Sound Of Hockey
SOUND OF HOCKEY
Trusted independent kraken coverage
Sound Of Hockey
SOUND OF HOCKEY
Trusted independent kraken coverage
Down on the Farm – Mølgaard is an all-situations contributor as an AHL rookie

Down on the Farm – Mølgaard is an all-situations contributor as an AHL rookie

by | Oct 25, 2025 | Uncategorized

“Down on the Farm” is your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. This week we’ll focus on Firebirds rookie center Oscar Fisker Mølgaard and his rapid ascension into an important role in North America. After that, we’ll pass along injury news, standout performances, and other notes from the Kraken system.

As always, 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.

Oscar Fisker Mølgaard shows skill and maturity in key AHL minutes

When we highlighted Oscar Fisker Mølgaard last season, we noted that the Danish center was an impressive but underexposed prospect. His career to date had been in the Swedish league, and his trade was speed, smarts, and defensive ability, rather than gaudy scoring production.

Mølgaard came to North America for a cup of coffee with the Coachella Valley Firebirds at the end of last season. During that stint, he gave fans a hint that his game would translate to a smaller ice surface and the more physical, pressure-based play style of the AHL and NHL. But he was a role player in his time in the Valley, focused on acclimating.

“[Mølgaard] is a 20-year-old player, but he’s been playing with the men in the [SHL] for three years, [and] three years on the Danish Men’s National Team as well,” Firebirds vice president of hockey and business operations Troy Bodie said. “He’s a very smart player, good skill. We saw that last year when he adapted to not only the league, but he’s never played on the small ice. In a lot of ways it’s a different game. Just how smart of a player he is, he adapted very well.”

Mølgaard discussed his journey with Sound Of Hockey at Kraken Rookie Camp this summer.

As Kraken training camp progressed, players were re-assigned to junior leagues or the Firebirds in multiple waves, but Mølgaard remained. He stuck with the team until the very last day of cuts, along with players like John Hayden and Ville Ottavainen—both of whom have already been recalled to the Kraken for stints in the NHL early this season. This gave us a hint of the team’s view of the young Dane.

“It means a lot because you’re [still with the NHL team] in the final stages here,” head coach Lane Lambert said of the last group of cuts. “And let’s be clear, this is an NHL season, which is 82 games. It’s an Olympic year, which condenses those 82 games, and you’re going to need players. There’s a lot of games in a short period of time, and so anyone who’s here at this point in time… it bodes well for them, for sure.”

Even though he had only played a handful of AHL games, the team viewed Mølgaard as a top option for the big club.

Fair or not, this raised expectations for Mølgaard. It was up to him to prove that he could meet that standard on the ice in Coachella Valley. From my vantage—and, apparently, the team’s—he has done all of that and more.

“Oscar is a very intelligent, very skilled, two-way player,” Bodie said. “He’ll be a big part of [the Firebirds].”

With only two AHL “veterans” on the Firebirds roster at the moment (and one of them is day-to-day with a lower-body injury), Coachella Valley has been leaning on its young players in key roles. No first-year player has responded as well as Mølgaard.

He quickly assimilated to the smaller spaces available to him on North American ice; his speed through the neutral zone transporting the puck into the offensive zone is perhaps even more noticeable now than it was in Europe. It allows him to tilt the ice in his team’s favor, particularly when matched with his strong backchecking, shot blocking, and defensive-zone instincts. Those latter aspects of his game could be true high-end traits at his peak.

On the penalty kill he is active and instinctual, particularly as the high neutral-zone forechecker. He is responsible for a handful of disruptions in the early going that have helped the Firebirds qualify as a top-10 penalty-kill unit.

Most surprising to me is his deployment on the power play, where he has been the first center over the boards, taking the draw and manning the half-wall “quarterback” position. He can connect on a one-timer when the situation calls for it, but that is not a strength of his game at this point. Even still, he has been comfortable skating and passing the puck to open areas from the half wall, which is a skillset we didn’t see from him in Europe (perhaps because he never had the chance).

His overall offensive production, including a willingness to get to the net front, has also surpassed my expectations. I have seen a skill level in his hands in the early going that wasn’t evident in his role within his SHL team’s structure. If he can keep it going, and add some necessary size, his projection will look more and more like a middle-six player than a bottom-six defensive specialist.

