“Down on the Farm” is your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. We’re coming to you a bit late this week due to the holidays on Thursday (U.S. Thanksgiving) and Friday (first home game for the Seattle Torrent). But we’ll still get you all the news, video, and data from every corner of the Kraken organization that you’ve come to expect. In our lead segment, we’ll offer some reckless predictions about which Kraken prospects will—or will not—make their national teams for the upcoming 2026 World Junior Championship.
If you have a Kraken prospect–related question you’d like to see featured in a future column, drop us a note below or on X or BlueSky @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey. Let’s dive in.
World Junior Championship projections for Kraken prospects
Berkly Catton | F | Team Canada
Berkly Catton will be Team Canada’s first-line center and quite possibly its captain if he is loaned to the team. Seattle’s plan for Catton is the only question. The NHL team seems to be “one in, one out” with its top-nine forwards right now. Most recently, Kaapo Kakko appeared primed to return, and then Jaden Schwartz was injured. This has created a spot for Catton to continue to contribute on the roster.
Even so, I suspect the Kraken will loan Catton to Team Canada—unless the team is further stricken by injuries in the coming days. Though every point is important for Seattle right now, Catton has not moved the needle for the NHL club to the extent that he is indispensable. The team may view a WJC stint as beneficial for the player (and, therefore, the team) long term.
Jake O’Brien | F | Team Canada
Ironically, if Catton isn’t made available to Team Canada, the primary “beneficiary” could be Jake O’Brien, who could slide into a top-nine playmaking role vacated by Catton. O’Brien has created a reel of highlights in the first half of his OHL season, primarily through his elite vision and passing. He leads the junior league with 41 points in 22 games.
I’m inclined to believe O’Brien will make the roster regardless, but his playing time will depend on whether Team Canada is without some of its projected front-line contributors like Catton (either because they were not loaned to the team or due to injury). At full attendance, O’Brien still projects as a marginal piece for this year’s team.
Ollie Josephson | F | Team Canada
We characterized Ollie Josephson as a long shot to make this year’s WJC team when he unexpectedly joined Team Canada for the World Junior Summer Showcase. We feel the same way now. I suspect Josephson is on the outside looking in given the talent available to this year’s Canada squad. If the team wants a fourth-line forechecker, it could do much worse than Josephson, but I expect Canada will prioritize skill in this year’s group.
Jakub Fibigr | D | Team Czechia
Jakub Fibigr has been a stalwart for Czechia in international events over the last few years. Elite Prospects has Fibigr logging 23 games with the Czech international team over the last two seasons—in addition to a full slate in the OHL. He has shown the ability to move the puck and play in all situations in these international showings.
This year, however, Czechia will be leaning on Fibigr. After his emergence as a No. 1 defenseman in the OHL this season, I suspect Team Czechia will deploy him heavily, particularly on the power play. He may play as much as any Kraken skater at this year’s WJC.
Julius Miettinen | F | Team Finland
At last year’s WJC, we saw the best version of Julius Miettinen we had seen to that point. He was fast and physical. Playing in Finland’s top six, he often took difficult matchups—particularly in two meetings with Team USA—and more than held his own. Beyond that, Miettinen was a top option on the penalty kill and a net-front presence on the power play. Unfortunately, an injury derailed much of the remainder of his junior season.
This year, Miettinen has turned up the scoring production in the WHL, and he looks primed for a featured role at the WJC. He projects to land on Finland’s top line and play even heavier minutes than last year.
Kim Saarinen | G | Team Finland
Kim Saarinen has been a regular starter in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league, for the last year and a half. Last season he outpaced even the prodigious production of fellow Kraken prospect Nikke Kokko in their respective post-draft seasons. And Saarinen was on Team Finland’s roster at last year’s WJC (though did not play). All of this led me to project that Saarinen would be on Team Finland’s roster, but likely as the backup behind fellow 19-year-old standout Petteri Rimpinen.
That dynamic has not changed much this fall. Rimpinen has arguably outplayed Saarinen at the international precursor events and seems to be ahead of Saarinen in the eyes of Team Finland management. Saarinen will be with Team Finland but may not play more than one pool play game unless Rimpinen falters.
Blake Fiddler | D | Team USA
Fiddler has been a stalwart for Team USA at U18 and U20 precursor tournaments to the World Junior Championship. There is little doubt in my mind that Fiddler is on track to play an important role for Team USA at the 2027 event, when he will be 19 years old. The question is: Does he have a place on Team USA’s blue line this year at 18 years old (a.k.a. an “underager”)?
