton.
Berkly Catton has made the team… for now
One of the biggest preseason questions was whether Berkly Catton would make the roster and play more than nine games, the threshold for burning a year off his entry-level contract. Step 1 was simply being on the roster at the NHL’s deadline, and as one of 23 players who made that cut, he’s cleared that first hurdle.
Catton has shown flashes that he can play at the NHL level. He looked terrific in the preseason game against Calgary, but also had a rough outing against Edmonton, taking three penalties in the first period and committing a couple of turnovers. The talent is clearly there, but the jump from junior to the NHL is huge, and he’ll need time to adjust to the pace and physicality. He’s still learning, but every shift he plays this season is another step toward becoming a cornerstone piece for Seattle’s future.
It’s worth noting how rare it is for a 19-year-old rookie to play a full NHL season. Last year, only two did: Matvei Michkov (26 goals, 37 assists) and Will Smith (18 goals, 27 assists). If Catton sticks and produces at Smith’s level, that would be a massive success.
Other Musings
The Kraken trimmed the roster to the NHL-required 23 players on Monday, meaning Catton, Nyman, and Winterton have made it, for now. The team isn’t required to stay at 23, though.
The real intrigue will be how those three slot into the lineup. At least one should dress on Thursday.
Fun fact: Ryan Winterton has played the most NHL games of any third-round pick from the 2021 Draft.
Frederick Gaudreau scored in the shootout last Monday. He’s a shootout dynamo, converting 52.6 percent of his career attempts, the best on the Kraken and fifth-highest in the NHL.
Seattle’s 2025 first-round pick, Jake O’Brien, was injured in the final 20 seconds of Brantford’s game against Windsor on Saturday and needed help off the ice.
In case you missed it, Joey Daccord had his jersey retired by Arizona State University. Watch here.
The much-anticipated PWHL schedule dropped earlier this week, with PWHL Seattle’s home debut set for November 28 (Black Friday).
Only four home games in October! That must mean it’s road trip season.
The AHL kicks off this week, and Coachella Valley’s young roster is packed with Kraken prospects. This should be a fun Firebirds season to keep tabs on.
Julius Miettinen (EVT/SEA) – The newly signed Kraken prospect was on fire this weekend, posting four goals and three assists in three games.
Kim Saarinen (HPK/SEA) – The Finnish netminder and Kraken prospect is off to a strong start in Liiga, going 4-0-3 with a 1.82 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.
Ryan Winterton (SEA) – It’s only preseason, but Winterton impressed with two goals in the finale. He might slot into the fourth line, but don’t expect it to be a “traditional” grinding fourth line. He has also skated on the third line in recent practices, with Jani Nyman on the fourth.
The week ahead
The Kraken open their season at home with two great matchups: the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday and the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
With Joel Quenneville back behind the bench in Anaheim and a promising young core, the Ducks are expected to take a step forward this year. Both teams want to be in the playoff hunt come April, so even though it’s just one game, this matchup matters for early division positioning.
Saturday’s tilt with Vegas will be a real test. The Golden Knights are, in my opinion, the best team in the Pacific and maybe the entire NHL. It’ll be fascinating to see how the Kraken’s depth and Lane Lambert’s system stack up against Vegas’s firepower.
And finally…
A huge thank you to everyone who came out to Sound Of Hockey Fest over the weekend, and to all of our incredible guests. I’m constantly blown away by this community’s passion; it’s what keeps us inspired to do what we do here at Sound Of Hockey.
Good morning! 🌞 What a weekend!
The first part of our Sound Of Hockey Fest live recording is out, featuring @TheVoiceFitz.
Everett did a heel turn early on, but man we had some laughs.
We’re still in preseason, but with so many thoughts and ideas bouncing around in my head, it felt like the perfect time to fire up the first edition of Monday Musings for the 2025-26 season. If you’re new around here, Monday Musings is where I pull together and share a handful of topics and themes from the past week across the Seattle Kraken world, and sometimes a little beyond.
