Into February and down the stretch of the WHL season we go!
A sellout crowd of 8,249 packed Angel of the Winds Arena on Saturday night to watch two top teams in the Western Conference square off, with interested Kraken fans also getting the chance to see first-round draft pick Berkly Catton in action in the area once again.
But once the puck dropped, much to the dismay of the home crowd, it was all Chiefs all night. Spokane continued its rough-and-tumble play against Everett on Saturday, as the Chiefs dominated for a 10-3 rout, showcasing their offensive firepower all night long and showing they will be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.
Game recap
Spokane (32-16-0-0) entered the game fresh off a 5-1 win over the B.C. Division-leading Victoria Royals, while Everett (35-8-4-3) had routed the lowly Kelowna Rockets 7-3 on Friday. Spokane had previously beaten Everett 3-2 on ‘Wednesday Night in the Dub’ the week before.
The Chiefs got off to a fast start with three unanswered goals to start the first and finished with six by the end of the first period. Spokane got two from league-leading goal scorer and recent Penn State commit Shea Van Olm, who extended his total to 37 goals for the season.
From the opening puck drop, it looked as though the Chiefs were the dominant team. Despite both teams missing key forwards in Mathis Preston, Smyth Rebman, and Sam Oremba, Spokane still appeared to be the more cohesive and offensively sound team throughout the game.
Spokane ended the game with 10 goals on 28 shots. Catton added a goal and an assist in the win, but it was his newest line-mate in Andrew Cristall who truly stole the show.
Cristall finished with one goal and five assists, contributing to Spokane’s strong performance. Since his acquisition, the Chiefs have gone 6-3-0-0, impressing against some tough competition. Coach Brad Lauer believes his arrival was just what the team needed.
“When we picked up an elite player like that, it definitely put a big spark in our group,” Lauer said. Cristall has a remarkable 25 points in nine games since joining Spokane. The Washington Capitals prospect is in the top five in all three major statistical categories in the league with 32 goals, 53 assists, and 85 points.
Before Cristall’s trade in January, the Chiefs had scored 10 or more goals in a game just three times since 2015. However, since the trade, Spokane has already matched that number, with three games of 10 or more goals on the road over the past month.
Despite being high atop the WHL standings, Everett has shown signs of vulnerability recently, playing four games in five days twice in the last two weeks. With multiple injuries and a heavy schedule, Spokane capitalized on a tired Silvertips team.
“They’re a tired club,” Lauer added. “We’re all playing lots of hockey this time of year, but we did a lot of good things early on, which gave us opportunities to score, and we took advantage.”
One Chief who made the most of his opportunity was 15-year-old Ossie McIntyre. In just his fifth career WHL game, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 WHL Bantam Draft scored his first goal in the league.
“The young guys are finding their way and doing some good things, and the team is playing good hockey right now,” Lauer said. “That’s what you want heading into the stretch, making sure you’re doing the right things.”
The Chiefs currently sit in third place in the Western Conference behind Victoria, but it’s important they get as many points as they can; after the first round of the playoffs, the WHL re-seeds the teams based on record, meaning if Spokane and Victoria were to advance to the second round, Spokane would currently have home-ice advantage.
Although the Chiefs are 13 points behind Everett, and it might be a little too late to catch up in the standings, the recent losses could signal trouble for the Silvertips come playoff time. The aforementioned Van Olm knows the Chiefs have had Everett’s number of late.
“The last three or four years, Everett’s kind of beat on Spokane,” Van Olm said. “I wasn’t around for all of that, but I know there’s guys that are on this team that were, and it means a lot to those guys. I think coming into their barn and having a night like tonight feels great.”
Before Wednesday’s game against the Medicine Hat Tigers, the Silvertips hadn’t allowed more than four goals at home all season. But now, they’ve allowed seven-plus goals in consecutive games against teams chasing them for the top overall spot.
As previously mentioned, Everett has been dealing with a plethora of injuries to forwards Austin Roest, Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen, and most recently Dominik Rymon.
Once those key players return to the lineup, Everett will be a stronger team, but the recent games at Angel of the Winds have highlighted areas for improvement on both sides of the puck.
“It was one of those nights where we didn’t have a lot,” said Silvertips coach Steve Hamilton. “We just couldn’t get it going, and it combined for a bit of an ugly night.”
Both teams will wrap up three games in three days on Sunday. Everett hosts Kamloops, while Spokane travels to Langley to face Vancouver.