Notes on five more Kraken prospects

Eduard Sale | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)

Injuries have been a theme of the early season for the NHL team. Kraken prospects in the system have fared a bit better so far, but the strain on the Kraken has been felt by the Firebirds as well—with key players like John Hayden and Ben Meyers unavailable to the team because they are filling roles in the NHL. The forward depth will be tested further with Eduard Sale also out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. (Luckily, Mølgaard did not miss any additional time after leaving the team’s game on Oct. 10.)

Ty Nelson | D | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)

Add to the strain on the Firebirds forwards a recent week-to-week lower-body injury for defenseman Ty Nelson, and the Firebirds are certainly undermanned at the moment. Nelson was one of only two players to play every game for the Firebirds last year, so his absence will be keenly felt.

Kaden Hammell | D | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)

Hammell made his AHL debut this week and picked up both his first professional assist and first professional goal in two contests. With Nelson out, Hammell should have an extended opportunity to make his mark and prove he deserves to remain active on game days. His size and physical play are valuable, though there are some details in his reads that he needs to improve to succeed at the AHL level.

Semyon Vyazovoi | G | Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)

Semyon Vyazovoi started the season playing sparingly, likely hampered by an injury. When he did get in there, the results were not up to his standard. That changed over the last week, with Vyazovoi earning each of his KHL team’s starts and performing well. He was 2-1-0 from Friday, Oct. 17, through Thursday, Oct. 23—the time period technically covered by this late-arriving column—with a .931 save percentage. With that, all of a sudden, he leads the Kraken organization in save percentage again, as he frequently has done in recent years. His performance makes him our Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week. (He also added a .958 save percentage win on Saturday, Oct. 25, but we’re objective here and did not allow that to sway our player of the week “voting.”)

Let’s Get Quzzical: Two of Vyazovoi’s starts last week matched him up against a former Kraken goaltender. Name the goalie. Answer later in the column.

Jake O’Brien | F | Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)

You know you’re a star 19-year-old in junior hockey when a two-point-per-game week qualifies as “ho hum” and actually lowers your season average. That said, Sound Of Hockey got an in-person viewing of O’Brien last week from our OHL Correspondent John Barr. Check out that conversation at about the eight-minute mark in the most recent Sound Of Hockey Podcast.

Kraken prospects data update

(Author’s Note: This update covers games through Thursday, Oct. 23.)

Loke Krantz returned to the Swedish U20 league and had a productive week, scoring three goals and adding two assists.

Logan Morrison has stepped up as a top forward for the Firebirds in the early going, playing key minutes. As a third-year player, he qualifies as an experienced leader on this year’s club.

Kim Saarinen has had a couple of tough outings in recent weeks, but he continues to operate as a lead goalie for HPK in Liiga.

Victor Ostman cracked the Firebirds lineup last week, and while his numbers weren’t very good, he was mostly solid. He should be productive if he continues as the AHL backup this season. The longevity of the three-goaltender situation at the NHL level remains a question mark.

Let’s Get Quizzical Answer: The former Kraken goalie that Vyazovoi faced twice last week was Chris Driedger, who is playing for Traktor this season. Vyazovoi was 1-1-0 in those contests.

Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker

2: Kim Saarinen, Julius Miettinen

1: Jake O’Brien, Semyon Vyazovoi

Previewing the week ahead

With apologies that this is coming late, hopefully it can still orient your watching for Saturday and the remainder of the week. Both Clarke Caswell’s Denver team and Ollie Josephson’s North Dakota team will have games available to stream on ESPN+ this weekend. The Deep Sea Hockey Game of the Week is a Sunday matchup between two top WHL squads: Julius Miettinen’s Everett Silvertips and the Spokane Chiefs.

Tracking 2026 NHL Draft prospects: Ryan Roobroeck

While he has been overshadowed by some buzzier prospects, few can match the junior scoring production of OHL forward Ryan Roobroeck. Add in a 6-foot-4, 216-pound frame and there is a lot to dream on with this player. Roobroeck has had a relatively quiet (by his standards) 11 points through 12 games this season.