First big round of cuts
Last Monday we saw a small round of cuts, but Saturday brought the first real round of assignments. Apart from Nathan Villeneuve, every player was sent to Coachella Valley, and because none of them required waivers, the process was straightforward. Still, any time you see that many names move off the board, it feels like camp is starting to tighten up. Here’s the full list of cuts/assignments:
One name that stood out before the cut: Tyson Jugnauth. We talked about him on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast this week, but he really made the most of his opportunity. It wasn’t his first training camp, but it was his first one under contract, and you could tell he wanted to make an impression. He even got into his first preseason game against the Edmonton Oilers, an eye-opening experience for the 21-year-old defenseman.
"You might be wondering how I got here."
– Tyson Jugnauth (probably), facing TWO STRAIGHT 2-on-1's against Connor McDavid. #SeaKraken
Also, look at the THREE Kraken players running into each other to create the second opportunity. 😳 pic.twitter.com/OOnmrzy6FO
Jugnauth was never really in the mix to make the Kraken out of camp, but he definitely climbed the organizational depth chart as he heads into his first pro season. On top of that, he’s got a great personality. If you missed his media scrum the day after the Edmonton game, it’s worth a watch.
Bubble players that remain
With the first big cuts done, the Kraken’s camp roster is now down to 30 players. They’ll need to trim that to 23 by Oct. 6. By my count, that leaves about 10 “bubble players” fighting for the final spots:
Forwards: Berkly Catton, Oscar Fisker Molgaard, John Hayden, Tye Kartye, Ben Meyers, Jani Nyman, Mitchell Stephens, Ryan Winterton
Defensemen: Ville Ottavainen, Cale Fleury
All signs point to Seattle starting the season with three goalies, and with Kaapo Kakko’s injury news (he’s expected to miss six weeks with a broken thumb) this weekend, that leaves room for at most four of these 10 bubble guys. Given that seven defensemen are already locks, those four spots will come from the forward group.
So, who has the inside track? Nyman’s stock has skyrocketed thanks to four goals in three preseason games. Catton also feels destined for the Opening Night roster—the only question is whether he sticks past his nine-game limit or heads back to junior at some point. That leaves two more spots in the game of musical chairs, with Hayden, Kartye, and Winterton all in the running. Each has a legitimate case, but it’s worth noting that both Hayden and Kartye would need to clear waivers if they’re sent down to the AHL.
Other musings
As I mentioned earlier, all signs point to the Kraken rolling into the season with three goalies. It’s not ideal, but when you’ve got a stretch in October with seven games in 12 days, the extra insurance makes sense.
The Kakko injury stings, but it could be worse. Shoulder, knee, and groin injuries always make me nervous—they have a way of nagging all year.
I was a little surprised to see Jacob Melanson sent down. He looked good enough in camp that I thought he might sneak into the conversation for a fourth-line role. Head coach Lane Lambert talked about him Sunday and said his rookie camp performance was “just ok,” then his training camp showing was better.
The Kraken spent a healthy chunk of their Sunday practice working on the power play.
Some other news from Sunday: Jared McCann and Brandon Montour were back on the ice, skating separately from the main group. After practice, Lambert hinted to the media that both players are expected to be ready for opening night.
If I had to guess, McCann probably slides into Catton’s spot, while Chandler Stephenson takes over for Tolvanen.
I actually love preseason hockey. No stress, no stakes—just a chance to watch prospects test themselves against real NHL talent.
The national media is down on the Kraken this year, and I get the reasoning. But without local insight into what went down last season, their projections miss the bigger picture. I’m not saying Seattle is a playoff favorite, but 76 points? Nah, that’s too conservative.
Julius Miettinen (EVT/SEA) – The Kraken prospect, who missed all of training camp, wasted no time making an impact with Everett. He posted two goals and two assists in his first two games of the season over the weekend.
Kim Saarinen (HPK/SEA) – One of Seattle’s top-rated goalie prospects is off to a strong start in Liiga, going 3-0-2 with a .919 save percentage. Saarinen is still likely a few seasons away from North America, but the early signs are encouraging.
Mathis Preston (SPO) – A projected top-10 pick for the 2026 NHL Draft, Preston is already producing in the WHL. He has three goals and four assists through Spokane’s first three games of the season.
