The Seattle Kraken played a decent game against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday but didn’t take advantage of their opportunities and—as we’ve seen so many times with this team in its five years of existence—made the opposing goalie, in this case Connor Ingram, look like a star.
It wasn’t so much that Ingram was standing on his head; it was just that the 27 shots Seattle took against him never looked all that dangerous. He simply had to be solid, not dazzling, to earn his second shutout of the season.
“We had some, not a lot, but we had some good enough chances to score,” coach Lane Lambert said. “It was a low-scoring game, and we did not convert on our opportunities.”
The Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings were both idle on Tuesday, so Seattle remained two points out of the last wild-card spot. But two more teams—the San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets—have crowded their way into the field with two straight wins each. The Sharks are level with the Kraken at 75 points but have played one fewer game, putting them above Seattle in the standings.
Ostensibly, that looks like a *lot* of teams for the Kraken to jump to sneak into the playoffs. With just nine games left, the playoff picture will get murkier for the Kraken every time they lose from here on out.
Here are Three Takeaways from a 3-0 Kraken loss to the Oilers.
Takeaway 1: Bad first period dooms Seattle
Typically, if you can hold the high-flying Edmonton Oilers to two goals on 23 shots in a game (Connor McDavid did get on the scoresheet with an empty-netter that made it 3-0 at 17:34 of the third), then you’ve given yourself a chance to win.
Seattle did just that, showing a solid defensive structure and getting another strong game from Philipp Grubauer, who stopped 21 of 23 shots.
But more than half the shots Grubauer faced came in the first period, when the Oilers tilted the ice for much of the frame. A bad break and a costly mistake ended up in Seattle’s net, and those two goals were all the Oilers would need against the Kraken’s ineffective offense.
Edmonton’s first goal came off a point “shot” by Jake Walman that looked like it was sailing well wide of the net, but it hit Max Jones in the shoulder and pinballed in to make it 1-0 at 5:28 of the first.
#SeaKraken fall behind early. Bad break. Jake Walman's shot looked like it was going wide, but it hit Max Jones up around the shoulder and pinballed in.
Then Adam Larsson and Vince Dunn were playing catch at the offensive blue line, and when Larsson tried to return it to Dunn, he clearly didn’t see that Kasperi Kapanen had crept high in the zone, anticipating the pass. Larsson got baited into it, Kapanen stole it and took off on a partial breakaway, and put a perfect shot between Grubauer’s blocker and right pad, just inside the far post. That made it 2-0 at 12:43 of the first.
Uh oh. #SeaKraken don't want to get into a track meet with the Oilers, but if they're going to be in this game, they may have to do that.
Bad D-to-D pass by Adam Larsson leads to a partial breakaway by Kasperi Kapanen.
“Clearly, it wasn’t the start we wanted in terms of, they dump the puck in, it’s going eight feet wide, and it goes in off their back. That’s kind of the way it’s going right now,” Lambert said. “It certainly wasn’t anything necessarily structural, but a fortunate break for them. And we make a mistake at the offensive blue line when we’ve got complete control of the puck, that ends up in the back of the net.”
The Kraken should have been able to overcome those two goals, but the lack of finishing ability on this roster once again reared its ugly head.
Takeaway 2: Better second and third
The Kraken looked much better in the second and third periods, to the point that one could argue they were the better team in those frames. But as mentioned earlier, Ingram simply wasn’t tested the way the Kraken needed to test him. They had solid shot volume the rest of the way—firing 13 pucks at Ingram in the second and eight in the third—but it’s hard to recall many moments where Seattle truly had the middling goalie scrambling.
“A little bit more desperation in our game [in the second period],” Matty Beniers said. “Getting more pucks to the bottom, we had success there. We didn’t do it enough in the first, and we started getting to that, started getting more shots on net, more chaos. And we had our opportunities, we just didn’t put any in.”
Takeaway 3: Jaden Schwartz returns
It was good to see Jaden Schwartz return to the lineup after being inadvertently kicked in the face by Nick Cousins in a 7-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators on March 7. That injury led to Schwartz being labeled “out indefinitely,” a timetable that can sometimes mean months or even years.
Considering how horrific that injury could have been, Schwartz’s return after about three weeks was a big sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Shane Wright missed the game Tuesday after getting blasted with a high hit by Logan Stanley on Saturday in Buffalo. He did practice on Monday, so I’m guessing his absence will be relatively short-term.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Welcome back to another edition of Tactics 101. Today, we discuss the cycle.
In the first installment of Tactics 101, we described how the midlane drive can open up space for offensive players during rushes, generating scoring chances. The midlane drive is particularly effective when the offensive team outnumbers the defenders in a rush situation. A midlane drive forces the defense to make difficult coverage tradeoffs and was utilized last Kraken game by Bobby McMann to help create a goal for Chandler Stephenson.
STEVIE DOES IT! 🚨
After Chandler Stephenson forced a turnover at the blue line, the #SeaKraken transitioned quickly.