Recent prospect updates

October 17, 2025: Tyson Jugnauth earns important role with the Firebirds

October 10, 2025: Firebirds drop the puck on the 2025-26 season

October 3, 2025: Catton makes his case for the NHL Roster

September 26, 2025: Junior seasons begin, J.R. Avon settles in

Curtis Isacke

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.

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Three Takeaways – Kraken finish road trip strong with 3-0 statement win over Jets

Three Takeaways – Kraken finish road trip strong with 3-0 statement win over Jets

by | Oct 23, 2025 | Uncategorized

“Well, what a disappointment that road trip ended up being.”

…Is what we would have written if the Kraken had come up short against the high-flying Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. After starting the trip 1-0-2—including an impressive win over the Toronto Maple Leafs—dropping the final three games and returning home 1-3-2 would have really stung.

Instead, the Kraken handed the Jets their first home shutout loss since the middle of the 2023-24 season and brought home a downright solid 2-2-2 record, collecting six points and improving to 4-2-2 on the year.

“I thought our guys did a really good job of responding from the Washington game [on Tuesday] where I don’t think any of us were happy, coaches or players,” head coach Lane Lambert said.

On this night, Joey Daccord pitched a 32-save shutout and had an assist, while Jaden Schwartz notched two goals and an assist.

Here are Three Takeaways from an all-around 3-0 Kraken win over the Jets.

Takeaway #1: Just a solid game

Considering all this team has endured over the past two weeks—visiting six different cities, crossing into Canada twice, jumping time zones, and dealing with as many as six simultaneous absences to key players—it would have been understandable if they’d limped home with an underwhelming result.

(Thankfully, Mason Marchment returned after a one-game hiatus and delivered some high comedy.)

The Kraken refused to let their manpower challenges be an excuse, though, and built off an improved third period in Washington on Tuesday and followed it up with a full 60-minute, all-hands-on-deck effort Thursday. The result was a huge win over what should be one of the top teams in the NHL.

We’ll talk about Joey in the next Takeaway, because he deserves plenty of praise. But it’s worth noting he didn’t need to be spectacular in this one. The Kraken played with structure and discipline, stifling nearly every bit of momentum Winnipeg tried to generate.

Did you ever hear the typically raucous home crowd really get into the game? Maybe for a few minutes in the third, when the Jets strung together a couple of solid shifts in the offensive zone, but otherwise, Seattle made them look disjointed and kept the home fans quiet.

Takeaway #2: Daccord out-duels Hellebuyck

Joey Daccord surely wants to make Team USA for the Olympics, though his inclusion has generally been seen as a long shot. Meanwhile, the presumed starter for that team—Connor Hellebuyck—was in the opposite crease Thursday, fresh off a season in which he won both the Vezina and Hart Trophies and started for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

On Hellebuyck’s home ice, it was Daccord who came away victorious.

Daccord needed a strong outing after a couple of questionable goals in Philadelphia on Monday landed him on the bench for the third period and ultimately took the Kraken out of that game. He responded in a big way.

As noted in Takeaway No. 1, he mostly needed to be steady rather than spectacular, thanks to the defensive effort in front of him. But against an elite team like Winnipeg, any goalie will face chances, and Daccord turned aside every one of them.

The biggest scare came late in the first period, when Mark Scheifele’s point shot deflected up and over Daccord, clanged off the crossbar, and dropped into the crease. Daccord swept it out with his stick, right back to Scheifele, then dove across and gloved Scheifele’s follow-up shot to end the period in chaotic fashion.

Aside from that wild sequence, Daccord was calm, cool, and collected throughout and even chipped in offensively with an assist on Jordan Eberle’s empty-net goal to seal the deal.

I’m pretty sure Joey was thinking about taking the shot himself before he rimmed it around. Good for him for taking the unselfish point.

Takeaway #3: Jaden Schwartz’s big night

Is it me, or does Jaden Schwartz just keep getting better? After posting 26 goals and 23 assists last season, the 33-year-old winger is off to another hot start with eight points (4-4=8) in eight games.

He got the sluggish Kraken on the board with their lone goal Tuesday, then on Thursday provided all the offense Seattle needed by doing what he does best: going to the front of the net.