Header photo courtesy of Evan Morud and the Everett Silvertips
Over the past month, I’ve written two pieces examining NHL standings—one on NHL standings point models and alternatives, and another as an NHL half-season roundup. While working on these articles, I noticed a trend: most NHL teams perform better at home than on the road. That observation led me to dig deeper. I compiled data from the NHL API since the start of the 2021-22 season to see if the numbers back up the notion of a “home-ice advantage.”
As of Jan. 31, 28 of the 32 NHL teams have boasted better home records compared with their road records over the last three and a half seasons. The four teams that just missed the mark were within five points of their home records: the Vancouver Canucks (even record), the New Jersey Devils (even record), the Buffalo Sabres (three points under) and the Anaheim Ducks (five points under).
It’s good to be home
During the 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 seasons, home teams enjoyed an average boost of 5.5 percent in standings points earned compared with their road performance. Overall, home teams posted a points percentage of .585, while road teams registered .524. That .585 mark is notable because it surpasses the 95-point pace when extrapolated out—a good measuring stick for playoff contenders.
The home-ice advantage extends to all types of wins—regulation, overtime, and shootout. Regulation wins were 6.8 percent higher for home teams, while overtime and shootout wins were 6.5 percent higher.
The data above covers the last three full seasons, and this season is showing similar trends. As of Jan. 31, home teams have benefited from a 6.8 percent increase in overtime and shootout wins compared to road teams, and a 9.9 percent boost in regulation wins. It should be noted that the current season’s data is partial and may be skewed, as the teams have not yet played an equal number of home and away games against every opponent.
Clearly, there is a consistent boost to the home team’s winning percentage. Now the question is: why?
NHL rules that benefit the home team
A handful of rules benefit the home team, and while most may not directly affect the game’s outcome, one in particular allows coaches to shine.
Last change
When playing at home, the visiting team must put its players on the ice first prior to a face-off. This rule gives the home team’s coaching staff a chance to assess who is on the ice and adjust their lines accordingly—allowing them to dictate matchups. For example, if the away team deploys its top scoring line, the home team can counter with its shutdown line. The only exception is icing; if the home team ices the puck, it is not allowed to change, letting the away team dictate the matchup.
Hockey is a fast-paced sport where line changes happen on the fly, and teams can switch lines in any order during play. The last change rule only applies during stoppages when a face-off is about to occur. During such stoppages, you’ll notice a referee near the team benches: the visiting team has five seconds to make a change before the referee raises their hand and signals that no further changes are allowed by the visitors, and then the home team has eight seconds to adjust before the referee lowers their hand. This rule is outlined in rule 82.2 of the NHL rule book.
Face-offs
In the NHL, players taking a face-off must put the blade of their stick on the ice, making contact with the white part of the face-off dot. Once both players’ sticks are on the ice, the puck is dropped. A common misconception is that the away team must place its stick first. However, according to NHL rule 76.4:
“The sticks of both players facing off shall have the blade on the ice, within the designated white area. At the eight face-off spots (excluding the center-ice face-off spot), the defending player shall place his stick within the designated white area first, followed immediately by the attacking player. When the face-off is conducted at the center-ice face-off spot, the visiting player shall place his stick on the ice first.”
For the home team, the only “benefit” comes at center-ice face-offs, as others are determined based on which zone the face-off is occurring. In theory, if the proper procedure is followed, neither team should have an advantage. In practice, however, the second player sometimes never places his stick on the ice, which can provide an edge. Outside of center-ice, the defending team’s center places his stick first, meaning any home-ice advantage is limited to the center-ice draw.
Looking at face-off data from the 2023-24 season, there were 8,383 center-ice face-offs. The home team won 50.4 percent of these draws, so a benefit, but minor one. This figure may be slightly skewed by the last change rule, as coaches sometimes counter the visiting team’s matchups with lines that are not necessarily their best at winning face-offs. For instance, the Seattle Kraken have typically started either Yanni Gourde’s or Matty Beniers’ line at home. However, Chandler Stephenson leads as the top face-off man, winning 51.7 percent of his draws, while Beniers won 47.8 percent and Gourde 49.9 percent as of Jan. 31.
Regular-season overtime
The last-change rule also applies during 3-on-3 overtime, where controlling matchups is crucial for scoring a timely goal and ending the game. Overall, overtime has favored the home team, which has won 9.6 percent more games in OT than when playing on the road.
Shootout
If a regular-season game remains tied after regulation and 3-on-3 overtime, it goes to a shootout. The home team gets to choose whether to shoot first or second. Over the last few seasons, home teams have opted to shoot first 85.2 percent of the time.