Kakko – who scored after a great pass by Stephenson last game – returns the favor to Stephenson, who scores under the bar.
While good NHL teams can generate scoring chances frequently off the rush, great NHL teams create extended possession sequences, wearing down opponents over the course of a 60-minute game. One tactic that teams can employ to create and maintain these extended possession sequences is the cycle. While the midlane drive is a rush tactic that forces difficult defensive coverage choices, the cycle is a more patient approach. It places more emphasis on wearing down a team’s defensive structure until a break in coverage results in a high-danger scoring chance.
Defensive-zone coverage
Before we talk about cycling, let’s talk about how teams typically defend. Hockey coaches sometimes demarcate the rink through the dot line. Imagine if you drew a line that connected each of the face-off dots (excluding center ice) throughout the defensive zone, neutral zone, and offensive zone. The area within the dot lines represents the more dangerous parts of the ice.
Players can use the dot line as a reference point to defend against rushes, protecting the inside spaces. In the defensive zone, teams are happy to concede shots from outside the dot line because the expectation is that competent goaltenders should be able to stop those shots.
As the offensive team, constantly shooting from outside the dot line without intention can be tantamount to handing over possession of the puck. The goalie can freeze it for a face-off or the defensemen can recover it to try and start the breakout the other way. As a result, good hockey teams don’t just shoot from anywhere; they want to generate shots from higher-danger scoring areas.
How cycling works
The simplest implementation of the cycle involves the three forwards deep in the offensive zone. The puck carrier, often starting near the goal line, brings the puck up the boards toward the blue line. A defender will try to keep the puck carrier on the boards and force a turnover.
The second offensive forward supports the puck carrier by skating 10 to 15 feet behind the puck carrier, towards the goal line. The third offensive forward is in the slot, trying to position their body for a pass and quality scoring opportunity.
If a pass or lane to the net is unavailable or the puck carrier is being heavily pressured, the puck carrier angles the puck off the boards back toward the second forward, being sure to always keep the puck on the boards (and away from the defender’s stick). The first forward, now free of the puck, loops toward the slot for a possible pass and scoring chance. The forward that previously occupied the slot now skates below the goal line to support the new puck carrier. The process repeats until possession is lost or a quality scoring chance within the dot line is generated.
The cycle in action
One of the problems with illustrating the cycle in action is that it doesn’t often show up in your everyday highlight package.
As it turns out, watching a team own possession for a minute straight with savvy wall play isn’t conducive to Instagram reels or condensed highlight packages. Fortunately, the entirety of the 2010 men’s Olympic hockey tournament has been posted to YouTube. It’s “dated” footage in some sense (featuring a 23-year-old Sidney Crosby and a 24-year-old Alexander Ovechkin), but seeing as we just came off an incredible Olympic tournament featuring some of the best hockey we’ve seen in years, it seems fitting that we use clips from an Olympic tournament to illustrate the effectiveness of the cycle.
Most of the clips we’ll show today will feature the quarterfinal matchup between Canada and Russia, a highly anticipated matchup at the time. For context, Canada had suffered a disastrous 2006 Olympic tournament, finishing a humiliating seventh and being eliminated at the hands of Russia. The 2010 team had also had some early struggles during the tournament and looked disjointed at times. They had struggled to score against Switzerland and lost to the Americans in the round robin, leading to an early quarterfinal match against Russia. The Canadians were in a crucible of pressure as the host nation facing elimination.
Cycle example 1
For our first example, we’ll look at a cycle featuring Jarome Iginla, Eric Staal, and Sidney Crosby. Unfortunately, due to embedding restrictions the @olympicvancouver2010 YouTube channel has placed on their videos, I can’t embed the clip directly into this article, and you will need to click on a link to view it in YouTube instead.
To set the scene, Iginla and Staal initiate the cycle, with Iginla (CAN #12) on the boards and Staal (CAN #21) in a low support position below the goal line. Notice how Iginla shoulder checks multiple times to see if Crosby (CAN #87) is available for a pass in the slot, but the passing lane is well covered by multiple defensive sticks so he patiently sends the puck down low to Staal.
Staal moves up the boards toward the hashmarks, with Crosby rotating below the goal line and Iginla rotating into the slot. Again, the pass to the slot is well covered and instead of forcing the play and turning the puck over, Staal cycles it back low to Crosby.
Crosby sends the puck up to Drew Doughty on the blue line, who makes a nice individual play to buy space and create a jam play at the net. It might not be the exact look the team wanted to create, but as the game continues, Canada sticks to their game plan, leading to better scoring opportunities as you can see in the next example.
Cycle example 2
Extended cycling leads to fatigue from the defense, which can create lapsed assignments.
Here, Corey Perry (CAN #24) finds himself in congested space below the goal line and relieves pressure by finding Dan Boyle (CAN #22) at the blue line. Boyle chooses to send the puck back down low to initiate the cycle.
