Kraken preseason is officially underway. As I have done in previous preseasons, I like to project Seattle’s playoff chances by forecasting the team’s goal scoring. You can review my last three forecasts here: 2022–23, 2023–24, and 2024–25.
This forecast looks at adjusted goals for each player on the projected Kraken roster. The “adjusted goals” metric is defined as goals scored minus empty-net goals. Based on prior analysis, teams with an adjusted goal differential of plus-one to plus-five make the playoffs more than 50 percent of the time. Adjusted goals against is the other half of that equation, but for this article, we’re only focusing on adjusted goals for.
Looking back at the 2024–25 forecast
Last season, the Kraken finished with 230 adjusted goals, an increase of 25 compared to 2023–24. My forecast missed the mark by 11.9 goals. Here’s a player-by-player breakdown:
Overall, the forecast did fine but not great. A few players came in well below expectations, Andre Burakovsky and Jared McCann among them, but Jaden Schwartz more than offset those misses, finishing 10.9 goals above what I had projected for him. That’s how forecasting tends to work: some players overshoot, others undershoot.
There were also factors that would have been tough to build into the model. Jordan Eberle’s injury was significant. Yanni Gourde also missed time with injury, and even when healthy, his production lagged. Trades always shake things up, too. While Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand were dealt at the deadline, their lost production was roughly balanced by Kaapo Kakko, who arrived in an earlier trade.
Roster unknowns for 2025–26
Unlike recent offseasons, this year’s roster still has a few question marks. Several rookies are making strong pushes out of camp, and late adjustments could happen depending on who earns spots. That makes projecting games played a little trickier, so I’ve leaned conservative with totals.
Another wrinkle: a lot of Kraken players are entering the final year of their contracts. If Seattle falls out of playoff contention by the deadline, it wouldn’t be surprising to see veterans moved to contenders for future assets. That uncertainty isn’t baked into this forecast, but it’s definitely a storyline to monitor.
Departures and Arrivals for 2025–26
From a pure goal-scoring standpoint, the only notable departure from last season is Bjorkstrand, who was traded to Tampa Bay at the deadline.
The Kraken made two trades this offseason that should help replace some of the goal scoring lost from last year’s roster. First, they acquired Mason Marchment from the cap-strapped Dallas Stars in mid-June. Marchment brings size, physicality, and a proven middle-six scoring touch, with three straight seasons of double-digit goals. Just a week later, the Kraken added Freddy Gaudreau from the Minnesota Wild. Gaudreau isn’t as flashy offensively, but he’s versatile, defensively reliable, and can chip in 10–15 goals while playing anywhere in the lineup (he had 18 last season and 19 in 2022-23). Together, the pair should provide depth scoring and stability that will help offset the loss of Oliver Bjorkstrand.
Based on last year’s production, the Kraken lost 41 goals but brought in 35 — and that’s in 112 fewer games played. That gap is where potential rookies like Berkly Catton, Jani Nyman, and a handful of other candidates could step in and contribute.
Scoring forecast approach
As in past seasons, I’m using each player’s last three years of games played and adjusted goals to project for 2025–26. Games played is the trickiest part to forecast — I leaned on each player’s historical average, but I’ll make the occasional subjective adjustment if I think the production rate doesn’t quite line up.
Yes, some guys have averaged 75-plus games per season, but as we saw with Eberle and Gourde last year, injuries are inevitable. Since it’s nearly impossible to predict who will go down, I also take a conservative approach to projecting games played for the upcoming season.
Forwards forecast
The most difficult part of this forecast is figuring out games played and goals for the rookies. Take Jani Nyman, for example — he scored three goals in 12 games with the Kraken during his late-season call-up and added 28 goals in 58 games for Coachella Valley. He’s a natural goal scorer, so 10 goals in 50 NHL games feels conservative… but that’s probably the right cautious estimate for now, because it’s impossible to say if he’ll be a full-time NHLer.
Berkly Catton is even tougher to predict. He’s either going to play fewer than nine games (because he burns the first year of his entry-level contract if the Kraken keep him for longer than that) or more than 50 — not much in between. I’ve been leaning toward the higher end, but without full certainty, I split the difference and set his forecast at 40 games.