Just 2:28 into the second period, Shane Wright made a heady play from the right circle, intentionally shooting into Hellebuyck’s right pad to create a rebound. He placed it perfectly, forcing the big netminder to kick the puck into a dangerous spot.

Sure enough, Schwartz crashed in from the weak side, found the rebound right on his stick, and buried it into an open net. For good measure, he added an empty-netter at 18:20 of the third, then assisted on Eberle’s ENG 23 seconds later.

Never underestimate the power of the Schwartz.

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.

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Three Takeaways – Injury-riddled Kraken team comes up short against Capitals

Three Takeaways – Injury-riddled Kraken team comes up short against Capitals

by | Oct 21, 2025 | Uncategorized

The Kraken won’t make any excuses for losing on back-to-back nights—Monday in Philadelphia and Tuesday in Washington, D.C.—but if there were ever a time to make them, this might be it. Just when it seemed like the injury situation couldn’t get any worse, a team already missing Kaapo Kakko, Ryker Evans, Freddy Gaudreau, Brandon Montour (personal), and Jared McCann also announced that Mason Marchment would be out day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

“We’re definitely being tested,” Jordan Eberle said. “We have some adversity, some big guys out, but ultimately, you’re going to go through a season, and every team there’s injuries that happen, guys need to step up, play more minutes. Right now, that’s the case for us… Adversity happens, and that’s right now.”

Marchment’s sudden absence makes it six regulars out of the lineup at once.

Meanwhile, because Seattle continues to carry three goalies on its roster, there are no extra skaters available. The team has maxed out its roster while resisting placing McCann and Marchment on injured reserve, moves that would require either player to miss at least seven days. (The fact Seattle hasn’t done so suggests the organization doesn’t expect either player to be out for long.)

Still, we were hoping for a little more from the Kraken on Tuesday against the Capitals, who jumped out to a 3-0 lead and fended off a late push.

Here are Three Takeaways from a 4-1 Kraken loss to the Capitals.

Takeaway #1: Slow start dooms undermanned Kraken

When you consider the depleted roster and the tired legs from playing the night before, it’s easy to imagine a team looking sluggish and ineffective—and then packing it in once it falls behind. The Kraken did fall behind, but to their credit, they put together a strong third period and even started to generate a bit of belief that maybe… just maybe… they could come back.

That didn’t happen, but it was still an impressive final frame in which they turned the momentum and controlled large portions of play.

Matt Murray made his official Kraken debut, and although it would have been nice to get a save on the third goal—a power-play tally by Jacob Chychrun from the top of the right circle—he played a relatively solid game, stopping 30 shots in all.

Seattle, however, looked understandably flat for most of the first two periods. Before Murray could truly settle in, Nic Dowd scored an easy tap-in off a sharp passing play, Ryan Leonard beat Murray after an Adam Larsson turnover, and Chychrun added the power-play goal.

“I felt a little bit off, and really, if I make a save there early in the second period, maybe there’s a different flow to the game,” Murray said. “But I love the way that our guys battled out there. We defended hard, and for a team going through a lot of adversity right now, I loved our compete level. So, there’s some positives to build on.”

Seattle battled hard in the third, but it was too little, too late.

“I thought we made more plays in the third period,” head coach Lane Lambert said. “We inflicted pain on ourselves by turning pucks over, not making plays quick enough, certainly early on in the game. And you can’t do that. We have to be better than that… You can’t put yourself in a position where you’re down 3-0 in this league.”

Takeaway #2: Berkly Catton is an NHLer

Although Berkly Catton had an assist and a few good looks in the Philadelphia game, he looked tentative—similar to what we’ve seen from other young Kraken players in their debuts. He’d get the puck and quickly dish it off even when he had time, a sign of a 19-year-old trying to avoid mistakes.

On Tuesday, he looked like a different player… an NHL player, in fact. He held onto pucks, distributed confidently, and showed real creativity and poise.

Catton could have had several points, both goals and assists, but a few big saves by Logan Thompson and some near misses kept him off the scoresheet. Case in point: This perfect pass by Catton to Eberle that should have gotten Seattle within one goal.

While the Kraken came out losers again, it was an impressive showing for Catton. He made the most of his opportunity, earning 18:13 of ice time—including power-play minutes and a late shift during the 6-on-5 push when Lambert was trying to spark a comeback. He finished with three shots on goal and a plus-one rating.