Over the summer I had Fiddler on the outside looking in. I’m slightly more optimistic about his chances now because his offensive production has ticked up in the WHL. (Fiddler had 33 points in 64 WHL games last season, a .52 point-per-game pace. He’s at 18 points through just 23 games so far this year, a .78 point-per-game pace.) Team USA projects as a sound team, but one that may struggle to score compared with recent years after an exodus of high-end skill. Fiddler’s offensive traits may be too intriguing to leave at home.
Right now, I’d project Fiddler as the No. 7 defenseman for Team USA at the 2026 WJC.
Notes on three more Kraken prospects
Eduard Sale | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
Eduard Sale’s season did not get off to a promising start. He was held off the scoresheet in the Firebirds’ Oct. 10 opener against the San Diego Gulls, and then he proceeded to miss the next month and a half with an injury.
The narrative has shifted a bit since his Nov. 21 return, however. In three games, he has four points (one goal and three assists), and the Firebirds are plus-one with him on the ice at even strength during those contests. By our data score metric—which is built on scoring rates, not totals—Sale’s point-per-game stat line in the AHL at age 20 is the most impressive scoring season in the system right now. Of course, the small-sample-size caveat applies, but this serves as a reminder: Sale is still young and skilled. He shouldn’t be overlooked.
Zaccharya Wisdom | F | Western Michigan Univ. (NCAA)
Zaccharya Wisdom, a 2023 seventh-round pick of the Seattle Kraken, is an unheralded player in the system, but he has pushed his production up a notch in his junior year at Western Michigan University. Wisdom scored three goals and added an assist—and the Broncos were plus-four with him on the ice at even strength—in last weekend’s sweep of the University of Nebraska-Omaha. This earned Wisdom NCHC “Forward of the Week,” and it also makes him your Sound Of Hockey Player of the Week.
Ville Ottavainen | D | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
Ottavainen returned to the ice on Friday, Nov. 28, for the Firebirds, his first game action since Nov. 8. He had been sidelined with a lower-body injury. His return coincided with immediate defensive results, as the Firebirds shut out the San Diego Gulls en route to a 5-0 win.
Kraken prospects data update
Miettinen accumulated the most points per game over the last week, and he tied for the most points overall with Fibigr. Both continue to show they are elite junior players in their age-19 seasons.
Logan Morrison has been a leader for the Firebirds in all respects this season. The 23-year-old undrafted center is second on the team in points (behind only Jagger Firkus) and looks like an emotional leader on the ice.
Saarinen got his season back on track over the last week with two strong starts, including a shutout. He got his save percentage back near .900 for the season and was a strong contender for Player of the Week.
Kokko finished the last week with a save percentage over .900, which is reflective of an incremental step forward in the overall defensive play of the Firebirds. (He also earned a shutout on Friday, Nov. 28, in a game that isn’t included in these statistics, which were gathered Friday morning.)
The Deep Sea Hockey Game of the Week is a matchup between Nathan Villeneuve’s Sudbury Wolves and Jakub Fibigr’s Brampton Steelheads on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 1:00 pm PT.
Tracking 2026 NHL Draft prospects: Adam Novotny
The Czech-born Novotny had an impressive draft-minus-one season. The 6-foot-1 forward played 41 games in the top Czech professional league and was a regular contributor for the Czech U20 team at the World Junior Championship as a 17-year-old. Like many young players who reach the top of the European professional ranks early, he opted to move to North America in his draft year to get acquainted with the play style and assume a featured offensive role. This season he’s averaging more than a point per game for the Peterborough Petes in the OHL. If he keeps up that pace, he’ll likely hear his name called in the top 20 picks of the 2026 NHL Draft.
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.
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we can finally, confidently, and with absolutely no doubt declare who will make the playoffs. Just kidding, but historically about 75 percent of teams in playoff position at Thanksgiving go on to the postseason, so the odds are in those teams’ favor.
Last month we reviewed teams in playoff position on Halloween to see if an earlier date could serve as an indicator of playoff contention.
Here is a breakdown of how each standings position fares in reaching the postseason at Thanksgiving.
As expected, teams in first and second place in their division fare better, but with more than 60 percent success from wild card teams and third-place teams, these spots still reach the playoffs more often than not.
Here is how the playoff picture looks at the Thanksgiving checkpoint.
Kraken update on playoff position
The Kraken improved their standing from the last wild card spot at Halloween to third in the Pacific Division on Thanksgiving.