Outside of the rookies, there are a couple of eyebrow-raisers in the model. Shane Wright’s 18.9-goal projection feels a little light, while Jared McCann’s looks a bit heavy. But that’s the nature of an aggregate forecast: some players run hot, some cold, and ideally it all balances out.
Defensemen forecast
Forecasting the defensemen is a bit more straightforward. The top six are pretty well set heading into the season, with Josh Mahura likely sliding into the seventh spot if everyone stays healthy. The one new face, Ryan Lindgren, brings plenty of defensive reliability but isn’t exactly known for his goal scoring.
One player who could push the totals higher is Ryker Evans. He’s shown steady progress the last couple of years, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he chipped in a bit more offense as his role continues to grow.
Putting it together
When you combine the forwards and defensemen, the forecast lands at 246.3 adjusted goals for the 2025–26 season. That’s a 16-goal bump over last year, a total that would’ve ranked ninth in the NHL in 2024–25. It feels a little optimistic, but we’ll stick with it for now.
Other considerations
Coaching/system tweaks – The biggest change this offseason came behind the bench with the hiring of Lane Lambert. His teams have been known for playing structured, defensively sound hockey. That could tighten things up in Seattle’s end, but Lambert has also emphasized that creating turnovers in the defensive zone can fuel offense. How that balance plays out will be worth tracking. Lambert mentioned he thought Nyman’s goal in Seattle’s 5-3 preseason win over Vancouver was an excellent example of this. “The thing that excited me about that goal was that it started in the D-zone,” Lambert said. “We killed the play, and then it ended up in the back of their net. So from my perspective, that’s what we’re talking about when we’re talking about defense translating into offense.”
Power play – Seattle finished 23rd in the league on the power play last year, leaving plenty of room for improvement. With a new staff and some fresh personnel looks, there’s cautious optimism that the power play could finally take a step forward.
Injuries – The ultimate wild card. If the Kraken’s top six can stay mostly healthy, it would go a long way toward hitting (or even exceeding) this forecast.
Will Seattle improve offensively?
My projection for the Kraken’s 2025–26 season comes in at 246.3 adjusted goals, a 16-goal bump from last year. That total would have ranked ninth in the NHL a season ago. Still, the big questions remain: can the young players fighting for roster spots make an impact right away, and how much will Lambert’s system influence scoring, for better or worse?
For now, Kraken fans should keep expectations measured but optimistic. There’s clear upside here, but also plenty of volatility depending on health, development, and where the team sits at the trade deadline. As the season progresses, I’ll layer in adjusted-goals-against numbers to give a full playoff outlook and track how close (or far) this projection ends up.
What do you think, are my numbers too high, too low, or just right? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
Everywhere I go, people keep asking me the same thing: “So, are the Kraken going to be any good this year?” My answer? Better than the “experts” think.
Now, let’s not get carried away, I’m not penciling them in for a Stanley Cup parade just yet. But I do believe this team will be noticeably better, way more competitive, and a lot more fun to watch than last season’s version. The front office didn’t make any headline-grabbing splashes this summer, but they made subtle moves that improved the roster while leaving room for young players to step in. Combine that with a healthier lineup, a new coaching voice, and a few kids ready to pop, and you’ve got reasons to be optimistic.
Here are five reasons I think Kraken hockey is going to be a lot more fun this season.
Better than the results of last season
The Kraken weren’t nearly as bad as their record suggested. One of my favorite “sneaky” stats to look at is goal differential without empty-netters. Historically, teams hovering between zero and plus-five in that category have about a 50 percent chance of making the playoffs.
Last year, the Kraken finished at -11 in that stat, which is not good, but not bottom-of-the-league bad either. That put them 19th overall in this metric, while their actual spot in the standings was 27th. Translation: they played closer to a middle-of-the-pack team than the record showed. Close some gaps defensively, turn a handful of one-goal losses into wins, and you’ve got a much more competitive season ahead.
A new coach, a new mindset
It’s no secret the Kraken were way too easy to score on last season. Enter Lane Lambert, who replaces Dan Bylsma behind the bench. Lambert’s reputation leans defensive, and that’s exactly the kind of adjustment this team needed. Whether you call it the “new coach bump” or simply a philosophical shift, a more structured, defense-first approach should chip away at that goal differential problem right away.