Moments later, Ryan Getzlaf (CAN #51) finds himself with the puck on his backhand but with limited passing options. Brenden Morrow (CAN #10) is covered at the net front, and Boyle, who has jumped into the play, finds himself covered as well. Getzlaf chooses to cycle the puck, and Morrow, reading the play, skates behind the net to where the puck will go.
Morrow skates the puck up toward the hashmarks, and Perry skates around the net and below the goal line to support Morrow.
Perry misses the rim, but Boyle is able to pinch down low and keep the cycle going. Eventually the puck makes its back to Boyle again in the high slot. On his backhand, he doesn’t have time or space to get a shot off. Instead of forcing the play, he puts the puck down low to re-engage the cycle.
This is where Russia’s coverage breaks down. They’ve been defending for over 40 seconds now and have not managed to get a single stick on the puck. Look how three Russians, including defensemen Ilya Nikulin (RUS #5) and Andrei Markov (RUS #79) have been drawn up high in the zone, leaving center Sergei Zinoviev (RUS #42) as the only player to defend low in the zone. A momentary lapse in defensive coverage by Zinoviev gives Morrow the opening he needs to walk to the net and capitalize with a jam play at the net.
By the first intermission, Canada had outshot Russia 21-12 and led the game 4-1. Post game, Russian goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov said of Canada, “They came out like gorillas out of a cage”. Canada had arrived at this tournament, and they would not be looking back. Canada would continue to employ their cycle game in the second and third period, draining the clock and tiring out the Russians.
When you play an opponent that constantly has the puck in your defensive zone, it’s a long, frustrating game that leaves you little energy to try to put points on the board, no matter how talented you are. Mikko Rantenan succinctly described how it feels to defend all game long after Finland played Canada during their recent Olympic semifinal.
Mikko Rantanen on today’s 3-2 loss to Canada.
“We tried, but when you defend for 25 to 30 seconds in your defensive zone, there's not one guy in the world who can go on offence after that. They were just coming at us. The third period was tighter, but they were still pushing…
The previous examples all featured the cycle being employed primarily low in the zone, beneath the hashmarks. The primary puck carriers were forwards with defensemen typically staying at their positions high in the zone by the blueline.
Nowadays, the game has evolved, with offensive-zone sequences becoming more position-less. Defensemen like Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes are the modern archetypes for puck-moving defensemen, jumping into the play more often, opening up new offensive possibilities. In this last example, we see Red Wings rookie defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka work with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat on a high cycle to score a goal.
Sandin-Pellikka (DET #44) pulls the puck off the wall and initiates the cycle with Patrick Kane (DET #88) before getting lost in coverage.
The Flames defense overcommits to Kane, pursuing him with two defenders, which opens up a hole in their defensive coverage.
Kane cycles to DeBrincat (DET #93), who finds himself with time and space to make a play.
Meanwhile Sandin-Pellikka has gotten lost in coverage, and DeBrincat is able to exploit the lapse to find him for a high-quality scoring chance that he capitalizes on.
Cycling and hockey fundamentals
The cycle is an effective tactic to wear down opponents and keep the clock running. It’s not always pretty hockey, but players who can cycle well exhibit strong hockey fundamentals. They have strong wall skills, know how to use body positioning to protect the puck, and are able to make plays in congested space against organized defenders. They also have good hockey IQ, as they’re able to read where the puck is going to go next.
The next time you watch a hockey game, keep your eye open for how teams leverage the cycle to extend possession and generate scoring opportunities.
It wasn’t the best road trip for the Seattle Kraken, but when you consider how it started—a 3-1 loss in a critical matchup with the Nashville Predators, followed by a 5-2 drubbing by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Seattle’s fourth straight regulation loss at the time—closing it out 1-2-2 is downright palatable.
One could even make the argument that Seattle deserved better in this 3-2 shootout loss to Buffalo, but after the Kraken jumped out to a 2-0 lead, the Sabres chipped away and took advantage of a cheesy penalty call and an ill-timed turnover to tie the game.
“I thought we battled hard,” coach Lane Lambert said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it done. I thought our goaltender was outstanding, gave us the game he needed. I thought we had a lot of really good chances. We have to score.”
Once the game got through overtime and into a shootout, you knew it was going to be a Buffalo win. Indeed, the Kraken went 0-for-2, Buffalo went 2-for-2, and that was it. The Kraken are now just 1-for-7 on the season in games that have gone to a shootout. Hopefully, that miserable stat doesn’t come back to bite them when this season is said and done, but every standings point means so much right now.
Speaking of which, Seattle’s single point on the evening was more than the Los Angeles Kings (6-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth) or Nashville Predators (4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens) earned. The Kraken still have to jump both of those teams to get back into the playoff picture, but they’re now just one point behind the Kings and two behind the Predators, with a game in hand on both.
Here are Three Takeaways from a 3-2 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
Takeaway 1: Solid performance
The Kraken didn’t get the second point in the standings, but they played a strong game from top to bottom. Remember, these aren’t the Buffalo Sabres of yesteryear. Although they hadn’t been at their absolute best in recent games, they’ve been one of the better teams in the NHL throughout the second half of the season.