It may have been easy to write off their strong start in October, but Seattle has continued to accrue points by playing tight, defensive games. Because of this, they are tied for eighth in the NHL with 28 points. Their new defensive identity has made them a tough team to score against, allowing 2.57 goals per game, second only to the Colorado Avalanche at 2.09.
Over the last eight full NHL seasons, teams sitting in third place in their division at this juncture have made the playoffs 62.5 percent of the time.
On Thanksgiving Eve, the Kraken were holding second place but fell to the Dallas Stars. Vegas gained a point in a shootout loss to Ottawa, and both Seattle and Vegas now sit at 28 points. Vegas holds the tiebreaker with nine regulation wins compared with Seattle’s seven. Historically, second place in the division fares best, making the playoffs 90.6 percent of the time.
Standings differences since Halloween
There were five teams in playoff position at Halloween that now sit outside the picture: the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Winnipeg Jets. That means 68.8 percent (11 of 16) of teams in position on Halloween remain in position at Thanksgiving. This roughly matches the Halloween historical success rate of 66.4 percent, which surprised me.
Crowded standings
With about 75 percent of the season remaining, no playoff spot is secure. While Thanksgiving can serve as an indicator, it is important to examine other factors. As John Barr pointed out in his 10 for 10 series, the standings are crowded this year.
In the Eastern Conference, the standings are extremely tight, with every team within five points of a playoff spot. Four teams are tied for the final wild card spot, so the playoff picture can shift any night.
In the Western Conference, the standings are starting to separate, but five teams remain within five points of a playoff spot. The Avalanche, with a league-leading 39 points, are pulling away. They have one regulation loss this season and are riding a 10-game win streak.
In the Pacific Division, the top four teams are bunched up. The Anaheim Ducks (yes, the Ducks) lead with 29 points. Vegas, Seattle, and Los Angeles are even at 28, with tiebreakers needed to sort them. Vegas holds the edge in regulation wins, while Seattle holds a slight advantage over LA in regulation and overtime wins.
Overtime games
This season, fans have noticed the Kraken going to overtime more often, and they are right. Seattle has appeared in 10 overtime games through 23 contests (43.5 percent). Before this season, they went to overtime in 21 percent of regular-season games. This big jump is most likely tied to their defensive style, which has resulted in low-scoring games.
Through 360 games, this is the fewest # of games that have ended in regulation since the NHL (re)introduced overtime games in 1983-84. pic.twitter.com/0IjP3fLGMB
Although the Kraken are tied for first in OT appearances with 10, the entire league is seeing more overtime games. The NHL is at 28 percent of games needing extra time, a six percent increase over the last eight full seasons. The Pacific Division leads the charge with 34.2 percent. Eight NHL teams have nine or more OT games, and five of them are in the Pacific Division.
The high number of OT appearances has both helped and hurt Seattle. The drawback appears in regulation wins, where they have seven, tied with LA for the lowest among playoff-position teams. This could matter later, as regulation wins are the top tiebreaker.
On the positive side, Seattle has banked 14 points in their 10 OT games. They are 4-3 in 3-on-3 overtime but winless in shootouts, dropping all three. It is easy to get frustrated by shootouts, but they have no bearing in the playoffs aside from the extra standings point. Even with no shootout wins, Seattle sits just one win below .500 in OT and SO games.
The bigger indicator of playoff success is regulation wins. For example, in Seattle’s only playoff appearance, they entered as the first wild card and faced the heavily favored Avalanche. Even though Colorado won the Central Division, Seattle had more regulation wins (37 to 36). It was a closer matchup than many realized, and the Kraken knocked out the defending Stanley Cup champions in seven games.
The takeaway: do not get hung up on OT or SO results. Take the point and move on. Seattle’s results in extra-time games should even out as the season progresses, and the steady stream of loser points should keep them in the race just as it has through the first quarter of the season.
Wrapping up
The Kraken still have work to do, but they are in a better position than many preseason rankings predicted. They have continued to find success despite injuries and inconsistent scoring. Seattle is a hard team to play against, and its experience in close games should help if (or when) the Kraken return to the playoffs. That is especially true in playoff overtime, where play stays at 5-on-5.
Next up is a home-and-home against the Oilers, starting Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena. Edmonton will have a chip on its shoulder after a rough 8-3 loss to the Dallas Stars. This is the second of four matchups this season. Seattle won the first one and held Connor McDavid without a point or shot on net.
What do you think of the Thanksgiving cutoff as an indicator? Leave your comments below.