Starting healthier and deeper than before
Injuries don’t get talked about enough when people assess the Kraken’s struggles last year. Jordan Eberle was off to one of the best starts of his career before missing 39 games. Vince Dunn, arguably the team’s most important defenseman, missed 20. And the real problem wasn’t just losing stars, it was the massive drop-off to their replacements.
This season, the Kraken are better positioned to absorb those inevitable injuries. The depth chart has more NHL-ready rookies and supporting players that appear ready to jump up from Coachella Valley without the same production cliff we saw last year. Jani Nyman, Ryan Winterton, Logan Morrison, Ville Ottavainen, and a whole host of others have significant pro experience now, and if they don’t make the Opening Night roster, they should be able to slide in and be more impactful than in past call-ups.
Complimentary new pieces
No, the Kraken didn’t dominate the offseason headlines, but their moves were strategic. Mason Marchment brings a net-front presence the team has lacked since its inception. Frederick Gaudreau is a right-shot center who kills penalties, chips in offense, and happens to be excellent in the shootout (hey, that might even swing a game or two).
On the back end, Ryan Lindgren adds depth and grit to the blue line, while also giving the Kraken penalty kill a lift. None of these moves are splashy, but together they round out a roster that already had a solid foundation.
The kids are coming
This is the most exciting part. Shane Wright proved last year that he’s ready to be a real contributor. After a slow start and a short stint as a healthy scratch, he turned it on, finishing with 42 points in 61 games, a .7 points-per-game pace. If that’s his baseline, Year 2 could be a lot of fun.
Matty Beniers, meanwhile, hasn’t matched the offensive pace of his Calder season, but the talent is undeniable. Expect a motivated Beniers to take another step.
And then there’s the rookie watch. Berkly Catton, the Kraken’s 2024 first-round pick, has already proven everything he can at the junior level with 92 goals and 133 assists in his last 125 WHL games. He has the skill set to be a game-changer and will get every opportunity to stick with the big club. Jani Nyman might not start the season in Seattle, but after a strong cameo last spring, I’d bet on him playing significant NHL minutes before the year is out.
This Kraken team isn’t a Stanley Cup contender, and that’s fine. What they are is a team with an outside shot at the playoffs, a chance to be competitive deep into March, and, most importantly, a roster that’s a lot more fun to watch than last year’s.
If the top players stay healthy, if the defense tightens up, and if the kids keep progressing, Seattle could be playing meaningful hockey when it matters most. At the very least, fans should buckle up for a season with more goals, more growth, and more hope for the future.
The Seattle Kraken wrapped up the 2024–25 season in 27th place. Not great! But while we’ve already highlighted some silver linings from this past season, it might be even more important to look at the other side: the subtle, micro-level areas where Seattle struggled. These aren’t always the headline stats, but they’re the kind of details that can influence the outcome of a season.
Today, we’re digging into a few of those micro-opportunities. We will cover things like face-offs, overtime games, outcomes when trailing first, and back-to-back games. None of these categories alone can explain Seattle’s struggles, but together they paint a picture of where the Kraken left points on the table and where improvements could show up next season.
Face-offs
Definition: Nobody really needs a primer on face-offs, but it’s worth pointing out that this is a flawed stat. The more important measure would be possession after a face-off, but the NHL doesn’t provide this publicly. That said, face-off wins and losses are still a leading indicator for possession, so we’re going to use them until better data becomes available.
What the data shows
The Kraken finished 24th in the league in face-off win percentage at 48.6 percent. While they’ve never been a strong face-off team, this was actually the highest win rate in their brief franchise history.
Outlook
The Kraken leaned heavily on left-shot Chandler Stephenson in the circle last season. He led the team in both total draws and win percentage, and he was deployed at an especially high rate during the penalty kill, where he took nearly 50 percent of Seattle’s shorthanded face-offs, regardless of whether it was his strong or weak side. This is where the addition of right-shot center Frédérick Gaudreau should give Lane Lambert more flexibility, particularly on defensive-zone PK draws.
I don’t think Seattle’s success rate will suddenly jump above 50 percent, but in key situations, they should see improvement, and that could indirectly help reduce goals against. We could see some improvement from Shane Wright and Matty Beniers in the circle, as well, which could improve Seattle’s face-off abilities.