Over the last three and a half seasons, there have been 317 shootouts. In those contests, the home team won 162 times, and the road team won 155 times—a slim 2.2 percent advantage for the home team. If you only consider the teams that shot first, the advantage grows to 5.34 percent. In recent years, the trend has been that more and more NHL teams have have been choosing to shoot first.
One might think that the home team would prefer to shoot last, allowing it to mount a comeback or finish the game on a goal. However, goaltenders hold the edge in shootouts. It appears that home teams are not so much choosing to shoot first as they are opting to “save last.” League-wide, NHL goaltenders have posted a combined stoppage percentage of .679 in these 317 shootouts—meaning that 68 percent of the time, the goalie is more likely to stop the shot than the shooter is to score. I call this a “stoppage percentage” because it includes missed shots, which are not part of a goaltender’s save percentage but still result in a failed shootout attempt.
Penalties
The trend continues when comparing penalties called on teams at home versus on the road. For this analysis, I looked at the raw count of individual penalties—not penalty minutes. A minor, double minor, major, or game misconduct each counts as one penalty. Overall, home teams enjoy a 3.2 percent reduction in penalties called against them.
Over the last three seasons, 26 of 32 NHL teams have accrued fewer penalty minutes at home than on the road. When broken down by division, the benefits vary significantly. Atlantic Division teams saw only a 1.1 percent benefit, Metropolitan teams 2.9 percent, Pacific teams 4.4 percent, and Central Division teams 4.5 percent.
The Calgary Flames have enjoyed the largest home-ice advantage in penalty minutes at 9.2 percent, while Canadian teams overall fared well, with 4.5 percent fewer penalties at home, matching the Central Division. It might be a good time to rethink the hockey tradition of booing the referees as they come onto the ice and haven’t actually done anything yet. Statistically, they tend to side with the home team, especially in the Western Conference. I propose Kraken fans start cheering them on before the game.
The home crowd!
Enough with the numbers—the biggest X-factor in home-ice advantage is the hometown crowd. Nothing fires up a team more than thousands of fans erupting after a big goal, a crushing hit, or some good, old-fashioned fisticuffs at center ice. That energy feeds into the players, creating a momentum shift that can tilt a game. It’s a dopamine hit for the skaters, and the crowd knows it—fans do everything they can to will their team to victory.
This isn’t just superstition; players and coaches often talk about how a raucous home crowd provides an extra edge. It can be the difference between sluggish legs and an adrenaline-fueled surge late in a tight game. That’s why road teams have a strategy—either silence the crowd with an early goal or grind through the first 10 minutes without allowing one. Survive the opening wave, and the crowd might settle. But if the home team scores first? Expect an onslaught of momentum.
Of course, the flip side is also true—when a home team is trailing, and the crowd starts to quiet, that energy can fade. The best teams learn to ride the wave of home-ice advantage but also generate their own spark when things aren’t going their way.
Teams do have an advantage at home
Overall, the last change and shootout options come down to the coaching staff’s ability to capitalize on the slight advantages presented to their team. The Kraken have seen a 2.1 percent boost in their performance at home, making use of the home-ice advantage. In the penalty department, Seattle has 2.3 percent fewer penalties called on them at home than on the road. Both numbers are positive for playing at Climate Pledge Arena, but they fall short of the league averages of 5.5 percent for standings points and 3.2 percent for penalties.
While these boosts might seem modest, they do add up over the course of a season. There’s one more key factor that could tilt the scales for the Kraken, though: us—the fans.
What are your thoughts on home-ice advantage? Put them in the 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.
“Down on the Farm” is your weekly update on all things Seattle Kraken prospects. This week we have an injury update on forward Julius Miettinen. Then we’ll analyze how Seattle’s pool of skater prospects measures up against “the field” by getting you a mid-season top-168 list of all NHL-affiliated players in our Data Score metric.
After that, we’ll check in on Ryan Winterton and Victor Ostman, get you scouting video on Justin Janicke, update you with data from the last week, and preview the week ahead. As always, if you have a prospect-related question you’d like to see featured in a future column, drop us a note below or on X or BlueSky @deepseahockey. Let’s dig in.
[Jan. 31, 2025, 3:30 p.m. PT edit: The AHL announced on Friday afternoon that Jani Nyman was named to the AHL All-Star Game as a replacement for Cale Fleury, who has been recalled to the NHL. The All-Star festivities are Sunday and Monday in Coachella Valley. More information on that below.]
Julius Miettinen injury update
Miettinen has not returned to the lineup for the Everett Silvertips since the World Junior Championship. Suspecting he may have suffered an injury, I watched back the gold-medal game between Finland and the United States before last week’s prospect update to see if I could identify anything. Nothing immediately stood out; to the contrary, he was taking shifts late in the third period and into overtime.