Chart of the week
Excluding empty-net goals, goal differential is a key sign of a team’s potential in the standings. By that measure, the Kraken weren’t too far off last season.
The week ahead
The Kraken have two preseason games left before things start to count for real. With the roster trimmed down, here are a few things I’ll be watching for:
Battle for the final roster spots – I’ll be keying in on the play of Hayden, Kartye, and Winterton. All three have a legitimate case to make the team, but at most, only two spots are realistically open.
The goalies – Matt Murray went the distance in Vancouver, so it will be interesting to see if Lambert gives Philipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord a full game each in the final two. There’s even a scenario where Grubauer gets sent down to Coachella Valley if he can’t deliver the level of play the team needs this year.
Kraken special teams – Sunday’s practice gave us our first real look at how the coaching staff is approaching the power play. While the personnel is easy to focus on, I’ll be watching closely for strategy: zone entries, puck movement, player rotations. This week could offer the first hints of their plan to start the season.
Closing thoughts
With the first big round of cuts behind us and just two preseason games left, the Kraken are starting to take shape—but there are still plenty of questions. Who will earn the final roster spots? How will the rookies perform under the bright lights? And how will the coaching staff’s system tweaks and special teams strategy translate once the games actually matter? Preseason is always a mix of promise and uncertainty, and that’s exactly what makes this time of year so fun to watch. As we inch closer to opening night, I’ll be keeping an eye on how these storylines develop, and you can be sure we’ll revisit them in the next edition of Monday Musings.
After trading away Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Brandon Tanev, Ron Francis told the media that he made it more difficult for the Kraken to win games. Apparently, he didn’t tell the players, because the Kraken are probably playing their best hockey of the season right now.
The Kraken have a points percentage of .556 in the 18 games since the deadline. At the time of the deadline, they had just a .444 points percentage. In the grand scheme of things, these games don’t mean much, but it’s a reminder that the Kraken are probably better than their record would indicate.
The Kraken went a respectable 2-2-0 over the past week, with a win against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday and a thrilling shootout victory against the St. Louis Blues at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday. That was the Kraken’s fifth shootout game of the season and just their second shootout win. The first came way back on Oct. 12 against Minnesota, the second game of the season. Seattle is now 4-2-1 at home since the trade deadline and has really served up some fun games for fans at CPA lately.
Their losses this week came in the form of a 7-1 stinker to the Utah Hockey Club and a tough battle with the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights. I gave the team a pass on the Utah game. It was the second night of a back-to-back, and several players were impacted by a stomach bug going around the locker room. The Vegas loss was a tight 2-1 final, and the Kraken had a golden opportunity to tie it up late but just couldn’t get it done.
Reverse standings watch
The standings are tight around the Kraken’s current position, which will determine their lottery and draft placement. The Kraken are currently sitting 28th overall and could finish as low as 29th or as high as 24th. Per tankathon.com, if they land in 29th, they’ll have a 9.5 percent chance to win the lottery and draft first overall. Their most likely draft position would be fifth. If they climb to 24th, they’d have a five percent chance to win the lottery and would likely draft ninth.
Draft analysts are projecting a drop-off in talent after the top five this year. Given the option, it’s always better to draft high, but as we know, there are always players who should have been selected higher and top picks that don’t pan out. Don’t worry too much about it. Let the chips fall where they may.
Other musings
Saturday night’s win over the Blues marked the Kraken’s 35th win of the season, one more than they had last season.
For as well as the team has played lately, the power play has been atrocious. They’ve scored just one power-play goal in their last 24 opportunities, spread across eight games. That’s their worst stretch of the season in that regard.
Jaden Schwartz notched his 25th goal of the season on Saturday, his highest total since scoring 28 back in 2014–15. He’s been excellent for the Kraken this year. Assuming he plays on Tuesday, it’ll be his 81st game of the season, a new career high.
If you haven’t seen Darren’s piece on Mikey Eyssimont last week, go check it out. He scored another goal Saturday night. He had five goals in 57 games with Tampa Bay before being traded to Seattle, and now has four in just 19 games with the Kraken. He’s basically a more skilled Brandon Tanev, for a fraction of the cost.