Overtime games
Definition: This one might feel a little odd to track, but forcing games into overtime is an easy way to add points in the standings. Of course, it’s easier said than done.
What the data shows
Seattle tied for 27th with just 13 overtime games played. The league median was 17, which, at a minimum, would have meant four more points in the standings. With the Kraken’s OT winning percentage sitting at 54 percent, those extra games could reasonably have netted another two points.
Outlook
I don’t think Lambert has a “strategy” to push games into overtime, but his coaching style may lead to more tight, low-event hockey. That should naturally result in more one-goal games that bleed into extra time. During his tenure with the Islanders, 24.4 percent of games went to OT compared to just 15.8 percent for the Kraken in 2024–25. That’s a big difference.
Trailing first
Definition: Any time the opponent scores the first goal of the game.
What the data shows
The Kraken trailed first in 57 percent of their games, their highest rate since the inaugural season. Last season, teams that gave up the first goal only came back to win 34.3 percent of the time
Outlook
This is another category where Lambert’s structure could help. From 2021–22 through 2024–25, the Islanders played 328 games. In the 127 games Lambert coached, his team allowed the first goal 46.5 percent of the time. In the games he didn’t coach, that number jumped to 54.2 percent. That’s a meaningful gap in an area that could help Seattle fetch a few more points.
Wins in back-to-back games
Definition: Games won when playing on consecutive nights.
What the data shows
This was a sore spot all year and one I brought up often. The Kraken have never been great in back-to-backs, but in their inaugural season, they managed three wins when playing on the second night of a back-to-back. Last year? They won ZERO games when playing on the second night of a back-to-back and didn’t even manage a single point in this scenario, going 0-12-0.
Seattle’s problems went beyond goaltending, though Philipp Grubauer’s numbers didn’t help. He started six of the 12 back-to-back games, but the team averaged just 1.3 goals scored in those situations, dead last in the league.
Outlook
Lambert made it a point in his introductory press conference that back-to-backs were an area Seattle will improve in. “That’s going to change because of the structure and the detail.” Because honestly… it can’t get worse, right? …Right?!?!
Hope for improvement?
When you finish 27th in the standings, it’s easy to get bogged down by the negatives. But zooming in on these micro-level areas shows exactly how thin the margins can be in the NHL. A few more face-off wins, a handful of extra overtime appearances, stronger starts, and better results in back-to-backs, and those little improvements could easily swing a season by six to 10 points in the standings.
These aren’t the major items that the Kraken can change to become a potential playoff team, but it’s clear these are opportunities the Kraken can tighten up. If Lambert’s systems help move the needle in these subtle areas, and if Seattle maintains the things they did do well, then maybe next season we’re talking about meaningful games in March, instead of more micro-opportunities left on the table.
The bulk of NHL free agency is far in the rearview mirror. But there are still some unrestricted free agents (UFAs) out there who could be intriguing short-term options, especially for the Seattle Kraken, who still need to add to their depth.
The Kraken have already made a few notable moves this offseason. Briefly: they acquired Mason Marchment from the Dallas Stars, signed free-agent defenseman Ryan Lindgren, and traded for forward Freddy Gaudreau.
Even with those additions and some re-signings, the Kraken still have a little over $6.5 million in cap space to work with if they choose to make another move. While general manager Jason Botterill has indicated the team is happy with its offseason so far, there’s always room for more.
“You look at our forwards, our defense, our goaltending. We’re trying to bring depth to our organization,” Botterill said at development camp regarding the moves made this season. “We’re trying to create competition in a lot of different positions.”
Being competitive consistently is what the Kraken have always strived for, but three of their four seasons have fallen short due to a dearth of starpower up top and a lack of depth at the bottom of the lineup—both offensively and defensively.
New head coach Lane Lambert could benefit from adding another depth piece that can help at both ends of the ice.
“We have to find competitive advantages down the lineup. Whether that’s a third- or fourth-liner in the forward position or having a strong second or third D-pair, those are things that we need to continue to work on,” Botterill said.
Looking at the current depth chart, there’s certainly room for at least one more veteran addition. So, with about a month before training camp starts, here are a few names still on the market that could be good fits for the Kraken—and what they might cost.