Yet, it seems Miettinen was toughing it out because, according to reporting from our WHL reporter Cameron Riggers, Miettinen did suffer a lower-body injury. Miettinen is in a boot currently, and, while it seems he will avoid surgery, the timeline for recovery is still a couple months out. Miettinen is targeting a return for the WHL playoffs.
It’s a tough development for an ascendant prospect (The Athletic/paywall). With luck, Everett will have a long playoff run that allows Miettinen to recoup some of that lost playing time. We’ll keep an eye out for his return to the lineup.
Stacking Seattle Kraken among NHL-affiliated prospects
I have been asked to put the performance of Seattle’s prospect pool in context a bit more, and also update my explanation of the “Data Score” metric I’ve been providing with these prospects each week. So, I thought I’d address both questions by taking a mid-season look at the scoring production of all NHL-affiliated skaters and stacking them by Data Score. This will give us an insight on how Seattle’s prospects are producing relative to their peers.
“Data Score” is a crude metric I developed to compare prospects across ages, leagues, and positions. It starts by applying an NHL equivalency (“NHLe”) to each player’s per-game scoring results. NHLe is a method to compare the scoring proficiency of players in the various professional and junior leagues across the globe. I used Thibaud Chatel’s model, which is the most up-to-date public research in the area. Check out Chatel’s Substack for an in-depth discussion of NHLe. For this project, I used Chatel’s newest model, which has been updated to account for 2023-24 season data.
For this list, I used data for all NHL-affiliated players who have played at least 10 games outside the NHL during the 2024-25 season. I eliminated players if they had played more than 30 games in the NHL this season, viewing those players as outside the scope of the “prospects” we’d benefit from analyzing.
After applying the NHLe multiplier to each player’s per-game scoring, I then made modest adjustments for height (shorter players penalized), age (older players penalized), and position (forwards penalized relative to defensemen). These factors relate to the likelihood of translating the production to the NHL. A 6-foot-2 defenseman producing .5 points per game in the AHL at 19 years old is more likely to translate to the NHL than a 5-foot-10 forward with the same production at 25 years old.
From looking at these numbers over the last couple years, I’ve generally found that I view a prospect as having a noteworthy season if they clear the 40-point threshold in Data Score. As of Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, 168 NHL-affiliated prospects meeting our criteria had a Data Score of 40 or greater. Here is the list:
With 168 players listed, an “average” number of prospects per organization would be five. The Seattle Kraken are tied with the Calgary Flames for the most in the league with 11 players listed. The Flames have the slight edge in total value of the listed players as indicated by aggregate Data Score.
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard (SHL/HV71) continues to pace the Kraken in Data Score. It is clear this method prefers the relative certainty associated with players playing in professional leagues like the AHL, KHL, or SHL. This pushes some notable junior prospects farther down the list than one might expect. But I’m not sure Data Score is “wrong” in doing that if the goal is to project who is likely to play NHL games.
Finally, a word of caution. While it is fair to be encouraged by Seattle’s standing, I’d be remiss if I didn’t note the potential for confirmation bias in a scoring-data oriented study like this one. It is well-documented that the Kraken emphasize scoring data in the pre-draft process. It is unsurprising, then, that high-scoring junior players drafted by Seattle would continue to score in the junior ranks after they are drafted. Yet, some of these players “fall” in the draft relative to their scoring production for scouting reasons that led other teams to believe that scoring won’t translate at higher levels.
Consider the case of Clarke Caswell, for example. He fell to the fifth round last year despite posting more than a point per game in the WHL. This season Caswell has improved his scoring production even further, earning him a spot on the 168-prospect watchlist above. Will his scoring ultimately translate to the NHL? I tend to favor the view that scoring is the most reliable indicator we have, but that’s only relative to the alternative tools available; it’s far from infallible. Only time will tell.
Notes on three Kraken prospects
Justin Janicke | F | Univ. of Notre Dame Fighting Irish (NCAA)
The Kraken face a deadline of Aug. 15, 2025, to sign 2021 seventh-round pick Justin Janicke before losing his exclusive rights. The 6-foot forward has worked his way up the depth chart during four years at the University of Notre Dame, reaching the top line in this his senior season. His 24 points in 26 games rank second on the team. Check out his shifts from Notre Dame’s Jan. 10, 2025, game against the University of Michigan below.