When you think back to how Shane Wright looked in his first few NHL games—when he frankly seemed in over his head—as a 19-year-old, it’s encouraging and exciting to see Catton driving play and earning the coaching staff’s trust in just his second game.

Of course, it’s only two games, but I’m now feeling more sold than I did a week ago that Catton can stick with this team and be an impactful player.

Takeaway #3: Injuries killing the vibes

Seattle started the day Tuesday by sending defenseman Ville Ottavainen back to Coachella Valley of the AHL and recalling forward Ben Meyers. Then, just before puck drop, it became clear Meyers would be playing. For a moment, that raised the question of whether Catton might be coming back out of the lineup.

Not so. Instead, the team announced minutes before the game that Meyers had actually been summoned to replace Marchment, who had joined the ever-growing injured list.

This rash of injuries is both shocking and, somehow, predictable. When Seattle saw players dropping during training camp, it felt concerning—not because of the immediate absences, but because when injuries pile up early, they often have a way of snowballing once the season starts.

Sure enough, three weeks into the season, Seattle is desperate for healthy bodies.

And while the roster has taken a massive hit, the vibes on this six-game road trip have also tanked. For a while, it looked like Seattle might cruise through this stretch and bring home eight or more points out of 12. Now, after two regulation losses, the Kraken need a win against a good Winnipeg Jets team on Thursday just to salvage six of 12.

“We have an opportunity here,” Lambert said. “We can lament in the last couple games, but we have an opportunity in Winnipeg to go .500 on this road trip. That’s our focus.”

The vibes have gone from immaculate to pretty stinky in just two days. Let’s see if the Kraken can turn it back around and come home from this long road trip feeling good about themselves, despite this massive adversity.

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.

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Three Takeaways – Catton gets point in NHL debut, Kraken lose to Flyers 5-2

Three Takeaways – Catton gets point in NHL debut, Kraken lose to Flyers 5-2

by | Oct 20, 2025 | Uncategorized

With nothing else going on in the Seattle sports world on Monday, the Kraken had the full attention of the local sports fandom (right?). Sadly for those fans, the guys on the ice didn’t have their best against the Flyers and fell 5-2 in Philadelphia.

“Not sharp. We were not sharp,” Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. “It wasn’t our best effort, that’s for sure. We have to be better.”

It was a night of firsts: Berkly Catton’s first NHL game and point, the first time the Kraken trailed by more than a goal this season, and their first regulation loss of the year.

Here are Three Takeaways from a 5-2 Kraken defeat to the Flyers.

Takeaway #1: Berkly Catton immediately gets on the scoresheet

The Kraken were already injury-riddled before they announced Monday morning that their best goal scorer, Jared McCann, was out day to day with a lower-body injury. McCann joined an ever-growing injury ward that already housed Kaapo Kakko, Ryker Evans, and Freddy Gaudreau, while Seattle also continues to miss Brandon Montour, who is away from the team on a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons.

McCann being out meant five regular players were unavailable for this game.

In stepped 19-year-old top prospect Berkly Catton, who had been waiting in the wings as a healthy scratch since breaking training camp with the team. With his parents in the building after flying from Saskatoon to Calgary to Atlanta to Philadelphia, Catton got on the scoresheet just seven minutes into his first NHL game.

Matty Beniers hustled to the corner to pick off a bad Vladar clearing attempt, then rimmed it around to Catton at the right hash marks. Catton simply pulled it off the wall and tapped it to Cale Fleury at the point, who ripped a shot toward goal. Eberle got a piece of it, and just like that, Catton became the fourth Kraken player to record a point in his regular-season debut.

“I think my first touch of the game was an assist, so that was pretty cool,” Catton said.

I do believe the Kraken were trying to keep him as a healthy scratch long enough to make him eligible for a rehab stint in the AHL. But with McCann out, that forced the Kraken’s hand and pushed Catton into the lineup.

All in all, it was a solid first outing for the youngster, who nearly scored in the second period and didn’t have any glaring turnovers or costly mistakes, finishing plus-one in 13:49 of ice time.