Speaking of goal scoring, the Kraken will finish the season averaging around 2.96 goals per game, up 0.37 from last season. That’s the fifth-largest increase in the league. It probably says more about last year’s team than this one, but 2.96 is right around the league average.
Shane Wright scored his 19th goal of the season Saturday night. I think it’s safe to say he has exceeded expectations. Before the season, I often pointed out his ability to get shots off from inside — the high-danger area. Take a look at his goal location chart.
Shane and Matty are both sitting on 19 goals. It sure would be nice to see them each hit 20 on Tuesday.
Joey Daccord has played a ton this year, but there are still nine goalies around the league with more starts than him.
Congrats to Kraken prospects Carson Rehkopf and Nathan Villeneuve, who both played their first professional hockey games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds this past week. These are two of my favorite Kraken prospects, and I think Villeneuve has an outside shot at making the Kraken next season.
Another one of my favorite prospects, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, scored his first AHL goal on Sunday. It was OFM’s fifth AHL game, and even in that short time span, he’s looking more comfortable as he adjusts to the smaller North American ice and the different AHL playstyle.
— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) April 14, 2025
Stick taps to all the staff around the Kraken Hockey Network. The production has been excellent in its first year. I’ve heard viewership numbers for Kraken games have tripled compared to when they were under ROOT. Making the games available over-the-air was a fantastic decision. Not exactly a hot take, but making the game more accessible is the best way to grow the game.
Goal of the week
This one comes from our old friend Morgan Geekie, who scored his 32nd goal of the season with this blast that defies physics:
Boston goal!
Scored by Morgan Geekie with 08:04 remaining in the 2nd period.
Joey Daccord (SEA) – I’m giving Joey a pass on the Utah game. Throw that one out, and he’s 3-1-0 with a .961 save percentage in April. Where would this team be without him?
Berkly Catton (SPO–SEA) – Two goals and 10 assists in his last three playoff games for the Spokane Chiefs.
Julius Miettinen (EVT–SEA) – The second-round pick from the 2024 NHL Draft scored the overtime game-winner Saturday night in Everett’s 3-2 victory in Game 2 of the second round of the WHL playoffs. He also had a secondary assist on the overtime winner Friday night.
The week ahead
One game remains on the Kraken schedule: Tuesday night at home against the Los Angeles Kings. It’s hard to say what kind of effort we’ll see from L.A. The Kings and Oilers are locked into a playoff matchup, but their seeding isn’t finalized. The Kings currently hold a two-point edge on the Oilers, with three games remaining for L.A. and two for Edmonton.
As luck would have it, the two teams face each other Monday night. If the Kings win in any fashion, they’ll clinch second place in the Pacific and home-ice advantage in the first round — making Tuesday’s game against the Kraken meaningless for them. But if they lose in regulation, the two teams will be tied, and that Tuesday game could determine home ice.
The game means very little for the Kraken, and plenty of people will argue that losing helps their draft odds — but you already know I don’t subscribe to that kind of chatter. Winning is still more fun than losing, and going out on a high note feels like the best way to end the year. If you were in the building Saturday night, you know how fun the environment can be at Climate Pledge when the boys put on a show. The players have shown some real compete lately, and I’d like to think that’s partly because they care about playing for the fans.
This is likely the final Monday Musings of the season. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of you readers. I spend a lot of time putting this together, and I love doing it. It means a lot that you take the time to read and comment on the topics I explore, the theories I come up with, and the random collections of thoughts that go through my head.
Although Musings will take a break during the Kraken offseason, I’ll do my best to go deep into a few topics along the way. First up: a deep dive into Kraken scoring this season. If you have any other topics you’d like me to explore, drop a note in the comments and I’ll build a plan to dig in.
The Seattle Kraken scored five goals in each of their last two games and allowed just one goal against in two convincing wins over the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks. These games don’t mean much in the standings, but they might help set the tone for the offseason and provide a new baseline of expectations for the players heading into next season.
I’ve been saying it a lot lately, but this team isn’t as bad as their record suggests. Their goal differential, excluding empty-net goals for and against, is minus four, which ranks 15th in the league. Yet, they sit 27th in the standings. They’ve picked up wins against Carolina, Florida, Los Angeles, and Vegas. I’ve said it all season: this team competes. Despite the record, I still enjoy watching them play.