Blaiz Grubic
Blaiz Grubic is a contributor at Sound Of Hockey. A passionate hockey fan and player for over 30 years, Blaiz grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is an alumni of Washington State University (Go Cougs!). When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about hockey, he enjoys quality time with his wife and daughter or getting out on a golf course for a quick round. Follow @blaizg on BlueSky or X.
While the Seattle Kraken showed once again that they can be competitive in every game—even when the flow of the game is a little faster than others—they also showed that the Dallas Stars still have their number, losing 3-2 at Climate Pledge Arena on Thanksgiving Eve.
All-time, excluding the 2022-23 playoff series when Seattle won three games, the Kraken are now 2-9-2 against the Stars and have lost eight in a row. From the Dallas perspective, that’s a 12-1-1 record.
The Kraken looked good in this contest, and if they play like that every game, they’ll win most nights. But Casey DeSmith was sharp, the power play was atrocious, and two fluky goals cost the Kraken standings points.
Here are Three Takeaways from a 3-2 Kraken loss to the Stars.
Takeaway #1: Jared McCann in, Jaden Schwartz out
As the Kraken offense sputtered over the last few weeks, it became more and more clear how much they missed their purest goal scorer, Jared McCann, who was absent for a whopping 17 games with a lower-body injury. He finally returned to the lineup on Wednesday and registered an assist on Vince Dunn’s game-tying goal 18 seconds into the third period.
I liked McCann’s game. Though he only put two shots on net officially, I remember him buzzing around dangerous areas on several occasions during the contest.
“He had a couple good chances,” coach Lane Lambert said. “I thought he looked good. He hasn’t played for a long time; he hasn’t played much hockey this year at all. I think he’s gonna help us for sure.”
McCann did not exactly get to ease his way back into game action, though. Just 19 seconds into his very first shift since Oct. 18, Alex Petrovic caught him with a brutal high stick to the mouth, which sent McCann down the tunnel temporarily.
“Just tried to battle for a puck, and next thing you know, my tooth was in my throat,” McCann said. He also said he felt “better and better” as the game went on. It was good to see him back out there.
Hear from Jared McCann on his… painful… return to the lineup. “Next thing I know, my tooth is in my throat.” #SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/7C807l6QDC
On the flip side, though, just as McCann returned to the lineup, another key piece went out with a lower-body injury. Jaden Schwartz went to the goal crease and got tangled up with DeSmith and Vladislav Kolyachonok late in the second period. He hobbled to the bench and down the tunnel and did not return to the game.
Lambert did not have an update on Schwartz after the game, saying he was still being evaluated.
Takeaway #2: The power play stunk
On a night when the Kraken were either tied or a goal away from being tied for the entire game, they really needed their power play to chip in at least once. Despite getting ample opportunity—Seattle had the manpower advantage five times in the game, in fact—the PP came up completely empty on the night.
There were two especially critical moments where Seattle could have used contributions from the power play: first, when McCann’s dental incident in the early stages of the game drew a four-minute power play but did not generate a goal; and later, when Petrovic hauled down Matty Beniers behind the net with just 3:35 left. Seattle showed a little more creativity on that last one, shifting their players all over the offensive zone to try to create different looks, but it never felt like they were all that close to scoring.
“Myself included, I definitely made some plays that I want back,” Dunn said. “[We need] to simplify, make plays under pressure, and we’re the guys that need to make those plays, and we didn’t do it tonight. I thought the PK was great, and then the PP lets the team down a little bit, so that’s frustrating.”
Added Lambert: “Entry-wise, I didn’t think we did a great job, as we strove to enter the zone. Give them credit. They’re a big team, they’ve got long guys and big defensemen, but we could have done a better job there… [The power play] was needed tonight, and it’s been good for us, and it’s been there when we’ve needed it in the past. Tonight wasn’t that night.”
Takeaway #3: Better shot generation
One big positive I saw in this one was more time spent in the offensive zone than in some recent past outings. Lambert has talked about more shot generation ad nauseam lately, and I chatted with a few players about this topic for my Kraken Notebook piece a couple days ago. The message seemed to get through, though, because there was clearly a concerted effort to get things going north more often and letting shots rip whenever there was an opportunity to do so.
Case in point: Brandon Montour gathered a puck in the corner after Shane Wright missed a wide-open net and didn’t hesitate to send it toward DeSmith from below the goal line. Montour got rewarded, as it banked off DeSmith’s right foot and into the net to make it 1-1 at 9:06 of the first period.
MONTY MONEY! 💰 🚨
Shane Wright misses a wide-open net, but Brandon Montour corrals it in the corner and scores from the goal line.