What has been encouraging about the Kraken’s last two performances—against Buffalo on Saturday and at Tampa Bay on Thursday—is that they’ve played on their toes for much of the games. In this case, they did let a 2-0 lead slip away, but they also had plenty of opportunities to add a third goal on the night.
The first period was a nice blend of weathering the storm and creating offensive opportunities, even taking advantage of a blue-line turnover forced by Chandler Stephenson to take a 1-0 lead. Stephenson read Bowen Byram’s breakout pass and got enough of it to deflect it to Bobby McMann. Seattle then transitioned quickly back to offense, with Buffalo suddenly in disarray. McMann passed to Kakko and drove to the net, then Kakko faked a shot and instead made an exceptional seam pass to Stephenson, who snapped it under the bar.
STEVIE DOES IT! 🚨
After Chandler Stephenson forced a turnover at the blue line, the #SeaKraken transitioned quickly.
Kakko – who scored after a great pass by Stephenson last game – returns the favor to Stephenson, who scores under the bar.
The goal felt almost like a mirror image of the one Kakko scored against the Lightning on Thursday, but this time, he returned the favor with an elite pass to Stephenson after being set up beautifully by his linemate in Tampa Bay.
McMann also scored his seventh goal in eight games as a Kraken on an outstanding individual effort. He fought through a Rasmus Dahlin check along the wall, then went skate-to-stick at full speed and snapped it past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to put Seattle up by two goals at 13:18 of the second.
MCMANN CAN! 🚨
SEVEN goals in eight games since being acquired by the #SeaKraken, and what a play here by Bobby McMann.
Behind the strong team performance, Philipp Grubauer also dazzled for the vast majority of the game (not so much in the shootout) and gave his teammates every chance to win. You could tell he was dialed in from the jump, and in the end, he came away with 34 saves on 36 shots and improved to a .911 save percentage on the season, inching ever closer to the types of numbers he used to put up with the Capitals and Avalanche.
The only two Buffalo goals came off a bogus power play on a phantom slash by Adam Larsson and one costly mistake when Jordan Eberle lost a puck at the defensive blue line to Zach Benson. Both he and Vince Dunn then went after Benson, creating a 2-on-1 that was finished on the short side by Peyton Krebs. That goal came at 11:39 of the third and cost Seattle the win.
“[This game] was a little bit more open, I guess, so to speak,” coach Lane Lambert said. “Give our guys credit, we made some good plays offensively. We just have to put the puck in the net. We have point-blank shots, and we had opportunities to win the hockey game.”
Still, this was a solid performance from the Kraken, who have looked very good in their last two games (and the final six minutes at Florida).
Takeaway 2: Special teams a deciding factor
We haven’t talked much about special teams lately, but they were a big-time factor in this game. Say what you want about the bad call on Larsson that led to Dahlin’s goal—teams will get their chances on the power play, and that’s just how it is. You have to come up with big penalty kills at key moments, and although Seattle had an impressive one late in the game after Oscar Fisker Mølgaard inadvertently swatted a puck out of the air and into the seats, the Dahlin goal came too easily and gave the Sabres the foot in the door that they needed.
On that goal, the four killers saw Tage Thompson passing to Jason Zucker in the slot and all converged on him. But the puck actually skittered out to Dahlin at the top of the slot, which gave him ample time to walk in, pick his spot, and rip it past Grubauer.
Sabres finally get one past Grubauer. Rasmus Dahlin on the power play.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the puck, Seattle had four chances on the power play and came up empty.
Takeaway 3: Good on the Big Rig
Lambert has talked a few times recently about the importance of players standing up for each other, and we saw that in spades against the Lightning, and again against the Sabres.
Shane Wright got clobbered for the second game in a row, this time by Logan Stanley, who came all the way across the ice and buried Wright with a high hit that ultimately knocked him out of the game. Immediately after the hit, Jared McCann and Vince Dunn went after Stanley and made it clear that what he had done was not acceptable.
Sabres finally get one past Grubauer. Rasmus Dahlin on the power play.
Stanley’s hit on Wright came with 1:38 left in the first. At 2:29 of the second, Jamie Oleksiak—the only player on the team who can match up with the 6-foot-7, 231-pound Stanley—made him answer the bell.
HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT! 🥊
After Logan Stanley crushed Shane Wright in the 1st period and sent him to the dressing room, Jamie Oleksiak makes him answer.
It was a solid heavyweight bout, and although Oleksiak didn’t drub Stanley, it was exactly the kind of response you want to see when an opposing player takes a run at one of yours and injures him.
The way the Kraken have stuck up for each other over the last couple of games has been another encouraging sign that this team really does care and wants to make it into the playoffs.