The two blowout wins this week were a blast, but both the 5-0 win over Vancouver and the 5-1 win over San Jose were closer than the final scores suggest. The Kraken started slow in both games, going without a shot on goal in the first five minutes each time. Still, they scored first in both games, improving their record to 20-10-4 when striking first this season. Once they built a two-goal lead, the games felt under control, even though they were outshot in both games.
Joey Daccord fatigue?
Another key storyline from the last two games has been the stellar play of Joey Daccord. I was all set to dig into his workload this season to see if he might be getting overworked. In March, Joey posted a save percentage below .900 in eight of his 11 starts. I know save percentage isn’t everything, but he just didn’t look like himself over the past several weeks. The working theory was fatigue. And then he goes out and stops 47 of 48 shots over a two-game span.
Joey has definitely been logging a heavy workload in the second half of the season, but there are still plenty of NHL goalies who have played more games than he has this year. He’s already hit a career high with 53 NHL games this season, but if you go back to 2022-23, he played 64 games when you include his 26 Calder Cup playoff games with Coachella Valley.
Other musings
Expect a PWHL announcement this week. My odds of Seattle landing a PWHL team have only gone up over the past week. Should be a fun week of news. (update: new intel. Sounds like this is still a few weeks out but it is coming.)
Through 77 games this season, the Kraken have gone to overtime 12 times. At this point last season, that number was 19. If they’d managed to get to overtime and lost in those additional seven games, that’s seven extra points in the standings. Not enough to get them into the playoff picture, but one of a few micro-trends that really hurt this team.
Another one of those trends: their record in the second game of back-to-backs. The Kraken are 0-11-0 in those situations—the only team in the league without a single point in back-to-backs. The league average is 0.9 points per back-to-back game. If the Kraken had just played to league average in those games, they’d have 10 more points.
Good news? The Kraken have a back-to-back on Tuesday when they visit Salt Lake City for the first time in franchise history.
Shane Wright did not score on Saturday night against the Sharks, but what stood out more to me was his shot selection. He has a real knack for getting inside, and he generated several quality looks from high-danger areas.
As noted by the Kraken Audio Network broadcast team, Jared McCann and André Burakovsky are playing their best hockey of the year, with 13 and 12 points respectively since the trade deadline.
As we’ve been predicting for a while, Kraken prospect Oscar Fisker Mølgaard has been assigned to the Coachella Valley Firebirds and suited up for both games against the Henderson Silver Knights.
Now that their OHL teams have been eliminated from the playoffs, I’d expect Carson Rehkopf and Nathan Villeneuve to get some time with the Firebirds down the stretch and into the postseason. Rehkopf is expected to make the jump to Coachella Valley full-time next season, while Villeneuve has one more year of CHL eligibility before he’s AHL-bound.
Here’s a look at how Kraken prospects performed in the first round of the CHL playoffs:
I believe the Kraken still have one non-emergency AHL call-up remaining, and I expect them to use it sometime this week.
Goal of the week
Seattle Kraken prospect Lukas Dragicevic is having himself a series. He scored this clutch goal in the final minute to force a Game 7.
Jared McCann – McCann has six points over his last two games and is just two points shy of hitting 60 on the season. It was a secondary assist, but I loved the steal and the effort he put in to get the play started.
2-0 #SeaKraken set up the cycle. McCann with the takeaway below the goal line drops the puck to Larsson who sets up Burakovsky in the low slot.
Berkly Catton – The Kraken’s first-round pick from the 2024 draft is having a monster postseason, including a two-goal, five-assist night in Spokane’s 9–4 series-clinching win.
Tyson Jugnauth – “Juggy” has racked up seven points in his last four playoff games for the Portland Winterhawks and will be suiting up for a decisive Game 7 on Monday night.
The week ahead
The Kraken have five games left in the regular season and face the second-toughest remaining strength of schedule. This week features a three-game road trip through LA, Utah, and Vegas, before they return to Climate Pledge Arena to host the St. Louis Blues, who, at this point, may never lose again.
