Back to the grind! The lineups will look a bit different for this matchup than they did the last time these two teams played each other, as we are not expecting to see Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl for the Edmonton Oilers. On the other hand, we are expecting to see Jared McCann, Jordan Eberle, and Jaden Schwartz for the Seattle Kraken, along with Alexander Wennberg making his preseason debut.
So, Seattle seems to be bringing a formidable lineup to Everett tonight, although with only an optional morning skate and eight players participating, it was quite difficult to get a read on who would go tonight and who would sit this one out.
The Sound Of Hockey guys are riding high for Episode 156, as they’re back in BarrDown Studios to record together for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Oh, and the Seattle Kraken are playing real (preseason) hockey.
There’s plenty of Kraken talk in this episode, as John, Andy, and Darren relive their experiences from the first-ever preseason game for the franchise, which was played in Spokane this past week. They discuss their own feelings from the day, the hints at what the Kraken Game Ops Department will do, and how the team looked on the ice.
Also in this episode, Andy and Darren chat with Chris Joswiak, the pro rep for Brian’s Custom Sports, because who doesn’t like a good Brian’s setup? Yes, things get a little heavy on the goalie gear in this conversation, but it’s a fascinating interview from which the guys think all hockey fans will learn.
Segments on this episode include Weekly One-Timers and Tweets of the Week.
SEATTLE – After being selected by the Seattle Kraken in the Expansion Draft, forward Kole Lind began preparing for the season as he usually would. Little did he know that he would soon go viral. Lind, 22, had posted a video of him working out by jumping onto a giant tire and people took notice.
Box jumps, or in this case tire jumps, are commonplace among athletes, but Lind added a flair to his. He did it wearing skates.
“It’s something that my trainer came up with this summer,” Lind said after Thursday’s practice at the Kraken Community Iceplex. “I decided to just get freaky with it, I guess. We were doing box jumps and stuff like that. We usually do tire jumps in our shoes, so I just wanted to try it and I landed it, so I was pretty happy.”
The video made the rounds on the internet and spread outside the hockey world.
Reactions to it were a mix of awe and some questioning how safe that workout was. Self-proclaimed internet experts were sure it would result in injury.
“It was a lot of mixed emotions from what I heard,” Lind said. “But I did it like five times. I landed every single time. So, you know, 100% ratio of getting it done so the safety’s there.”
On the ice, Lind is in camp with the Kraken trying to earn a spot on Seattle’s roster.
Kole Lind had a frustrating season last year
He’s coming off a frustrating season with Vancouver. He began the year in the AHL with the Utica Comments and got off to a blistering start, scoring five goals and eight points over his first eight games of the season.
Then he suffered what he described as a “freak” injury.
“I got a high stick and broke my nose in a place where I wasn’t able to play,” Lind said. “Vancouver called me up and I did my recovery through there and as soon as I was skating for maybe three or four days, we got shut down again for the big COVID outbreak. It’s really tough to stay in a rhythm through all that.”
Lind was in the NHL, on the taxi squad, but wasn’t playing.
Skating with the team is one thing but not being able to play hurts. The games are where young players like Lind benefit the most.
“You cannot replicate it at all,” Lind added. “I think you ask anyone in professional hockey, there’s nothing replicated, even in summer training. You try to do whatever you can, but there’s nothing like playing an actual hockey game for sure.”
Lind played seven games with the Canucks down the stretch and ended the season with a total of 15 games between the AHL and the NHL.
All year long he was talked about as a player that for sure would be protected by the Canucks. He was one of Vancouver’s top prospects, he’s young, and he has talent. That all changed the day before NHL teams had to submit their protected lists. Vancouver made a few moves, most notably acquiring a forward in Jason Dickinson from Dallas, and suddenly Lind was on the block.
Once exposed, the Kraken jumped and selected Lind, something that he says is an “honor”.
“It was bittersweet because at the same time (Vancouver) brings you up and you’ve been with them the whole time,” Lind said. “There’s a lot of connections that way but it is nice to get the newest of starts you can get. It’s so fresh here, you know, new team, new organization. Everything about it is awesome.”
Lind looking to stick with Kraken
Lind is still young, and his best hockey may still be in front of him.
He’s in a fight to crack a Seattle roster that is deep with forwards, many of which have more NHL experience under their belts. Like all players, making the NHL roster is goal number one but at the end of the day, Lind wants to play a full season.
“Obviously I want to be here, but you know there’s a lot of different things that go into it,” Lind adds. “I’m just gonna do whatever I can, day to day to stay positive and try to do whatever I can to be an NHLer every day in my future.”