—
The Kraken will sleep in their own beds at home on Saturday, then take a day off Sunday. They will practice Monday before flying to Edmonton for their oddly timed one-game trip to face the Oilers.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
This is “Down on the Farm,” your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. As of Mar. 27, the AHL and the ECHL are the only leagues with Kraken prospects that still have regular-season games remaining. Teams in other European, collegiate, and junior hockey leagues have moved into their postseason phases. This means that the season is fully over for some players, while it is hitting its highest stakes for others. We’ll update you on playoff season and where to find your Kraken prospects still playing hockey as we turn the calendar to April.
After that, we’ll update you on Jake O’Brien’s OHL franchise scoring achievement, pass on additional Kraken prospect news, video, and data updates, and, as always, the Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week.
If you have a Seattle Kraken prospect–related question you’d like to see featured in a future column or mailbag, drop us a note below or on X or BlueSky at @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey.
Previewing the CHL playoffs
All of Seattle’s CHL prospects—two in the QMJHL, three in the OHL, and three in the WHL—are on teams that advanced to the playoffs and remain in action. Several have a legitimate shot at a Memorial Cup run on stacked teams.
Of local interest in the Puget Sound area, Ryden Evers and the Penticton Vees will visit the Seattle Thunderbirds on Tuesday, Mar. 31, and Wednesday, Apr. 1. Julius Miettinen and the Everett Silvertips are driving for the WHL Championship with a local matchup against the Portland Winterhawks that started on Friday, Mar. 27. Let’s dive in.
The Chicoutimi Saguenéens are the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference of the QMJHL playoffs and a legitimate contender to win that league and perhaps even more. The Saguenéens finished third in the final regular-season CHL Top-10 Ranking. For his part, Bernier joined the team in a midseason trade and entered the lineup a few weeks later after being cleared from offseason ACL reconstruction surgery. His two-way play had an immediate impact. In 21 games, he had an eye-popping +17 on-ice goal differential at even strength, not to mention 12 points. As of late Friday, Mar. 27, the Saguenéens are up 1-0 in their series.
QMJHL Playoffs: Will Reynolds, D, Newfoundland Regiment
The Newfoundland Regiment enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, matched up with the No. 6 Cape Breton Eagles. Reynolds showed a solid two-way game in the regular season, posting a +25 plus-minus, which was second-best on the team. He also had three goals and 22 assists; his 25 points were second-most among defensemen on the Regiment. Reynolds has an assist and is plus-one through the first two games of the series, which is level at one game apiece. The series resumes Tuesday in Cape Breton.
While the teams will reseed going into the second round, if all of the favorites prevail, we could see a second-round matchup pitting Reynolds against Bernier.
OHL Playoffs: Jake O’Brien, F, Brantford Bulldogs
Kraken 2025 first-round pick and (nearly) consensus top prospect Jake O’Brien and the Brantford Bulldogs are the No. 1 seed in the OHL Eastern Conference and No. 6 overall in the final regular-season CHL Top-10 Ranking. O’Brien has been the Bulldogs’ captain and leading scorer this season, piling up 93 points in just 53 games played. Brantford’s first-round opponent is Nathan Villeneuve’s former team, the Sudbury Wolves. Though O’Brien was held off the scoresheet in Game 1, the Bulldogs prevailed and lead the series 1-0 as of Friday, Mar. 27.
OHL Playoffs: Nathan Villeneuve, F, and Jakub Fibigr, D, Windsor Spitfires
The Windsor Spitfires are the No. 2 seed in the OHL’s Western Conference and face the Guelph Storm in the first round. 2024 second-round pick Nathan Villeneuve had been sidelined following a hit taken on Mar. 8, but he returned for Game 1 of this playoff series, scoring a goal. 2024 seventh-round pick Jakub Fibigr had a goal and an assist in the opener, which was a win for the Spitfires. Villeneuve and Fibigr both joined the Spitfires in midseason trades. While their scoring production has cooled a bit since joining Windsor, they have each played important roles for a team with hopes of a deep playoff run.
WHL Playoffs: Julius Miettinen, F, Everett Silvertips
The Everett Silvertips are a wagon. The team finished the season with 57 wins, smashing their franchise record and nearly equaling the all-time WHL mark. The Silvertips are the No. 1-ranked team in the final regular-season CHL Top-10 Rankings. Kraken 2024 second-round pick Julius Miettinen has been a big part of the team’s success, scoring 76 points in 52 games to go along with strong defensive-zone play. For the Silvertips, who are the No. 1 seed in the WHL Western Conference, anything short of a WHL Championship will be a disappointment. The Silvertips took Game 1 against the Portland Winterhawks on Friday, Mar. 27, and Miettinen was the first star, scoring two goals and adding an assist.
WHL Playoffs: Ryden Evers, F, Penticton Vees
The Vees are a remarkable success story in their first season in the WHL. They set the record for most wins by a WHL expansion team and finished at No. 8 in the final regular-season CHL Top-10 Ranking. Recent Kraken free-agent signee Ryden Evers has been a big part of that equation as the team’s top center. During the regular season, Evers led the team in goals, was second in points, and third in plus-minus. The Vees are the No. 2 seed in the WHL Western Conference and took Game 1 against the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday, Mar. 27.