What was encouraging about this was that they put 28 shots on DeSmith (a high number by Seattle’s standards) but didn’t open themselves up defensively. Two of the goals against were somewhat fluky, with a high-tip play working perfectly to make it 1-0 and a floating wrist shot with five minutes left in the third on which Adam Larsson perfectly screened Joey Daccord and failed to get the block.
Kolyachonok scores to make it 3-2 with five minutes left.
Again, if the Kraken can generate like that consistently without sacrificing much of their stout defensive structure, they’re going to remain a playoff competitor.
By the way, they did officially get to Thanksgiving in a playoff spot, although as Blaiz Grubic wrote a while back, losing on Wednesday and dropping to third place in the Pacific Division lowers their chances significantly. Roughly 89 percent of second-place teams at Thanksgiving make the playoffs, whereas about 63 percent of teams in third place at Thanksgiving qualify.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! I’m thankful for our great readers, listeners, and followers.
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.
The Seattle Kraken practiced at Kraken Community Iceplex on Tuesday for the first time since embarking on a four-game road trip in which they went 2-1-1, but fumbled a golden opportunity to sweep a back-to-back, losing 1-0 in a shootout to the Islanders to close out the trip on Sunday.
Lots of meaty topics in this Kraken Notebook, including a conversation with Joey Daccord about how he and Philipp Grubauer have been playing lately, some feelings of gratitude from Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, an encouraging update on Jared McCann, and more.
Enjoy!
Joey Daccord feeling good about his game
It’s a rare thing for a goalie to earn a 34-save shutout and still come away with a loss.
“The only other one I can remember [like that in my career] is the Calder Cup Finals against Hershey,” Joey Daccord said, referencing a 30-save performance that he had for the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2023. “We lost 1-0 in overtime, so it technically was a shutout, but we ended up losing. So, it doesn’t really count, but that’s the only one I can think of that was 0-0 that we lost.”
Daccord was red-hot in the contest against the Islanders but came up a shootout goal short of victory in the goalie duel against David Rittich, closing out a week of solid goaltending between himself and batterymate (and birthday boy) Philipp Grubauer.
“Some nights the puck bounces your way, and some nights it doesn’t,” Daccord said. “And that was one of the nights where it was about halfway through the game, and I was like, ‘I think the puck’s bouncing both goalies’ way tonight.’ And I was like, ‘I think it’s going to be hard to score a goal tonight.’”
Daccord also spoke glowingly of the performances Grubauer has had in his last two outings, winning 4-1 against San Jose in relief of an injured Matt Murray on Nov. 15, and then 3-2 in overtime on Saturday against the Penguins.
“He was unreal against Pittsburgh. It was so fun to watch,” Daccord said. “I mean, even that overtime, he had three or four monster saves. And then we go down and get one shot and score. I was like, ‘That’s hockey!’ He definitely stole us two points that night.
“And that San Jose game, where he came in in relief of Murr, it’s tough to go in and be that sharp. Me and Murr were watching on TV for that one, underneath in the locker room. And all we were saying was, when you come in like that, you just want to get a couple shots right away, a couple D-zone shifts, so you can just get into the game. He made a couple of monster stops right away. That first shift, they got hemmed in for like, two minutes, and he made a few saves. And we were like, ‘Alright, he’s good.’”
Indeed, even with Murray on the shelf, Kraken goaltending is in a pretty nice groove right now.
It’s funny how this three-goalie system has worked out so far. People thought the Kraken were crazy when they didn’t buy out Grubauer and also added Murray, but Murray and Grubauer got Seattle through an injury to Daccord, and now the Daccord/Grubauer combo has been lights out with Murray on the shelf. Maybe there’s something to this three-goalie system after all…
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard enjoying the ride
It was great catching up with Fisker Mølgaard, who was called up last week and has played two games for the Kraken. The 20-year-old Danish forward is as nice as they come in the sport, and you can tell he’s really enjoying the opportunity to spend some time in the NHL.
“It’s almost hard to explain,” Mølgaard said. “It’s a dream come true, and just being a part of this every day and learning from all the other guys… It’s a great experience. So, I’m happy to be here.”
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard competes at Kraken rookie camp in September. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Fisker Mølgaard said the first person he called when he got the news that he was heading to the show was his dad, who was on his way home from work in Denmark when he received the call.
“I know he was super proud,” Fisker Mølgaard said. “He said he almost shed a tear, and that doesn’t happen that often. So it was a special moment for all of us.”
How long Fisker Mølgaard sticks around remains to be seen. There’s a chance he goes back to Coachella Valley as soon as Wednesday, depending on what happens with Jared McCann (more on that in a bit).