Victor Östman | G | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
As part of the roster shuffling associated with Philipp Grubauer’s waiver, Seattle reassigned goalie Victor Östman from the ECHL to the AHL. With Grubauer and Nikke Kokko also in Coachella Valley it’s not yet clear that Östman will get time in net for the Firebirds. He may be insurance in the short run to allow Grubauer time to get his feet under him and acclimate. Still, it’s an “earned” promotion for Östman who posted two wins and a .958 save percentage this past week for the Mavericks and has been solid overall.
Ryan Winterton | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
Ryan Winterton is yourSound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week, with one goal and three assists across three games for Coachella Valley.
For a player so close to an NHL role, Winterton feels underestimated. At 6-foot-2 with strong skating skills and excellent athleticism, the physical tools are there. What’s more, his commitment to forechecking and backchecking will earn him the trust of any coaching staff, as will his ability to kill penalties and seize open ice in transition for counterattack goals.
Yet, there are two reasons Winterton isn’t discussed among a higher tier of prospects. The first is his injury history. He missed significant time during his junior career to injury (not to mention the COVID-related suspension of play). This delayed his development and likely raised some red flags for scouts. Yet, he has avoided injury setbacks since turning pro, racking up 85 total games between the NHL and AHL last season and 42 so far this year.
The second factor that has held him back is the perception that Winterton has limited upside, particularly offensively. He certainly doesn’t have the offensive ceiling of players like Shane Wright or Berkly Catton or even teammates Jani Nyman and Jagger Firkus; but, to my eyes, Winterton has proven adept at scoring off the rush and providing a support role in-zone that should drive results.
This is starting to show in the numbers. Winterton’s .765 point-per-game pace is only slightly behind Shane Wright’s .797 pace in the AHL last season. Of course, Winterton is older; he’s about 16 months older than Wright, to be exact. But when you account for the development time Winterton lost at the junior level, it’s not surprising he needed longer to get there offensively. I don’t envision Winterton as a stand-out offensive piece like Wright, but I do think we’re seeing a balanced, auxiliary-type player package with enough offense that should fit up and down an NHL lineup. That’s a very good prospect.
Kraken prospects data update
If Zeb Forsfjäll was dealing with an injury after the World Juniors, it appears it was not quite as severe as Miettinen’s injury. Forsfjäll returned to the lineup for his SHL club team Skellefteå on Thursday, playing 11 minutes.
“The show” goes on for Tyson Jugnauth, who had four points in two games last week. In contrast, Caden Price continues to struggle to find his offensive game since moving to Lethbridge in a trade. After scoring 1.2 points per game for the Kelowna Rockets, Price has only two assists in nine games so far with the Hurricanes.
Kim Saarinen continues to perform at the highest level of professional hockey in Finland. He posted a .938 save percentage in two starts this week. Saarinen is now tied for first in save percentage (.915) among all Liiga goaltenders. He’s 18 years old.
With Ales Stezka up in the NHL in the near term, I’m curious to see how the Firebirds split up time in goal given the many different agendas in play there.
2024-25 Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker
Clarke Caswell: 2
Berkly Catton: 2
Tyson Jugnauth: 2
Alexis Bernier: 1
Andrei Loshko: 1
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard: 1
Victor Östman: 1
Caden Price: 1
Kim Saarinen: 1
Nathan Villeneuve: 1
Ryan Winterton: 1
Semyon Vyazovoy: 1
Previewing the week ahead
If you have a FloHockey subscription to watch the Firebirds, you’ll also be able to watch Mølgaard this weekend, when his SHL team HV71 takes on Leksands IF at 9:00 a.m. PST on Saturday. Elsewhere, the Everett Silvertips and Kaden Hammell host the Spokane Chiefs and Berkly Catton on Saturday night. The Beanpot, an annual college hockey tournament among Boston College, Boston University, Harvard University, and Northeastern University, kicks off on Monday. Harvard forward and Kraken prospect Ben MacDonald will take on Boston University that day.
The Coachella Valley Firebirds and Accrisure Arena will host the AHL All-Star Classic this weekend. The Skills Competition is Sunday, beginning at 6:00 pm PST. The All-Star Challenge (a four-team, 3-on-3, round-robin tournament) is Monday, beginning at 6:00 pm PST. Those events will be on FloHockey as well.
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.
And just like that, all is right again in the world.
Sure, the opponent was the worst team in the league and came into the contest having lost nine of its last 11. Plus, that same opponent was completely decimated by injuries to its already feeble roster. But we’ve also seen this Seattle Kraken team lower its effort against fellow bottom-dwelling teams this season (including twice against this same Sharks team).
Thankfully, the Kraken responded well after an emotional 48 hours, piled on four goals in the second period, and cruised to a stress-free 6-2 result, finally giving their fans something to cheer about.
Here are Three Takeaways from a Kraken Sharks brouhaha.