Over in the WHL’s Eastern Conference, 2025 second-round pick Blake Fiddler and the Edmonton Oil Kings are the No. 3 seed. Fiddler had a solid scoring season, but his on-ice impact may have improved more on the defensive side of things. His +23 on-ice goal differential at even strength was a marked improvement from last season. The Oil Kings dropped Game 1 to Saskatoon on Friday, Mar. 27, and will look to even things up on Sunday as the series continues.
Previewing the NCAA Frozen Four tournament
Unlike the grinding seven-game series in the CHL, the NCAA postseason is a single-elimination tournament. Three of the four Kraken prospects playing in the NCHC made the NCAA field of 16 and have now advanced to the final eight. This includes a Sunday rematch of Zaccharya Wisdom and Western Michigan against Clarke Caswell and Denver University. Let’s break it all down.
NCAA Playoffs: Ollie Josephson, F, Univ. of North Dakota
After a strong season that saw the team finish first in the NCHC regular-season standings, though fall short in the playoffs, the University of North Dakota still earned the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA tournament field. Ollie Josephson was a utility center for the Fighting Hawks, playing in all situations and driving solid results. However, a lower-body injury suffered during the NCHC playoffs has held him out of the NCAA tournament thus far. Even without Josephson, the Fighting Hawks defeated Merrimack in their first-round matchup and will square off against Quinnipiac on Saturday, Mar. 28, with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line.
NCAA Playoffs: Clarke Caswell, F, Denver Univ.
Perennial powerhouse Denver University finished second in the NCHC regular season but took the conference crown in the postseason tournament with a string of dramatic victories. Seattle Kraken prospect Clarke Caswell has played a key top-six role for the Pioneers all season and drove the play that handed Denver the NCHC championship in overtime.
#SeaKraken prospect Clarke Caswell set up Kristian Epperson's double-overtime game winner on Saturday, which delivered Denver University the NCHC championship.
Caswell also scored in the game, giving him four points in four NCHC Frozen Faceoff games.pic.twitter.com/NNUVxx6ghl
Denver’s strong play continued in the NCAA tournament, as the team defeated Cornell University 5-0. That sets a regional final matchup against NCHC rival Western Michigan University on Sunday. With Zaccharya Wisdom on the other side, we’re guaranteed to have a Kraken prospect in the Frozen Four.
NCAA Playoffs: Zaccharya Wisdom, F, Western Michigan Univ.
The Western Michigan Broncos bowed out of the NCHC tournament in a thrilling game against the Pioneers and now get a rematch on an even bigger stage in the regional final of the NCAA tournament. Wisdom played a big role in the Broncos’ first-round win, scoring a goal and adding an assist in a win over Minnesota State. (Also, check out this video on Wisdom’s journey.)
Previewing the European leagues playoffs
When we look overseas, Seattle goaltending prospects take center stage. Though Visa Vedenpaa missed the Liiga playoffs, fellow Kraken goalie prospect Kim Saarinen not only made the playoffs, he has already powered his club HPK through the first round. In the KHL, Semyon Vyazovoi is also in the playoffs and performing well so far.
As for the skaters, forward Loke Krantz’s SHL team missed the playoffs, and defenseman Karl Annborn’s season is also done. (More on him in a moment.)
Liiga Playoffs: Kim Saarinen, G, HPK
Saarinen started four games in a span of five days for his Liiga team, HPK, in the first round of the Liiga playoffs. By winning three of those games, HPK advanced to the second round. Saarinen was a big reason why HPK is still playing. He posted a .967 save percentage and a shutout in the first-round matchup. HPK gets Tappara in the next round, with play starting on Saturday, Mar. 28. Can Saarinen go as far in the Liiga playoffs as fellow Kraken prospect Nikke Kokko did in his age-19 season? The younger goalie is off to a good start.
KHL Playoffs: Semyon Vyazovoi, G, Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Like Saarinen, Semyon Vyazovoi has started each of his club’s playoff games so far. Vyazovoi’s Salavat Yulaev Ufa lead their series against Yekaterinburg Avto two games to one. Vyazovoi has one win via shutout, and in the other two games he has given up five goals total. In a curious coincidence, four of those goals were scored by Seattle Kraken legend Daniel Sprong.
Notes on three other Kraken prospects
Karl Annborn | D | HV71 (SHL)
As the season neared its end, Kraken prospect Karl Annborn’s SHL club, HV71, recalled him from a loan to Allsvenskan team Västerås IK. Annborn suited up in three games down the stretch, including one game for HV71 in the relegation tournament.
If HV71 playing in relegation sounds familiar, it should. HV71 won the relegation round to avoid demotion to Allsvenskan in each of the last two years with Kraken prospect Oscar Fisker Mølgaard on the roster. Back in the same position again, HV71 once again saved itself from demotion with a win over Leksands IF. (In another interesting parallel, Västerås IK also saved itself from relegation from Allsvenskan via postseason play.) Annborn’s season is now over. He projects to return to HV71 next season with the goal of earning a regular role in the SHL.