When he does play for the Kraken in Seattle, Lind knows what to expect from the locals.
Prior to being drafted by the Canucks in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft he played in the Western Hockey League for the Kelowna Rockets. During his tenure with the Rockets, he played big playoff games in Seattle against the Thunderbirds.
He’s heard the roar and will be working to hear it again, this time in the NHL.
“I’ve had a couple tough encounters with the crowds out here in Seattle, that’s for sure. So maybe I’ll be on the other side.”
Ok, so here’s the thing about this latest episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast… It was recorded after 10PM on the first day of the first-ever Seattle Kraken training camp. Andy and Darren had been plugging away at content pretty much all day long, so by the time they got to record this show, things were bound to go off the rails.
And off the rails they went.
The result is multiple moments that should make you audibly giggle, as the guys bring you up to speed on what has been happening at the Kraken Community Iceplex and beyond in the Kraken hockeysphere.
Here are some of the topics covered this week:
Yanni Gourde is ahead of schedule for returning to play
We aren’t promising that this will happen every week, but for Slapsh0t11, here are the three tweets referenced: Andy’s tweet, John’s tweet, Darren’s tweet.
SEATTLE – For the first time ever, the Seattle Kraken skated on the ice together as the team opened its inaugural training camp Thursday.
It was just day one, but the event brought out a throng of eager fans dressed in all the latest Kraken gear and jerseys. The media was in force with cameras and recorders three or four rows deep during post-session scrums.
Day one is not about icing a finely tuned group of players. It’s about building. “You can’t do everything all in one day,” Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol said.
That’s true, you cannot, but Hakstol started to build during this first day. The team was split into two groups, white and blue – although both groups had players wearing dark blue, sky blue, and white practice jerseys – for separate practice sessions that consisted of a lot of uptempo drills.
These weren’t drills for the sake of drills, however. They were the building blocks to what Hakstol wants to ultimately turn into his systems.
“Day one is (about) balance,” Hakstol said. “We have to take advantage every day and get as much detail as we can. We have to build systems from the ground up, but really on day one, as big a piece, or maybe every piece is just getting out and making sure that we’re at the right competitive level, playing with pace and pushing one another.”
Hakstol added that Thursday’s drills were to add to systems for both the defensive and offensive zones.
With a new team how long will it take for those systems to be built in?
It shouldn’t take long. While Hakstol certainly has a way he’d like to play in every situation on the ice, it won’t be completely foreign to the players. It will come quick.
“I think at the end of the day it’s about how we want to play,” defenseman Mark Giordano said. “The other stuff, we’ll learn quickly. Most forechecks and pace of play and all that stuff for me is similar, but there’s little tweaks in each team’s system so we’ll learn those quickly.”
Pace was not an issue Thursday. The practices were fast and intense.
Here are some of the highlights from day one of Kraken training camp:
Yanni Gourde skates while Colin Blackwell does not
Gourde, wearing a red no-contact jersey, was on the ice for the second session of the day. He is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery that looked like it would keep him out into December.
While he skipped some drills, he flew around the ice when he was allowed to. Clearly, there was no lower body injury here.
“I consider him to be ahead of schedule,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said at the end of the day.
Getting Gourde back early would be a coup for the Kraken as he figures to be a fixture in the team’s top six and most likely would slide into the team’s number one center position.
Blackwell, whom the Kraken selected from the New York Rangers at the Expansion Draft, did not skate on Thursday due to what Hakstol said was a lower-body injury. Hakstol added that Blackwell is considered day-to-day.
Lines? Do we have lines?
Hakstol did keep certain lines together during practice, but it’s way too early to start writing out the lineup for Game 1 on Oct. 12 in Vegas. Sill, although Thursday’s lines may not mean much, who is playing where will start to show some significance soon.
“We’ve only got a certain amount of time so what we would like to do is put some combinations together.” Hakstol said. “See what that chemistry looks like in order to see that you have to give it two or three days to build together, possibly even leave it together through one exhibition game. Then we have the opportunity to look at a different combination. We just want to make sure that everything we’re doing has some sense of reason to it.”
The chemistry is getting there
There have been many questions about how the Kraken would come together. How would a bunch of random players who have not played together before be able to push in the same direction to make the Kraken move?
Turns out, it isn’t that hard.