Escaping the grasps of the Buffalo Sabres and joining the Vegas Golden Knights seemed to do wonders for the Swedish right winger, as he finished with a positive rating for the first time in his six full NHL seasons—plus-17.
Olofsson was also a key contributor to Vegas’ power-play success last season, scoring six goals. He would be a boost in helping the Kraken’s special teams get off to a fast start.
Kunin offers some offensive upside and could fit the competitive mold the Kraken are looking for in their depth pieces.
Physicality is his bread and butter, however, as he’s near the top of the league in hits each season, with 187 last season. Unsurprisingly, he does also collect a lot of penalty minutes because of the edge he plays with.
Grzelcyk isn’t going to wow you with his goal scoring, but he is a smart passer who creates breakout plays. His 39 assists last season were a career high.
While it’s unlikely the 5-foot-10, 180-pounder signs with Seattle given the current collection of left-shot defensemen with Vince Dunn, Jamie Oleksiak, Ryker Evans, Josh Mahura, and the aforementioned Lindgren, Grzelcyk could be a fit if Botterill ends up trading a lefty blueliner.
Again, with the blue line currently appearing full, signing a defenseman feels unlikely. But if somebody were to move out, adding a right-shot defenseman might be more up the Kraken’s alley. Rutta stands at 6-foot-3, 210 lbs. The former two-time Stanley Cup champion would bring penalty-killing experience and some size D corps.
Other names still available
Forwards:
Craig Smith, 35 – 18 points (9-9=18) in 59 games played last season
Jack Roslovic, 28 – 39 points (22-17=39) in 81 GP
Joel Kiviranta, 29 – 23 points (16-7=23) in 79 GP
Defensemen:
TJ Brodie, 33 – 10 points (2-8=10) in 54 GP
Travis Hamonic, 34 – (1-6=7) in 59 GP
So what do you think? Should the Kraken consider any of the names mentioned above? Leave your thoughts below.
The Seattle Kraken’s offseason is in full swing, and while attention has (rightfully) been on the draft, trades, and free agency, I always look forward to the release of the NHL regular-season schedule. And as I do every year, I also like to dig into the numbers behind the calendar to see how the Kraken’s path through the season stacks up against the rest of the league.
Let’s dive into a few key metrics.
Travel distance by NHL team
As expected, teams based out west tend to rack up more airline miles over the course of the season. The Kraken have consistently been among the top 10 teams in this category, and the 2025-26 season is no exception.
In total, the Kraken will travel 43,361 miles this season—that’s down just over 5,000 miles from last year. That’s still a hefty chunk of sky time, but it’s hardly unexpected.
Here’s a breakdown by division:
As usual, the Pacific Division continues to dominate the “Most Frequent Flyer Miles” standings.
Number of road trips
One benefit of being geographically isolated from the eastern clusters: fewer, but longer, road trips. The Kraken are set to take just 14 road trips this season, one more than last year.
Longer trips usually mean tougher stretches, but fewer turnarounds and less overall bouncing around. It’s a tradeoff, but one the Kraken are used to navigating by now.
The Olympic break effect
This year’s schedule has a unique wrinkle, a February break for the Winter Olympics, with no NHL games from Feb. 6 to Feb. 24. That gap creates a compressed schedule, especially in January.
The Kraken will play 17 games in January, which will be the most the team has ever played in a single month.
Excluding February, here is the average days between games by month for all teams.
Back-to-back games
Seattle will play 13 back-to-backs this season, up one from last year and right around the league average of 13.4.
I hate to bring it up, but the Kraken were 0-12-0 on the second night of back-to-backs last season. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse… mathematically, it actually could. They were the only team in the league to fail to earn even a single standings point in those games. Let’s hope that improves dramatically this year.
Odds and ends of the 2025-26 Kraken schedule
For only the second time in franchise history, the Kraken will open the season at home—against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, Oct. 9.
The opening stretch is going to be tough. After just three games, the team heads out on a six-game road trip. Eight of Seattle’s first 10 games are against playoff teams from last season. Oof.
Thankfully, November looks a bit softer, with two games each against the rebuilding Blackhawks and Sharks. But let’s not forget what happened last season…
The Kraken have 10 Saturday home games this year, the most common day of the week for home games. Thursdays are next. They have just one Friday night home game, Jan. 23 vs. Anaheim.