Takeaway #1: A strong response
The mood in the Kraken dressing room after morning skate on Thursday was downtrodden and serious, a departure from the usual tone of the gameday routine. Adam Larsson spoke extensively about how disappointed he was for his friend, Philipp Grubauer, who was placed on waivers Wednesday and sent to the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds.
There’s no doubt the players feel some responsibility for Grubauer’s struggles. On a more personal level, they also felt the absence of a key teammate who had been there just 24 hours earlier.
“If you look past the hockey side of things, it’s a friend that’s not here with us now,” Larsson said. “I mean, it’s tough for him, it’s tough for us, it’s tough for everyone.”
Added Bylsma: “Seeing a teammate and a friend and seeing a guy who was an original part of the Kraken, and seeing a guy you’ve had success with and seen him play good hockey, it’s a difficult thing for obviously Grubi, but the rest of the guys as well. This is ultimately a team game, and we all bear responsibility of the results of the team.”
So, with all that somber sentiment floating around the rink in the morning, I couldn’t help wondering if that would be representative of the way Seattle played in the evening.
But they channeled that emotion into a strong effort that showed they are not in the same echelon as San Jose, despite relative proximity in the standings and two past losses this season. Once they took control in the second period, momentum snowballed, and the Kraken ran away from the Sharks.
“It’s a great response,” Bylsma said after the game. “I thought we stepped over the boards tonight with a purpose, and it showed. It was a really good start and carried over for the whole 60. And just even how the game was played, it was played with emotion in it, and we played it with some passion.”
Takeaway #2: A monster second period
We’ve seen the Kraken get pushed around at times in the second period over the last month, but in this game, they were the ones doing the pushing during that frame. Oliver Bjorkstrand got the scoring train started, making it 2-1 at 2:03 of the second by capitalizing on a fortunate bounce off Chandler Stephenson’s leg and batting the puck into an open net.
Then, 51 seconds later, Brandon Montour broke his slump with his first of two goals on the night, breaking a 20-game goalless drought that dated back to Dec. 14.
BJORK-JAM AND BOMBTOUR! 💣 🎯 🚨 🚨
Two goals in 51 seconds for the #SeaKraken, one by Oliver Bjorkstrand and one by Brandon Montour.
“Any time you can score some goals and see them going in, it’s nice,” Montour said. “It’s been a little cold the last… I don’t even know, 15, 20 games. But you keep creating. You get in cold spells, you try to find other ways to help the team. I like where my game’s at, but it’s nice to get a couple.”
Jaden Schwartz also continued his scoring ways, finishing a breakaway chance through Yaroslav Askarov’s wickets after Jamie Oleksiak found him with a stretch pass when he came out of the penalty box, ending Askarov’s night. And, heck, the power play even came through on a 5-on-3 with a nice tic-tac-toe passing play between Jared McCann and Stephenson that ended with a big Montour blast.
BRANDON BOMB-TWO-ER! 🚨
Great setup on the 5-on-3 by Stephenson and McCann, and Brandon Montour blasts home his second of the night.
“It starts with a face-off win, making plays, getting shooters in the right spots,” Montour said. “And then, obviously, it’s 5-on-3, so spread them out, and good plays by everyone.”
Eeli Tolvanen capped off the scoring in the game by cutting to the slot and rifling a snapper past Alexandar Georgiev at 12:18 of the third, extending his goal-scoring streak to four games.
Takeaway #3: Fisticuffs
This game had more feistiness than I would have expected between two of the worst teams in the Pacific Division (although it is worth noting the Kraken jumped back ahead of the Ducks for sixth place after temporarily falling behind them).
It started in the first period when Luke Kunin blindsided Oleksiak in front of the Sharks bench, and Tye Kartye immediately responded with a questionable hit from behind on Kunin. San Jose didn’t like that hit, but with the game still close, everyone eventually went their separate ways.
Luke Kunin lays a crushing hit on Jamie Oleksiak. Tye Kartye retaliates, and some behind-the-play silliness ensues.
But in the second period, when the game had fully tilted Seattle’s way, there was no longer a need for maintaining the peace. Kunin was in the middle of it again, poking at Joey Daccord after he had covered the puck. Montour gave Kunin a jab, Kunin shoved back, and all hell broke loose, with the Sharks forward temporarily facing a 1-on-5 battle.
It ended with Vince Dunn giving Henry Thrun a thorough whoopin’.
FISTICUFFS! 🥊
One of the bigger brouhahas we’ve seen in a #SeaKraken game.