“All the guys were here earlier than I’ve seen groups and other teams come in,” Jordan Eberle said. “We’re all here for two weeks in advance of camp so I think that was just everyone wanting to get here, get settled. Being new and getting a chance to meet the guys, joke around in the locker room and start some camaraderie within the group to me was good.”
Kraken winger Jordan Eberle likes the chemistry the new team has built (Brian Liesse photo)
While Thursday was the first official practice with coaches on the ice, the team had skated prior.
Daily, the Kraken Community Iceplex saw Kraken players skating. As more players trickled into town the informal skates – known as Captain’s Skates – gave the roster a chance to not only learn each other on the ice but bond off of it.
The skates helped set up a productive first day of camp.
“Those (skates) are great for timing,” goalie Chris Driedger said. “Everyone out there is at the NHL level. When you’re skating in the summer during your goalie oriented skates it’s more technique, footwork stuff. You don’t really get the timing of reading the releases and stuff like that. Those skates are huge and it’s just nice to get in a little bit early and kind of get settled in the city.”
Fashion or function for Brandon Tanev?
Already famous for his wide-eyed team photo, Kraken forward Brandon Tanev sported an interesting look at training camp Thursday.
Skating in the afternoon group, Tanev either took extra care to tape his shinpads or was looking for some unique hockey fashion.
Brandon Tanev may have the most secure shinpads in the NHL. Those aren’t going anywhere. pic.twitter.com/NHNvqjL5Qg
It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here [insert “Michael Scott ‘It’s happening!’” gif]! The first-ever Seattle Kraken training camp is upon us. Thursday morning, Seattle’s players take the ice at the Kraken Community Iceplex to practice in a split-squad format with their coaches present and calling the shots for the first time.
There will be a lot of excitement over the next few weeks as we build closer and closer to opening night in Vegas on Oct. 12. But before that day comes, a lot of questions need to be answered for Seattle.
The most common debates during just about every NHL training camp ever have revolved around which bubble players will break camp with their respective big-league teams and which players will instead be put on waivers and/or assigned to the AHL.
Being that we’ve never seen this group play together, there may be more question marks around this particular roster than we will ever see again. And with 44 total players in camp, there are a lot of decisions that will need to be made by head coach Dave Hakstol and his staff to get the group down to 23 in the next three weeks.
Trying to keep track of all the players and their performances could make your head spin, so we’re going to whittle this down to help you focus on a few key battles in the first Seattle Kraken training camp.
The locks
Here are the players that we are certain have a spot on the team. Some combination of Jaden Schwartz, Alex Wennberg, Jordan Eberle, Jared McCann, Yanni Gourde, and probably Calle Jarnkrok will make up the scoring lines, though Gourde will miss time as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery.
Beyond those six, there are Brandon Tanev, Joonas Donskoi, Marcus Johansson, and Mason Appleton who clearly will play significant roles, though probably not in the top six.
On the blue line, the obvious top pairings will be made up of Mark Giordano, Adam Larsson, Vince Dunn, and Jamie Oleksiak.
Jamie Oleksiak is a lock for a spot on one of Seattle’s top defense pairings (Photo Brian Liesse)
The probables
We’re calling this group “the probables,” because they’re all bona fide NHL players, so we fully expect them to end up with spots on the roster. The thing about this group is that it isn’t totally clear who from this lot will dress each night and who will watch from the press box.
Forwards
Colin Blackwell — 28 years old — Salary $725K in NHL or AHL. Blackwell emerged as a mainstay in the New York Rangers lineup last season, playing 47 of 56 games, registering 22 points and as many as 19 minutes of ice time on a given night.
Ryan Donato— 25 years old — $750K in NHL or AHL. We argued internally about which category Donato should be in here. We’re leaving him as a probable, though a case could be made that both he and Riley Sheahan are battling for a roster spot. Donato has played 50, 62, and 56 games respectively the last three seasons. His minutes have tended to dwindle as those seasons have worn on, and he’s now on his fourth NHL team, but he is clearly an NHL player at this point. With a good opportunity skating alongside good players, he should produce offensively.
Riley Sheahan — 29 years old — $850K in NHL or AHL. Sheahan is a classic depth veteran forward and has not been to the AHL since 2013-14. He will grind it out and provide energy and can likely take nights off on occasion without issue.
Donato and Sheahan are in similar boats here, so one could imagine a world in which they are battling one another for a spot in the lineup. Still, we believe they will both be on the roster when camp ends.
Defense
Carson Soucy — 27 years old — $2.75 million in NHL or AHL. Soucy is a very good defenseman, who can slide up to one of the top pairings in case of injury. He will not spend much time in the press box, unless the other two in this category are doing remarkable things.