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard earned a promotion to the NHL this past week, but before he did, he had five points in two AHL games, including a game-tying goal and an overtime winner.
— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) March 22, 2026
This performance is enough to make Fisker Mølgaard your Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week, narrowly edging sterling postseason performances from Saarinen and Vyazovoi. The NHL promotion was the tiebreaker.
Jake O’Brien | F | Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)
O’Brien and the Bulldogs are focused on the postseason now, but a regular-season accomplishment is worthy of note. O’Brien now owns the Bulldogs’ franchise record for career regular-season points. He set the mark on a power-play goal last Friday late in a matchup with the North Bay Battalion. With an assist later in the game, he finished with 255 career points. O’Brien is very likely to be in the AHL next season (if not the NHL), so this will likely be where his OHL mark remains.
Check out O’Brien’s shifts from the record-setting game, along with the team celebration after his landmark goal, below.
Kraken prospects data update
Jani Nyman’s first game back with the Coachella Valley Firebirds saw him score two more AHL goals.
Ty Nelson is closing out the season on a strong scoring pace. With two goals and two assists in the last week, he has narrowed the gap with Tyson Jugnauth for second-most points among defensemen on the Firebirds.
Nikke Kokko had a strong week, posting a .919 save percentage in two starts, both wins.
Victor Ostman kept pace with Kokko, winning his lone start on the strength of a .903 save percentage.
Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker
3 wins: Jagger Firkus, Jake O’Brien, Kim Saarinen, Julius Miettinen
This week’s Deep Sea Hockey Game of the Week is the Sunday NCAA Tournament matchup between NCHC rivals Denver and Western Michigan. The game is on ESPN 2 and ESPN+.
Setting the NHL Draft Lottery
Reports indicate that the NHL Draft Lottery has been scheduled for May 5, 2026. If the Kraken do not make the playoffs, they will enter the draft lottery. Currently, the Kraken are No. 10 in the draft lottery, which gives the team a 3.5 percent chance of the No. 1 overall pick. Looking the other direction, the Kraken are just three points out of the second wild-card position.
Tracking 2026 NHL Draft prospects: Adam Goljer
Adam Goljer is a Slovak right-shot defenseman who skated for Team Slovakia at both the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2026 World Junior Championship. He’s got pro size and mobility, as well as experience playing against professionals in the top-level Slovak league, which makes for an appealing package. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic had Goljer No. 32 in his most recent prospect rankings. Goljer was No. 45 on our mid-season Big Board.
Curtis is a Sound Of Hockey contributor and member of the Kraken press corps. Curtis is an attorney by day, and he has read the NHL collective bargaining agreement and bylaws so you don’t have to. He can be found analyzing the Kraken, NHL Draft, and other hockey topics on Twitter and Bluesky @deepseahockey.
It’s been a pleasure to follow the Seattle Kraken on the road for their last two games at the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The hockey was fun—they racked up three out of four possible standings points in unlikely fashion, rallying back from a late three-goal deficit to get a point against the Panthers on Tuesday and then putting forth a gritty, full-team performance against the Lightning on Thursday, stealing a 4-3 overtime win from a top-tier opponent in a tough building.
But this article really isn’t about what happened with the team, more so what fans should expect if considering making the trek to Florida to watch their favorite team take on the Panthers and the Lightning. It’s written from the perspective of somebody following the Seattle Kraken, but most of it is applicable for fans considering the trip from any city around the NHL.
The Florida / Tampa Bay road trip is a good one for NHL fans
While the NHL schedulers won’t always put these two Sunshine State matchups in the same order (i.e., Panthers, then Lightning), teams regularly visit these two opponents in relatively quick succession, making for a very feasible multiple-game road trip that you should consider adding to your hockey bucket list if you haven’t done it before.
As far as sunny destinations go, I liked it better than Southern California. Dallas and Vegas are also great for very different reasons (I generally dislike going to Las Vegas, but as a hockey trip, it’s about as easy as it gets and features tons of built-in entertainment beyond going to the game), but those are likely single-team, single-game trips.
If you’re looking to hit more than one game and also catch some rays, this combination of Florida-based contests is a great option. In terms of maximizing convenience, I still don’t think you can beat a trip to the New York area, where you may theoretically get to watch your team play three games against the Rangers, Islanders, and Devils, all while taking trains to the three arenas and not even having to change hotels.
This Florida trip is not nearly as convenient as that, but it comes with some great perks.
Challenging logistics for Sunrise
The Florida swing is not the easiest trip Seattle makes by any means—the flights are long, and getting from South Florida to Tampa (or vice versa) requires either a flight or a four-plus-hour drive. What’s more, the remote location of Amerant Bank Arena (home of the Panthers) isn’t all that accessible for visiting fans.
Having gone there, I now understand why Florida has not drawn that well historically, and sadly, they are back to this trend, with the seats only about half-full Tuesday despite two straight Stanley Cups and Paul Maurice coaching his 2,000th game that night (to be fair to the fans, the Panthers organization should have made a much bigger deal out of this than they did).