Starts with Kunin and Montour, ends with Vince Dunn feeding Henry Thrun his lunch. pic.twitter.com/CZPTJIrm3V
“I think, obviously, our home record just overall has never been good enough, and we want to make this place a hard place to play,” Dunn said. “So that comes with attitude, and sometimes things happen like that. So I think everyone just came out, battled hard. We know, obviously, the tough situation with [Grubauer], and they kind of come after our goalie a little bit there, so we’ve got to stand up for him.”
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.
That wasn’t the game we expected. In one of the most hyped games of the WHL season, a letdown ensued for the Everett Silvertips.
Plenty of future NHL talent was on display at Angel of the Winds Arena, but it was the Eastern Conference-leading Medicine Hat Tigers who came into Everett and blew the doors off the league-leading Silvertips, 7-3.
What could have been a preview of the WHL Finals saw both teams enter the game atop their respective conference standings. Everett, with 75 points, holds a 15-point lead over the next closest team and a nine-point lead over the Tigers despite the loss.
The main matchup of the evening, however, was that of Tigers winger Gavin McKenna, and Tips defenseman Landon DuPont, who are both pegged to be selected high atop their respective drafts, McKenna in 2026 and DuPont in 2027. McKenna is the league’s leader in assists with 58 and points with 83, while DuPont leads all WHL rookies with 35 assists and 46 points. This was their first-ever matchup, and DuPont was eager for the challenge.
“Knowing how skilled and fast he is, you just have to watch out,” DuPont said. “He’s a great player. He’s very skilled and makes some nice plays, so you’ve always just got to watch where he is. It’ll be a lot of fun.”
It would be McKenna, with a hat trick, an assist, and a goal where he took the puck away from DuPont, who would have the last laugh, however.
#WHL/#NHLDraft Gavin McKenna strips Landon DuPont of the puck and buries his 2nd of the night.
The first period took a while to get going. Neither team dominated shots or opportunities until Carter Bear scored 10 minutes in, extending his team lead to 33 goals on the season.
The Tigers turned up the pressure late in the period, though, flipping the game to 2-1 after the first with a pair of goals. Shots ended 11-9 in favor of the Tips.
In the second, McKenna added another goal, making it 3-1 with a cross-crease feed from Oasiz Wiesblatt. That goal extended his point streak to 24 games, and the Tigers’ physicality made it hard for the Tips to keep up.
89 DAYS – AND COUNTING.
The last time Gavin McKenna went pointless with the @tigershockey came nearly THREE months ago.
Dominik Rymon made it 3-2 early in the third, but former Seattle Thunderbird Bryce Pickford scored what would be the game-winner. The Tigers would add four unanswered goals, two of which came from McKenna, before the Tips got a garbage-time goal to finish 7-3.
Shots ended 30-22 in favor of the Tips, but many were low-percentage shots, which has been a recurring issue despite their top record. Everett couldn’t get much past Tigers goaltender Harrison Meneghin, who would wind up stopping 27 of 30 shots on the evening.
“We got a little bit steamrolled,” head coach Steve Hamilton said. “There were a couple stretches where things just got escalated and [the Tigers] capitalized. They had 22 shots and seven goals. That’s probably not very good [for us].”
Despite their lead over the Tigers in the standings, the Tips looked as though they may not be as battle-tested as other top teams. The Tigers were the better team in terms of physical play and quality offensive chances.
Hamilton acknowledged the strain down the middle, especially as Everett will continue to miss centers Austin Roest and Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen for an extended period.
“We’re on some lean times right now up the middle with our center situation,” Hamilton said. “Rust has come along for some guys, and it’s taxing.”
Hamilton isn’t concerned with the idea of facing the Tigers again in the finals if it comes to it. He’s focused on the short term and filling holes for now.
“We’re so far away from [possibly playing them again],” Hamilton said. “It’s one game. I’m not blowing it out of proportion. Collectively, though, it was not a very good effort. It was loose, and they capitalized.”
If you’re in the region and want to see McKenna before he likely turns pro two seasons from now, this Saturday, Feb. 1 in Kent might be your last chance, when the Tigers take on the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Header photo courtesy of Evan Morud, Everett Silvertips
The Seattle Kraken have finally pulled the plug on a difficult situation, placing their $5.9 million goalie, Philipp Grubauer, on waivers with the intention of assigning him to the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League.
The drastic move from Seattle’s front office comes the morning after Grubauer allowed five goals on 22 shots in a 6-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, a game in which Jackson Lacombe’s squeaker from distance torpedoed Seattle’s hopes of winning a game it absolutely had to have.
What led to this?