Takeaway #2: Tough night for Joey

On a night when the Kraken were facing Dan Vladar—a backup goalie who has oddly had Seattle’s number since their inception—their own netminder, Joey Daccord, had an uncharacteristically rough night.

Daccord allowed five goals on 21 shots through two periods before being lifted and replaced by Philipp Grubauer.

Two of the goals against, both scored by the red-hot, red-headed Owen Tippett, were of the “wanted that one back” variety. The first of those came just two minutes after Eberle had given the Kraken an early 1-0 lead.

As a dumped-in puck rattled around behind the Seattle net, Daccord corralled it and had options, with Jamie Oleksiak and Ryan Lindgren both available in the corners. He waited far too long to make a decision, though, and by the time he went to move it, Sean Couturier snuck up behind him and stripped him of the puck. It eventually got to Tippett, who chipped it into an open net.

The other stinker was the one that effectively sealed the game for the Flyers. Seattle had gotten back within two goals after falling behind 4-1. If the Kraken had scored again before the second intermission, they might have entered miracle comeback territory. Instead, off a 3-on-3 rush with four minutes left in the frame, Tippett threw it at Daccord from a sharp angle. Reading pass, Daccord got too deep in his net and left the short side open. The puck squeezed through.

Grubauer came in for the third period and looked solid. It will be interesting to see what the Kraken do in goal Tuesday for their first back-to-back of the season. Does Grubi go right back in after stopping six of six shots Monday? Or does Matt Murray get his first look of the season?

Meanwhile, at the other end of the ice, Vladar improved to 7-1-1 all time against the Kraken.

Takeaway #3: Jani Nyman is a weapon on the power play

…but we already knew that.

Jani Nyman’s utilization in a fourth-line role with no power-play time to start the season wasn’t particularly bothersome to me—except that it didn’t give him many chances to showcase his best asset: his howitzer of a shot.

With injuries piling up and Nyman’s steady play earning him more trust, he’s quietly worked his way up the lineup at 5-on-5 and, with McCann out, finally got a look on the power play Monday.

After scoring at even strength on Saturday in Toronto, Nyman cashed in again against Philly, this time on the power play after Beniers pulled a loose puck out of a bevy of humanity and snapped it over to an open Nyman, who sent it home for his third goal of the season.

It was a smart play by Beniers to recognize that with the puck in the slot, all four Flyers penalty killers had collapsed to try to gain control. Once it squirted out to Matty, he didn’t force it back into the pile. Instead, he pulled it out and passed it to Nyman, who had the much better angle.

Back to Nyman… It was especially fun to see him rip two one-timers in a row in the third period, one that rang hard off the glass and another that rang even harder off the post.

One would have to think that Nyman—and his wicked shot—will get more opportunities with the man advantage moving forward.

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.

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Three Takeaways – Kraken defeat Maple Leafs 4-3, extend point streak to five

Three Takeaways – Kraken defeat Maple Leafs 4-3, extend point streak to five

by | Oct 18, 2025 | Uncategorized

The Seattle Kraken took the ice in Toronto under the bright lights of Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday. And, following their fourth-straight overtime contest, the team took home a rare win over the Maple Leafs, 4-3.

There were a number of storylines going into this one. Seattle’s hockey team was squaring off against Toronto’s squad the night before the cities’ baseball teams are set to face one another in Game 6 of the ALCS. Meanwhile, the Kraken personnel situation was strained, with mounting injuries (Freddy Gaudreau will miss four-to-six weeks) and other absences (Brandon Montour is away from the team right now for a personal reason). And Lane Lambert was returning to take on the team he coached last season.

In the end, though, the Kraken made their way through all of those distractions and delivered a sound, detailed effort against a high-powered Toronto team. There were isolated breakdowns in Seattle’s game (unnecessary penalties, failed or indecisive challenges at the blue line), but there was more good than bad overall on this night.

“[The Kraken] outworked us in front of the net. They blocked shots. They beat us up and down the ice,” Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz said postgame. “The score was indicative of that. They just outworked us, plain and simple.”

We’ll highlight a couple of the hardworking “plays before the play” that made a big difference in the outcome tonight.

Here are Three Takeaways from a 4-3 Kraken win over the Maple Leafs.