Offensive struggles persisting
The Kraken were never expected to be an offensive juggernaut this season, but if they were going to be a playoff contender—as they appear to be—then it would have been reasonable to anticipate middle-of-the-league scoring. Instead, they’ve found success in spite of an inept offense that ranks among the worst teams in the league with 57 goals for (30th in the NHL) and 2.59 goals per game (29th).
The players recognize that the lack of offensive production is a problem, and so does the coaching staff. Lane Lambert largely attributes the struggles to passing up shots, but he and the team know it’s more nuanced than that.
“I mean, definitely one part of it is passing up on shots,” Matty Beniers said. “If you’ve got an opportunity to shoot, and that’s the best play there is, you’ve got to shoot the puck, and you’ve got to get it on net.”
Lambert sees a team that is consistently looking for “something better” but believes there’s value in getting pucks to the goalie, even if it isn’t a Grade A chance.
“There’s also the philosophy that shots create shots in terms of rebounds,” Lambert said. “There’s A chances, B chances, and C chances, and C chances or C shots can create an A chance off a rebound.”
Beniers agreed with this line of thinking.
“It’s not just shot attempts, but also getting them through and on net, sort of for rebounds or chaos or backdoor plays,” Beniers said.
From the backend, Ryker Evans sees an opportunity for the defense to help drive more offense and create more opportunities for the forwards too, but says there’s also a need for more movement in the offensive zone.
“Shooting-wise, in a sense, it’s just being a bit more selfish and shooting the puck instead of trying to pass it into the net,” Evans said. “Offensive-wise, I mean, it’s there. At times, we’ve got good net-front presence, so as a D, you’ve just got to get the puck to the net. And I think just doing a little bit more motion from other guys, and maybe get a high F3 and just— I think the biggest thing is just finding the lanes and getting the puck to the net.”
Jared McCann should help
The players and the coach seem to be on the same page in terms of their strategy for getting out of this offensive rut, but there’s also the question of personnel. The Kraken do not have many goal scorers on their roster, and their most reliable shooter—Jared McCann—has missed 17 games with a lower-body injury.
There’s good news on that front, though: it looks like he could be in the lineup for the game Wednesday against the Dallas Stars. Lambert wouldn’t confirm this to be the case, and McCann is still listed on injured reserve.
But he was on a regular line Tuesday with Berkly Catton and Shane Wright, and he also manned the right half wall on the power play. When a player is included in the power play at practice, he typically plays the next game, so this is a very encouraging sign.
“He’s a goal scorer, and, I mean, he’s a big part of this team, so having him back in the lineup would be huge,” Evans said. “And he’s just going to do what he does and put pucks in the net.”
Added Beniers: “That’s always a boost [to get McCann back]. I mean, the guy shoots the puck from everywhere. That’ll help for sure; he’s obviously a shooter, he’s one of our main shooters, so he’ll help a lot.”
Here’s how the Kraken lined up at practice:
Mason Marchment // Jordan Eberle // Matty Beniers Jaden Schwartz // Chandler Stephenson // Eeli Tolvanen Jared McCann // Berkly Catton // Shane Wright Tye Kartye // Freddy Gaudreau // Ryan Winterton Jani Nyman // Oscar Fisker Mølgaard
Vince Dunn // Adam Larsson Ryan Lindgren // Brandon Montour Ryker Evans // Jamie Oleksiak Cale Fleury // Josh Mahura
If McCann is activated from IR, Seattle will have to make a roster move to make space for him. That likely means one of Nyman, Fisker Mølgaard, or Cale Fleury goes to Coachella Valley.
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.
The Seattle Kraken didn’t always look like the better team this past week, but the standings don’t care about style points. They care about results, and the Kraken keep finding ways to collect them.
It started with a flat 4–2 loss in Detroit, the kind of game that could’ve set the tone for a rough road trip. Instead, Seattle flipped the script in Chicago, storming back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to steal a win. Two nights later, they pulled off another comeback in Pittsburgh, capped by a thrilling overtime finish. And on Sunday, Joey Daccord pitched a shutout against the Islanders, only to see the Kraken fall 1-0 in a shootout.
They got five out of eight possible points and finished the trip sitting in second place in the Pacific Division. For a team ranked near the bottom of the league in goals scored per game, that’s no small feat. The formula has been the same all season: stingy defense, timely goals, and a comfort level in tight, low-scoring battles. It’s not always pretty, but right now the vibes are high, and the Kraken are proving that survival in the NHL is about finding ways to win, not how you get there.