It’s been a rough road for Grubauer with the Kraken ever since he signed a six-year contract as a free agent before Seattle’s inaugural 2021-22 season. Coming off a year in Colorado that resulted in him being named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, hopes were high that the now-33-year-old German netminder could backstop the fledgling franchise into relevance quickly.
But aside from some positive flashes here and there, the consistency was never there for Grubauer after his move to the Pacific Northwest, and he seemed to allow a stinker in almost every game he played.
When we asked coach Dan Bylsma after the loss to Anaheim on Tuesday if defensive breakdowns happen more frequently with Joey Daccord in net than with Grubauer, Bylsma gave a definitive, “No,” a damning reply on how he viewed his two netminders.
While we were hopeful there would be a bounce back from Grubauer this season, it has instead been the worst campaign of his career. At 5-15-1 with a 3.83 goals-against average and an .866 save percentage, Grubauer has statistically fallen into “worst goalie in the NHL” territory.
Shocking, yet predictable
I have witnesses who can confirm I asked the question aloud on Tuesday, “Is this the last time we’ll see Philipp Grubauer play at Climate Pledge Arena?” So, I’m not altogether surprised that this happened. The situation had become untenable, given that the highly paid netminder could not even be relied upon to help the Kraken manage the occasional back-to-back. And something felt different after the game Tuesday. It took Bylsma longer than usual to come out to address media, which may or may not have been related to this move, and for some reason, the defeat seemed to take on a greater significance than others.
Although winning is no longer all that important, since Seattle is in contention for a lottery pick in the next NHL Draft, the team still has to play the remaining 35 games on the schedule and be semi-competitive. Bylsma clearly didn’t feel comfortable using Grubauer anymore, as signified by Daccord appearing in 10 consecutive games before he finally got a full night off on Tuesday. So, I did accurately predict that the loss to Anaheim would be the final straw before this move was made.
Even so, thinking of the big picture, it is difficult to grasp that it came to this. When Grubauer was signed, I thought it was such a brilliant move by general manager Ron Francis. But for whatever reason, Grubauer just never found his game on a consistent enough basis with the Kraken, and the entire organization and its fanbase felt the impact of his continuous struggles.
Disappointing from a human perspective
I’m really bummed the Grubauer Era has played out this way. Aside from what happened on the ice, he is a good human who went far above and beyond the call of duty of a professional athlete to connect with the fanbase. Think about all the different types of outreach and marketing activations you’ve seen Grubauer participating in over the past four years. He didn’t have to do all that, but he did it to further ingrain himself in the local community and help the organization establish its roots.
He also quickly attached himself to the Pacific Northwest and made the area his true home. I remember interviewing him for an episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast and asking him about that. He told me Seattle didn’t feel like his home; rather, it is his home.
Plus, I know he’s a better goalie than what he’s shown during much of his time here. I don’t know what went wrong on the ice, but some of the glimpses we saw were reminders of just how talented he is, including the dazzling glove save he made on Trevor Zegras on Tuesday.
And let’s not forget, his mother traveled all the way from Germany to see him play that game against the Ducks as part of the Kraken moms trip, and it could very well end up being the last game he plays in the NHL; I really hope that’s not the case.
Worth noting, Bylsma was on 93.3 KJR Wednesday and indicated this isn’t the end of the road for Grubauer with the Kraken, and that he can play his way back to the NHL club.
Financial implications and what’s next
One of the reasons Grubauer lasted this long on the NHL roster is because he is on a massive contract that runs for two more seasons after the current one. Assuming he clears waivers (he will), he will be expected to report to Coachella Valley. This does not mean that his full $5.9 million cap hit comes off Seattle’s books, though.
A team can only “bury” up to $1.15 million in the AHL, so the Kraken will likely still carry $4.75 million of Grubauer’s cap hit, and they will need to add in the dollars of Ales Stezka, who is on his way to Seattle to back up Daccord.
Bylsma said there wasn't going to be playing time available with schedule ahead and 4 Nations Face-Off break. Move of Grubauer to Coachella Valley gives him a chance to play to try and get his game back on track.
Also, barring some unforeseen circumstance like a trade or the team and Grubauer mutually agreeing to part ways (both unlikely), Seattle could end up buying out Grubauer’s contract after this season.
By buying him out, he will no longer be on the roster and will become a free agent after this season. However, Seattle will still carry a discounted cap hit of $1.983 million next season, then $3.083 million in 2026-27. The Kraken also get further penalized for the early buyout, as they will continue to have a cap hit for two more seasons after that (even though his contract ends after 2026-27) of $1.683 million in 2027-28 and 2028-29. (Buyout numbers come from Puckpedia.)
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.