As I’ve said before, I’m always rooting for the Kraken to win. That doesn’t stop me from keeping an eye on the bigger picture, too. If we peek over at the current NHL Draft Lottery odds on tankathon.com, the Kraken are hovering somewhere between 4th (Boston) and 8th (Buffalo) in the standings.
Where the Kraken ultimately land in the draft lottery odds will likely come down to the wire. Here’s a look at the remaining schedules for the teams clustered around them in the standings.
It’s nearly impossible to predict how these final games will shake out. I expect a few teams that are locked into their playoff or draft positions will start resting key players, so some of these stronger teams down the stretch might not be at full strength. In the meantime, I’ll be rooting for all the teams near the Kraken in the standings—hopefully they can pick up a few wins and help Seattle improve their draft position.
Things I’d like to see down the stretch
Outside of rooting for wins, there are a few other things I’m hoping for as the boys wrap up the season:
Matty Beniers and Shane Wright each get two more goals to hit the 20-goal mark. At the start of the year, I had Matty projected for 25 and Shane around 12. Let’s split the difference and get them both to 20.
Josh Mahura scores a goal. He’s been a quiet contributor since joining the team, and he just seems like a genuinely great human. Let’s get him on the board.
A win on Saturday night against the Blues. That would push the Kraken above .500 at home on Saturdays. Winning at home is always good for morale.
One more goal for Brandon Montour. He’s currently sitting on 16, which ties his career high for a single season. Would love to see him set a new personal best.
A look at one more prospect at home. Ty Nelson? Jagger Firkus? Honestly, I don’t care who, just give us one more glimpse of the future before the season ends.
The end is nigh
No matter how tough this season has been, I still feel a little sad that it’s almost over. The team has shown a ton of compete over the last month, which is all I could ask for down the stretch. There’s plenty of work to be done this offseason, but the way they’re battling already has me excited for what’s ahead.
The Kraken wrapped up the last week of games with a 1-2-0 record. The win came against a very bad-looking Chicago Blackhawks team, where the Kraken spotted the Blackhawks an early two-goal lead and then promptly rattled off six unanswered goals in the 6-2 win. The Kraken looked to implement a similar strategy in their next game against the Minnesota Wild, spotting the Wild three goals in the first five minutes. Unfortunately, that was where the game would stay until the Wild added an empty-net goal with less than two minutes left.
The final game of the week was against the Edmonton Oilers, who were missing the services of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Kraken were missing Chandler Stephenson, which forced a big shake-up of the lines.
John Hayden moved over from wing to play fourth-line center, while Shane Wright then moved up to center Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz. With the Schwartz move, Jani Nyman slotted into Schwartz’s previous spot alongside Kaapo Kakko and Matty Beniers. Finally, Eeli Tolvanen moved to a line with Jared McCann and Andre Burakovsky. The final score was 5-4 Edmonton, which included an empty-net goal by the Oilers and then a 6-on-5 goal for the Kraken.
I am not going to overanalyze the games, given the context of this team’s position at this point in the season, but it seems like there have been quite a few defensive breakdowns over the last few contests. I don’t know if it’s the fact that the team is missing two true centers in the lineup or just flukey plays that lead to the breakdowns. Either way, this team is still competing, and that is all I am asking for at this point in the season. Even in the Minnesota game, the Kraken were still generating chances when they could have collapsed after going down 3-0 five minutes into the game.
Other musings
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Kraken had more expected goals than their opponents in the games they lost last week and fewer expected goals in the game they won.
Shane Wright’s 19:54 of time on ice during the Minnesota game last Wednesday was a career high.
In the Kraken-Blackhawks game last Tuesday, it was the fifth time that both Matty Beniers and Shane Wright scored in the same game. They are 4-0-1 in those games.
This is the Andre Burakovsky I remember before he got hurt in February of 2023.
Congrats to the Wisconsin Badgers women’s team, who won an epic championship game to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State and Wisconsin have traded national titles for the last five years. Check out this rundown of this incredible game.
Last week, I applauded the Kraken penalty kill since the trade deadline after losing two of their top penalty killers in Brandon Tanev and Yanni Gourde. Since then, they have allowed three power-play goals over eight shorthanded opportunities for a penalty kill of 63 percent. I will take the blame for jinxing them.