Shots on goal and shot attempts
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Kraken are struggling to generate shots on goal. They currently rank 32nd in the league with just 24.1 shots per game. Part of that is playing with the lead, but another part is the recent uptick in time spent on the penalty kill. Seattle is still one of the more disciplined teams in the league, but they’ve been shorthanded a bit more than usual over the last 10 games. When you’re killing penalties, you’re not spending much time generating offense.
That doesn’t explain everything about the low shot volume, but it’s definitely a piece of it. The Kraken don’t fare a whole lot better when you look at overall shot attempts either; they’re 28th in that category.
Maybe the most concerning part: they aren’t generating high-danger chances. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Seattle ranks dead last in both high-danger shots and high-danger shot attempts. This was a concern last season and a talking point coming into this one. It’s been slightly better over the last seven games, but it still feels like something that needs addressing if the Kraken want this run to continue.
High-danger shots against
On the flip side, Seattle has been excellent at limiting high-danger looks against. At even strength, the Kraken allow just 5.4 high-danger shots per game, well below the league average of 6.0. That was on full display Sunday against the Islanders, a game in which New York controlled plenty of zone time but struggled to break into the high-danger areas.
Other musings
The Kraken’s game against the Islanders was their first in 10 outings without allowing a power-play goal against.
Sunday’s shootout loss was their 10th overtime game of the season. They had just 13 all of last year. Seattle is 4–6 in OT this season and has lost all three shootouts.
The point against the Islanders was the Kraken’s first point in the second half of a back-to-back since March 22, 2024.
Freddy Gaudreau is now 11-for-20 in career shootout attempts, ranking fourth in the NHL among players with 15-plus attempts. The Kraken could’ve used him in those other two shootout games.
A whopping 81.1 percent of Kraken game time this season has been played tied or within one goal. That leads the league.
Despite their scoring issues, Sunday’s 1–0 shootout loss was the first shutout of the season against the Kraken. They were shut out seven times in each of the previous two seasons.
A weekend note from the broadcast: The Kraken are minus-eight in first-period goal differential, second-worst in the NHL behind Detroit. They’re tied for sixth-best in the third period.
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard made his NHL debut last week in Chicago. He played about six minutes a night in his two games, but it was still great to see him rewarded for strong progress. He’s the first Kraken pick from the 2023 draft class to play an NHL game. I don’t expect to see him much the rest of the way, but he’s ahead of schedule.
Seattle Kraken Goalies: Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer — The two of them combined to go 2-1-1 this week with a .940 save percentage and four ‘quality starts.’
Ryker Evans (SEA) — The third-pair defenseman tallied one goal and three assists over the last four games and looks like he’s taking a real step forward this season.
Jakub Fibigr (BRA/SEA) — The seventh-round pick put up five points in three games for Brampton and looks like a lock for Czechia’s World Junior team.
The week ahead
The Kraken return home, but the schedule doesn’t exactly soften. First up are the big, bad Dallas Stars, winners of seven of their last 10 and the team Seattle has struggled against more than any other Western Conference opponent. The Kraken’s 2-9-2 regular-season record against Dallas is a glaring reminder of how tough this matchup has been. They haven’t beaten the Stars since that playoff series back in 2023. If history is any indication, this one will be a grind.
Things get only slightly easier when the Edmonton Oilers come to town. Yes, Seattle already beat them once this season, but as long as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are wearing those sweaters, “easy” isn’t exactly in play. Edmonton has had its issues, but those two can tilt the ice instantly. Honestly, if the Kraken can scrape out two of a possible four points this week, I’d call that a win.
And while we’re talking about hockey in Seattle, another quick nod to the city’s newest team: the Seattle Torrent. Their debut game was fast, fun, and competitive. With the home opener coming up, it’d be awesome to see a big crowd show up and give the franchise a proper welcome.
And finally…
At the end of the day, the Kraken keep banking points, even if the road there hasn’t always been convincing. The defense-first identity is clear, the offense remains a work in progress, and yet the standings show Seattle right near the top of the Pacific. So how are you feeling about this team—encouraged by the results, frustrated by the style, or somewhere in the middle?
You don’t see that every day. Kraken goalie Joey Daccord earned a 34-save shutout against the Islanders… and LOST 1-0 in a shootout.
Still, the Kraken are coming home with a better-than-.500 record from their challenging four-game trip that took them to Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Long Island—a swing in which they faced four teams who have all been better than expected this season.