Mark your calendars: Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde return to Climate Pledge Arena with the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 17. It will be their first game back since they were moved at the NHL Trade Deadline this past season.
Looking for a road trip? That Montreal–Ottawa–Toronto swing in the second week of the season could be a great one: three arenas, and weather shouldn’t be an issue yet.
You could also knock off both Southern California teams with two separate back-to-back sets in December and February—Anaheim and L.A. in one go.
And if you’re staying local for Thanksgiving, you’re in luck; Seattle will host the Stars the night before Turkey Day and then face the Oilers in a Saturday matinee.
Bonus scheduling fun: There appears to be just one Sunday when both the Seahawks and Kraken are at home. On Dec. 14, the Seahawks host the Colts at 1:25 p.m., and the Kraken drop the puck against the Sabres at 5 p.m. Three of Seattle’s four Sunday home games will be 5 p.m. starts.
Along with the Kraken, Thunderbirds, and Silvertips, the Pacific Northwest hockey calendar will be even more packed this season with the arrival of PWHL Seattle. If the PWHL follows a similar cadence as past years, their regular season will start in late November and run through early May—plus, they’ll have the Olympic break to navigate, too.
Final thoughts
The Kraken schedule always comes with its share of challenges, and 2025-26 is no exception. With Olympic-induced calendar compression and those ever-brutal long-haul trips, the team will need to manage its energy and depth carefully throughout the season and somehow get up for those second games of a back-to-back.
As always, I’d love to hear from you. Are there any home games you’re already targeting? Have your eye on a specific road trip? Let me know in the comments.
We’ve entered draft week across the NHL, and as fans feverishly study up on this year’s class of eligible prospects, I thought it would be fun to look back and give grades to the Seattle Kraken’s four NHL Entry Drafts to date. Grading their drafts at this point is a little like judging a cooking competition halfway through meal prep. Sure, you can see where it’s going, but there’s still plenty of time for things to come together… or fall apart.
The Kraken are only four drafts into their existence, and many of the players they’ve selected are still in college, junior hockey, or just starting to scratch the surfaces of their pro careers. Still, with a few seasons of development in the books, we can start to evaluate trends, hits, misses, and what those drafts tell us about the Kraken’s performance to date. So, keeping in mind that there’s a lot of runway left for all the players they’ve selected, here’s a look at how the Kraken’s first four NHL Entry Drafts are shaping up.
2021 NHL Entry Draft
The Kraken’s first draft year featured the fewest picks they’ve ever had in a single draft, with just the seven standard selections. Matty Beniers looked like a smash hit after his 2022-23 Calder Trophy season but has cooled off since. He’s still very young and has another season or two before we’ll know whether he’s a true first-line center or if he’ll settle into a secondary role. Beniers did show some progress after the arrival of Kaapo Kakko, and it will be interesting to see how things play out next season. A few players from that class—Wyatt Johnston, Dylan Guenther, Matthew Knies, Luke Hughes—have shown flashes, but nobody has pulled away as a bona fide superstar just yet.
Outside of the first round, Ryker Evans is showing a lot of promise. He hasn’t established himself as a high-end defenseman, but he’s only had one full NHL season. Ryan Winterton looked to be on a great trajectory in 2023-24, and while expectations were high that we’d see more of him in the NHL, he’s technically ahead of schedule. He’s already played 21 NHL games, 19 more than the next-most games played by a third-round pick from that draft.
Both Ville Ottavainen and Jacob Melanson made their NHL debuts during the 2024-25 season, each appearing in one game. Meanwhile, Semyon Vyazovoi, a longshot seventh-round goalie from Russia, is starting to look less like a longshot after a strong year in the KHL that included some big-time performances. Lastly, Justin Janicke, another seventh-rounder, signed an AHL deal with Coachella Valley. The odds are always long for players taken after Round 2, but at this point, every Kraken pick from this draft has exceeded expectations.
Overall Grade: B+ Beniers’ future as a top center remains TBD, but the overall draft class is tracking well above average, especially for the later rounds.