The Kraken are six standings points behind where last year’s team was at this point in the season. The Kraken will need to earn 73 percent of the remaining points over the next 11 games to tie last season’s point total.
Something to keep an eye on in the Kraken prospect world: The Seattle Kraken have two players with expiring rights on June 1. Both Kaden Hammell and Andrei Loshko will need to be signed by that date; otherwise, they will become free agents and eligible to sign with any NHL team.
Shame! Shame! Shame! Last week, I mentioned that HV71 and Modo of the Swedish Hockey League were playing a best-of-5 series in the relegation series. Turns out it’s a best-of-7. After dropping the first two of the series, HV71 won the next three. Oscar Fisker Mølgaard and HV71 will now have two cracks at avoiding relegation.
On Monday, the WHL announced that the Penticton Vees will be the newest WHL team and that they will be accepting applications for an expansion franchise in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The Vees were a BCHL team this most recent season and will immediately join the WHL for 2025-26. The Chilliwack franchise is expected to join the league for the 2026-27 season.
The WHL also announced a new streaming partnership with Victory+. Games will be available for free through the platform, kicking off with the 2025 WHL playoffs this Friday.
The 2025 NCAA men’s hockey tournament bracket is set and begins Thursday. There are no Kraken prospects playing in this year’s tournament, but there are several high-end NHL prospects which will be fun to watch. All games are available across the ESPN family. Check start times and channels here.
The University of North Dakota fired their head coach, Brad Berry, on Sunday after 10 years with the program. I can’t help but wonder if former Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol could be a candidate to return to his alma mater and the school where he coached for 11 seasons.
Finally, I’ve had a lot of people ask me about Seattle Kraken season ticket renewals. Usually, season ticket holders would be a couple of months into their monthly installments for next season’s tickets by now. We haven’t heard much publicly from the team since Samantha Holloway sent an email to fans in January that implied changes were coming. I don’t know much more than what has already been circulating for months—that April is when season ticket holders should expect more information.
Goal of the week
There were a couple of Kraken prospect goals I liked this week, but when I saw this goal, I knew it was the one.
OH MY GOODNESS 🤯
Bryan Rust’s second of the period is a thing of beauty!
Tyson Jugnauth (POR/SEA) – The Kraken’s fourth-round pick from the 2022 NHL Draft finished his WHL regular season with 24 points over his last 20 games. Portland’s opening-round playoff series against Prince George kicks off Friday in a four-versus-five matchup. Don’t forget you can check out WHL playoff games on Victory+.
Semyon Vyazovoy (UFA/SEA) – The Kraken selected Vyazovoy in the sixth round of their first draft back in 2021. The backup goaltender for Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the KHL stopped 34 of 35 shots across two games this week to wind down the KHL regular season. Vyazovoy finished the season with a .938 save percentage over 28 games, which was second in the league. Goalies and Russian players often take a longer path to the NHL, but Vyazovoy seems to be tracking well at this point in his career.
Joel Hofer (STL) – The backup goalie in St. Louis and former Portland Winterhawk made 50 saves on 52 shots in his two starts and wins this week for the Blues. Those wins were big for St. Louis, as they are currently in the second wild-card spot.
The week ahead
The Kraken will finish off their string of road games (they’re practicing at home on Monday before flying out again) with a game in Calgary, where they can play spoiler to a desperate Flames team fighting for its playoff life. The Kraken are 2-1-0 against the Flames this season, with all games decided by one goal. All three games were played before the trade deadline, so this should be a challenging task—but who am I kidding, all games have been a challenge this season.
On Thursday, the Kraken will return home for three of their final five home games of the season. The first game of the homestand is against the Edmonton Oilers, against which the Kraken are just 2-11-1 in franchise history. It doesn’t get any easier on Saturday, when the Dallas Stars come to Seattle for a two-game series against the Kraken, with the second game on Monday, the 31st. The Kraken are 16-15-5 at home this season, and I find myself rooting for a .500-plus points percentage at home, but that might be a tough ask given the games remaining.
What say you? Are you still watching? What are you looking for down the final stretch?