Haydn Fleury — 25 years old — $1.3 million in NHL or AHL. He also hasn’t been to the AHL since 2018-19 and was one of the players the Kraken trotted out at the Expansion Draft, so they clearly expect him in the lineup regularly. He played north of 20 minutes most nights toward the end of last season in Anaheim.
Jeremy Lauzon — 24 years old — $850K in NHL or AHL. His presence on the roster is what makes things murky for the bottom pairing. Lauzon was very well respected on a very good Boston Bruins team last season, logging as many as 25 minutes of ice time. He will be afforded some opportunities to play.
Haydn Fleury was among the players present at the Expansion Draft in July (Photo Brian Liesse)
The battlers
That brings us to “the battlers,” those players that are fighting for a spot on the NHL roster when the Kraken break training camp in October. Based on our math—assuming that Gourde isn’t included on the initial 23-man roster and that we are correct with all of our above predictions—there are two spots left to fill. “The battlers” are the players that have a chance to fill those spots but will have to really perform well these next three weeks.
Here’s a curveball to consider, though. Let’s also assume that everyone previously mentioned (except Gourde) stays healthy all the way through to opening night. It generally makes more sense to carry two extra forwards and one extra defenseman, and we’ve listed seven defensemen above, so there is already going to be an odd man out from that group.
Based on this logic, unless one of those seven defensemen gets injured, anyone listed on the blue line below is likely destined to start the season in Charlotte. Still, they need to make a lasting impression, and nothing is written in stone, so these guys will all be competing hard regardless of their position.
Forwards
Morgan Geekie— 23 years old — $750K in NHL, $75K in AHL. Geekie cracked Carolina’s lineup more consistently last year, playing 36 games at the NHL level. But on a deep roster, he found himself in a fourth-line role, which really doesn’t suit his game. He’s still developing, but we think he will reach a point soon where his performance will command bigger minutes.
Alex True — 24 years old — $750K in NHL, $200K in AHL. The former Seattle Thunderbird has 19 career NHL games under his belt with the San Jose Sharks. He’s been a consistent contributor at the AHL level, but has yet to get a real shot in the NHL.
Nathan Bastian — 23 years old — $825K in NHL or AHL. Bastian was impressive as a youngster in the New Jersey Devils organization and earned 41 games with the big club last year while avoiding the AHL. He only notched 10 points, though, and played very few minutes on the nights he dressed toward the end of the season.
Carsen Twarynski — 23 years old — $750K in NHL, $100K in AHL. He has 22 games under his belt with the Philadelphia Flyers, but it feels like a bit of a long shot that he’ll make the team over Geekie or Bastian. He will need to really bring it to stick with the Kraken.
Kole Lind — 22 years old — $874K in NHL, $75K in AHL. Lind got a seven-game cup of coffee with the Canucks last season and did not record a point, but he is a highly regarded prospect who is considered to be on the cusp.
Defense
Will Borgen — 24 years old — $900K in NHL or AHL. Borgen only has 14 NHL games under his belt, but he did become a regular at the end of last season for Buffalo. The one-way contract makes it more financially painful for Seattle to send him to the AHL.
Cale Fleury — 22 years old — $750K in NHL, $75K in AHL. The younger Fleury is just one year removed from playing an impressive 41 games as a rookie with the Montreal Canadiens.
Dennis Cholowski — 23 years old — $900K in NHL, $130 in AHL. He was a well-regarded prospect for the Red Wings, and split time between Detroit and Grand Rapids each of the last three seasons. In all, he has 104 career NHL games and 27 points.
Gustav Olofsson — 26 years old — $750K in NHL, $200K in AHL. Once a touted prospect with Minnesota, Olofsson’s career was derailed by injuries. He has 59 career NHL games but hasn’t been in the show since 2019-20 when he played three games for the Canadiens.
Connor Carrick — 27 years old — $800K in NHL, $350K in AHL. Everybody seems to love Carrick. He has 241 career NHL games, but he’s split time between the AHL and NHL the last three seasons.
Morgan Geekie has scored everywhere he’s played (Checkers photo)
Much like line projections, these training camp conversations always need to be taken with a grain of salt. Seattle could play one game, have an injury, and then need to call a guy up that doesn’t make the initial roster out of camp, rendering all of our impassioned debating moot. Still, it makes for some fun competition over these next few weeks as players look to solidify roles with the inaugural Kraken team.
Which bubble players make your initial roster?
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