Takeaway #1: Nyman generates offensive-zone possession, gets rewarded

There were aspects of Jani Nyman’s game Saturday that were not perfect (he struggled with breakouts and transition skating a bit), but still, Nyman delivered one of his better performances in the National Hockey League on the strength of his work low in the offensive zone. In the first period, he dominated possession below the goal line to the extent that Toronto’s Nicolas Roy eventually got his stick in a bad position and tripped Nyman.

This sent the Kraken to the power play where Seattle grabbed an early lead on Shane Wright’s rebound goal.

Nyman’s work was a big part of that score. And the coaching staff recognized that, elevating Nyman into a middle-six role alongside Wright and Mason Marchment for the remainder of the game.

Nyman continued to deliver in the second period. After a brief push by the Maple Leafs, Nyman helped flip the momentum midway through the frame by contributing to another dominating possession shift in the offensive zone. That work cemented Nyman’s elevation and kept him on Wright’s line and in position to receive a feed from Marchment that Nyman would bury for Seattle’s second goal.

In the end, Nyman posted a season-high 13:23 TOI. When Nyman, Marchment, and Wright were on the ice together 5-on-5, the Kraken had 63.57 percent of total shot quality, according to Natural Stat Trick. Nyman was a big part of Seattle’s success in this game.

Ryan Winterton was the player that moved down due to Nyman’s elevation. To Winterton’s credit, he continued to play his forechecking and backchecking game there, looking comfortable alongside his former Coachella Valley teammates Tye Kartye and John Hayden.

Takeaway #2: Seattle’s net-front work creates offense

As Stolarz said, the Kraken outworked the Maple Leafs at the front of the net all night. While Seattle forced the large majority of the Maple Leafs’ shots on Joey Daccord’s net to the outside, they were equally effective getting in close to Stolarz and making his life uncomfortable.

Seattle’s third goal may read like a simple, low-danger point shot from Vince Dunn in the box score, but the goal doesn’t happen without Jaden Schwartz’s hard-nosed play at the net front. If Schwartz is not working to that difficult area, the Toronto defender Brandon Carlo is not forced to make a split-second decision on checking through Schwartz’s body to prevent a potential rebound chance. Unfortunately for Carlo, Schwartz’s effective net-front screen turned into some legal “goaltender interference” as Carlo propelled Schwartz into Stolarz, allowing Dunn’s shot to pass uncontested.

“Ugly” goals like this come from the hard work. And, so far this season, the Kraken are putting in that work.

Takeaway #3: Work without the puck delivers the game-winner in overtime

Overtime hockey is all about puck possession. With Toronto gaining control first, Seattle needed to stay patient and prepare for any opportunity to seize the puck back. Schwartz did just that early in the overtime, when he stripped a puck clean in a confined area behind the net. This takeaway set Seattle up with a number of chances to win the game, which Stolarz rebuffed (at least temporarily).

Later in the five-minute frame, Chandler Stephenson redeemed an earlier sloppy possession play with a hard-skating backcheck to disrupt a transition chance from William Nylander. The Kraken gained possession thereafter, transitioned back to offense, sprung Josh Mahura on a breakaway, and the blueliner buried the game-winning shot—much to Stolarz’s chagrin.

The goal was Mahura’s first as a Kraken. Coincidentally, Mahura’s last goal, which came in 2023 as a member of the Florida Panthers, was also scored in Toronto. The goaltender Mahura scored on? Current teammate Matt Murray.

Bonus: You don’t see that everyday

At 19:05 in the second period, Marchment lost his edge attempting a transition chance, plowed into Stolarz, and came to a stop in the Leafs’ net. Stolarz—likely still hot from giving up a goal with Schwartz in his lap just over a minute earlier—had seen enough. He got to his feet, threw the goal off its pegs and dove on Marchment in attack mode. For a moment it seemed like we were watching pro wrestling. “I [was] not happy,” Stolarz said of the collision. “If guys are going to run me, I’m going to stand up for myself.” You don’t see that move everyday.

The road ahead

The Kraken have taken four of a possible six points in the first three games of this difficult road trip. Overall, the team still has not lost in regulation this season. Seattle’s next game will come in Philadelphia on Monday. Puck drop is at 4:00 pm PDT.

Curtis Isacke

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.

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