While I absolutely think you should make this trip, there are a few things to consider when you’re planning your jaunt to Florida in the next couple of seasons.
First, for my Seattle readers, there aren’t many flight options from SEA in either direction for either destination. With Amerant Bank Arena located in Sunrise, you can fly into (or out of, if the schedule is reversed on the next trip) Miami or Fort Lauderdale, which creates a couple more non-stop choices. I ended up flying to Miami because of a more suitable arrival time on Delta (my preferred airline), but after talking to former Panther Brandon Montour, I learned that teams stay near the beach in Fort Lauderdale and that this is widely viewed as the best base of operations.
I do agree with that sentiment, having now stayed in that area, which makes for a proper beach vacation feel. You’ll also be close to the infamous Elbo Room, which is a truly comical, cash-only, open-air dive bar famously frequented by Panthers players.
Knowing what I know now, I would still stay near Fort Lauderdale Beach but would instead fly to FLL. Flying to Miami, I got stuck in rush-hour traffic between MIA and my hotel in Fort Lauderdale Beach, which extended that commute from 45 minutes when I mapped it out to an hour and 15 minutes in actuality. So, fly to FLL.
Aside from the great beach situation and high-end hotel and dining options, another reason teams stay in the Fort Lauderdale Beach area is that the Panthers’ beautiful practice facility (I would argue even nicer than Kraken Community Iceplex) is 10 minutes away. The Kraken held morning skate at that rink on Tuesday, went back to their hotel, and then bused the 40-minute ride out to Sunrise for the game in the evening. Fans won’t be allowed at morning skate, so this isn’t really a factor to consider, but it was something I took into account for my own purposes. If you catch wind of an open practice happening while you’re in town, Baptist Health IcePlex is a nice side quest.
I’m sure you could also get away with staying in Hollywood or Boca Raton, but I can’t really comment on those locations since I didn’t visit them. It is also possible to stay out near Amerant Bank Arena, but don’t do that. Aside from a mall in the area, it’s desolate around there.
The location of Florida’s arena also brings ground transportation into the conversation. I’m not a huge fan of renting a car when I travel, and you could probably make it work Ubering around, but I think the costs mostly balance out between rideshares and a rental car. Parking in Fort Lauderdale Beach was tough. I read somewhere that there is street parking, but I couldn’t find a place to leave my rental car overnight. So, I ended up shelling out quite a bit of money to use the valet at my hotel. Still, with Amerant Bank Arena being so far away—and given my long commute from MIA to Fort Lauderdale—I was very thankful to have my own wheels.
As for getting from the Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood area to Tampa (or vice versa), I don’t think there’s a wrong choice between flying and driving (but again, if you fly, I wouldn’t recommend MIA). Assuming your trip starts with a game at the Panthers, you may already have a rental car, which makes driving relatively easy, but bear in mind it is a solid (and boring, straight-across-the-Everglades) four hours without traffic. The total door-to-door travel time whether you drive or fly is probably in the same ballpark, and driving is cheaper.
Tampa is much easier
The Tampa portion of the trip is much easier than the Sunrise part. TPA airport is 10 minutes from downtown, Benchmark International Arena is in the heart of the city, and you truly do not need your own vehicle; Ubers are easy and cheap, and the city is fairly compact. I ended up keeping my rental car for the entirety of the trip, but I wish I had ditched it once I got to Tampa.
I stayed 10 minutes from the arena in Ybor City, the historic district, which boasts some cool architecture and cobblestone streets, tons of restaurants, bars, and cigar lounges (a Tampa specialty), and—oddly, but also awesomely—a massive population of wild chickens roaming the neighborhood.
You can also look into the Hyde Park neighborhood, which felt more upscale than Ybor City, or even stay downtown within walking distance of the arena. That area was also quite buzzy.
I knew very little about Tampa before spending a couple of days there, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a great visit. I didn’t get out and explore the nearby beaches in Clearwater or St. Petersburg, nor did I go to Busch Gardens. (As a roller coaster lover who doesn’t get to ride many roller coasters, I wanted to get on the world-renowned Iron Gwazi. Next time!) Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed being in Tampa and getting to experience a Lightning game day.
Arena comparisons
Neither Benchmark International Arena in Tampa nor Amerant Bank Arena is new. At 30 and 28 years old, respectively, they lack many of the modern amenities that Climate Pledge Arena boasts, though both have received cosmetic upgrades over the years. Still, you can tell they’re older buildings.
Comparing the two, however, the whole vibe in Tampa is infinitely better. It’s a loud crowd, you’re in the heart of the city with plenty of pre- and post-game options in the neighborhood, and the massive pipe organ and lightning coils that send visible bolts around during the pregame show are all highly unique touches. If you’re choosing just one of the two road stops, pick Tampa, but both places naturally bring a solid hockey/vacation mix.
I hope this is helpful when you plan your own NHL road trip to Florida. For those that have made this trip before, what would you do differently?
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