A win Sunday would have been a really nice cherry on top of the sundae, but the Kraken did manage to force yet another overtime against the Islanders and came a shootout goal away from sweeping a back-to-back for the first time since 2022-23. Alas, they came up short, but still snagged a point in the second game—the first time they’ve done that since the 2023-24 season.
“We didn’t score any goals, so we didn’t find a way to capitalize,” coach Lane Lambert said. “Of course, neither did they. I thought our goalie was really good. I thought their goalie made some good saves as well, but it’s just a common theme right now, shot volume or lack thereof. We passed up too many shots again, so at some point, we’ve got to figure this out.”
Daccord was incredible in this one. Here are Three Takeaways from a 1-0 Kraken shootout loss to the Islanders.
Takeaway #1: Joey deserved better
It’s rare that a goalie pitches a shutout and still somehow comes away with a loss, but that’s what happened to Daccord on Sunday. He was dialed in from the drop of the puck, which was a good thing, because he did get tested early. As the game wore on, you could see that the Kraken were content to sit back and wait for their opportunities—of which there were very few. That meant they were leaning heavily on Daccord, who was equal to the task.
Daccord rebounded from giving up a squeezer of a goal in the trip-opening loss to the Red Wings on Tuesday with a solid 24-save win in Chicago on Thursday. He was even better on Long Island on Sunday, kicking out 34 of 34 shots in regulation and overtime, then two shootout attempts before Bo Horvat finally got one past him to extend the shootout to an extra round. Kyle Palmieri beat him again with the next shot and won the game.
#SeaKraken lose in the shootout… They had it. Horvat saved the Isles, Palmieri won it.
While the Kraken did a decent job of keeping things to the outside, there were more breakdowns in this game than in others. Some rush chances, some passes right into the slot, and some dangerous-looking flurries in front of the net. But Daccord was so calm and collected in net that he just never seemed to get out of position or sprawling to make stops. Even when shots were coming through traffic, pucks were hitting him and sticking without rebounds, and in the end, he stopped north of four expected goals, according to MoneyPuck.
Daccord’s effort comes on the heels of Philipp Grubauer’s 30-save performance on Saturday in Pittsburgh.
“They were really good [on the trip],” Lambert said. “I mean, it’s a big reason why we went the way that we went on the trip, but at the same time, our guys battled in front of them, blocked a lot of shots. I thought they both played very well.”
Added Freddy Gaudreau, “Joey and Grubi, the last game, both our goalies are giving us huge confidence out there. It’s huge when your goalies are just solid like that. They’ve been fun to play in front of. They’re just showing up every single game, and they’re ultra talented, so it’s fun to play in front of those guys.”
Takeaway #2: Anemic offense continues
The Kraken did have some good looks in the game, and Big Save Dave Rittich came up with some important stops at critical moments for New York. But the Kraken—as they almost always do—went long swaths of the game without putting a shot on Rittich and ultimately mustered just 21 official offerings in 65 minutes of play.
Part of that is a lack of possession to get themselves set up in the offensive zone, and part of it is playing a structured and patient game that’s comfortable keeping the score low and largely in Seattle’s end. But part of it is a team-wide habit of deferring to teammates when players are in shooting positions, and then not connecting on those passes. In other words, they’re just trying to be too damn cute with the puck.
Asked by Piper Shaw why that seems to happen, Lambert said: “I think we’re looking for something better, and I don’t understand why. We’ve got to shoot the puck. The only way you can score goals, and I’ve said it before and over and over again, is to put pucks on net.”
Of course, it does sting Seattle’s scoring chances to have their only real goal-scoring threat, Jared McCann, out of the lineup, along with the play-driving Kaapo Kakko. Word on the street is that McCann could return this week, which would give this sputtering offense a boost.
Takeaway #3: A positive road trip, in the end
The Kraken’s struggles in the second of back-to-backs continued on Sunday. BUT… but…
With the shootout loss, Seattle did get another point out of the game and came home with five out of eight possible points from a trip that started with a regulation loss in Detroit.
It was the first time since March 22, 2024 (so, more than a full season ago) that the Kraken earned a point in the second of back-to-backs. Remember, they went 0-12-0 in that scenario last year, a borderline impressive feat in and of itself.
“We had a good road trip,” Lambert said. “2-1-1 and points in three of four. Tonight’s game ultimately comes down to a— call it what you want, but a skills competition at the end. If we win that, we’re feeling pretty good about ourselves, and I think we should still feel good about ourselves.”
In the still-airtight Pacific Division standings, the point moves Seattle into sole possession of second place behind Anaheim, although Vegas has played one fewer game and technically has a slightly better points percentage.
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.