2022 NHL Entry Draft
The 2022 draft was a busy one for the Kraken, and the most memorable moment was Shane Wright unexpectedly falling to them at No. 4. In Wright’s first full NHL season (2024-25), he showed encouraging progression. He finished with 19 goals and 25 assists, but the real optimism comes from his growth as the season went on—averaging just 0.25 points per game in his first 20 games, and 0.66 the rest of the way. Even with hindsight, the Kraken would still take him at No. 4.
Outside of Wright, Jani Nyman was the only other player to appear in more than one NHL game, putting up three goals in 12 games late in the season. He looked the part of an NHLer, and it’d be a surprise if he doesn’t play at least 60 games next season. Jagger Firkus, Niklas Kokko, and Ty Nelson all had strong seasons with Coachella Valley and remain on solid development paths.
Folks. Jani Nyman's First NHL Goal. It's a beauty set up by the captain (his third primary helper of the game) #SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/caLxRtKnYo
David Goyette, meanwhile, had a bit of a rollercoaster first pro season. After two 40-goal seasons in the OHL, fans hoped to see more than six goals in his AHL rookie year. That said, nothing was particularly concerning—he’s just on a learning curve.
NCAA prospects Ben MacDonald (Harvard) and Barret Hall (St. Cloud) are both producing steadily at the collegiate level.
Overall Grade: B Most picks are tracking nicely, and 2025-26 will be a telling year for this class.
2023 NHL Entry Draft
Even the most optimistic Kraken fan has to feel a little nervous about Eduard Šalé, Seattle’s first-rounder in 2023. Nobody expected him to have reached the NHL yet, but his 2023-24 OHL season was underwhelming, and while he had a strong start to his 2024-25 AHL campaign, his performance tapered off later in the season. To be fair, he was a 19-year-old in the AHL, extremely young for that league, so it’s way too early to write him off. He also was outstanding in the IIHF World Junior Championship, scoring six goals and two assists as the captain of Team Czechia, so there is still plenty of potential.
Seattle’s second- and third-rounders, however, are trending nicely. Carson Rehkopf capped a fantastic OHL career and is poised to take a big step this season. Oscar Fisker Mølgaard had another excellent year in the SHL and is coming to North America for 2025-26.
Further down the draft board, most players are developing as expected, but it’s still too early to make firm calls either way.
Overall Grade: C+ Rehkopf and Mølgaard help the grade, but concern about Šalé weighs heavily. You have to hit on first-rounders.
2024 NHL Entry Draft
Okay, yes, it’s extremely premature to assign a grade to the 2024 draft class. But we’re doing it anyway. Kraken fans have to love what they’ve seen from Berkly Catton. It’s not just the points or goal scoring—he’s showing signs of becoming a well-rounded, play-driving center who takes pride in his game at both ends of the ice. He’s done all he can do in the WHL, and since the AHL isn’t an option, most expect him in the NHL this season.
Julius Miettinen showed a ton of promise in the first half of the season with Everett, but an injury at World Juniors kept him out most of the second half. He looked good when he returned, but it would’ve been nice to see a full campaign.
One big early surprise is Nathan Villeneuve, a physical, fearless player who stood out in preseason. In fact, in four years of watching Kraken prospects in exhibition games, Villeneuve was one of the first who looked like he actually belonged.
Wow! Nathan Villeneuve with a rocket one-timer! 🚀
Bjorkstrand sets him up, and the youngster gets a pretty goal and a nice little “sheath the sword” celly. 🗡️ #SeaKraken
Further down the list, Alexis Bernier and Kim Saarinen took strong steps forward, while Oliver Josephson, Clarke Caswell, and Jakub Fibigr all had solid seasons.
Overall Grade: A- Yes, it’s early. But Catton’s play and Villeneuve’s trajectory have Kraken fans rightfully excited.
Final thoughts
Four drafts in, it’s clear the Kraken are building with patience and purpose. They’ve managed to find value in nearly every round and haven’t missed wildly on any picks, though Šalé’s trajectory will be important to monitor. The foundation is there. The real question now is how Seattle can turn its impressive group of prospects into regular NHL contributors and a contending roster in the future.
As the 2025 draft approaches, the pipeline is in a healthy spot, but the next wave needs to start arriving in full. The Kraken don’t just need young players, they need young impact players. Time will tell which names from these early drafts step into that spotlight.
