The Everett Silvertips are back in atop the news cycle for the third week in a row with the moment their fans have all been waiting for all offseason.
After months of speculation of when a deal would finally be struck, that wait is finally over as the Silvertips have officially reached a deal with defenseman Landon DuPont on a WHL scholarship and development agreement, officially making him a member of the organization.
DuPont, 15, from Calgary, Alberta was granted exceptional status by the WHL on April 8, 2024, meaning he will be allowed the uncommon privilege of joining the league on a full-time basis at just 15 years old.
“We’re excited to have Landon and his family committed to the Silvertips,” said Everett general manager Mike Fraser in a press release. “We’re looking forward to having Landon suiting up with us this season having been granted his exceptional status. He’s a speedy, smart, dynamic player who will fit in nicely with our core group of defensemen.”
The Silvertips selected him with the first overall pick in the 2024 Bantam Draft, which made him the highest selected player in team history. He was the last player remaining from the draft who had yet to sign a scholarship and development agreement, but for good reason as his family negotiated with the league on the details, likely in regards to his age 15 season.
He is 𝗘𝗫𝗖𝗘𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟.
Landon DuPont has been granted Exceptional Player Status and is eligible to play in the WHL on a full-time basis beginning with the 2024-25 WHL Regular Season.
DuPont has been deemed as a potentially generational prospect for some time, which has been cause for hype around the region and among Silvertips fans since Everett won the first overall selection. He was just the ninth player in CHL history to be granted exceptional status and just the second ever in WHL history behind Connor Bedard in 2020, as well as the second ever defenseman after Aaron Ekblad in 2011.
All this attention around him and he hasn’t even played a game yet. What’s made DuPont so special to be talked up like this?
He possesses a unique ability of creating time and space for himself on both ends of the ice with elite edge work, as well as an offensive prowess and openness to his game that few defensemen at his age possess.
Dupont has drawn comparisons to the likes of Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, and Bowen Byram, proving that he’s been more than ready to compete at the WHL level through his play in the CSSHL levels.
The production for DuPont had been off the charts at Edge School in the CSSHL, delivering 19 goals and 62 points in just 30 games at the U-18 level. Across his two seasons and both the U-15 and U-18 levels at Edge, he tallied an astounding 34 goals and 109 points in 57 games. This type of production for a defenseman is simply unheard of.
While he possesses a smaller frame at just 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, he’s still only 15 years old and has plenty of growing and physical maturing ahead of him.
“Landon is a very exciting and dynamic young player who impacts the game all over the ice,” newly minted head coach Steve Hamilton said. “He’s an incredibly mature young man that’s ready for the transition to the Western Hockey League. Silvertip fans will love watching him develop in the years ahead.”
Selecting DuPont
How were the Silvertips even able to select DuPont in the first place? Weren’t they a top-seeded playoff team last year?
Well, they were, but recall the gargantuan trade they made with the Kamloops Blazers involving Olen Zellweger and Ryan Hofer the season beforehand. The Blazers were all in for a Memorial Cup push that year, selling a ton of their assets only to fall just short of the title as the host city.
And a byproduct of that push was that the Blazers lost almost all their top talent the year after, which allowed them to finish dead last in the overall 2023-24 standings.
It is safe to say that deal has done more than wonders for the Silvertips, as not only did they receive the pick that landed them DuPont, but they also got a large number of players and draft assets in the return, including current Seattle Kraken defensive prospect Kaden Hammell.
🚨 TRADE ALERT 🚨
We've traded Olen Zellweger and Ryan Hofer to the Kamloops Blazers for four players and up to 10 @TheWHL Draft picks.
The initial acquisition of DuPont couldn’t have come at a better time for the Silvertips, ahead of one of the most anticipated seasons in recent memory. Within this impressive defensive group set to return this season, DuPont will have more than enough veterans to help mentor him, with three defensemen in Tarin Smith, Eric Jamieson, and the aforementioned Hammell already being affilliated with NHL organizations.
DuPont’s father, Micki, was a WHLer himself before playing parts of four seasons in the NHL. In an interview with the league, he spoke about the life values he was able to learn from playing in the WHL, and what he has passed down to Landon.
“The friendships that you make, the things you learn, the off-ice skills,” Micki said. “I think those [skills] are really important. I’m happy that [Landon] will have the opportunity to go through all that.”
DuPont will be eligible for selection during the 2027 NHL Draft, and if all goes according to plan in his development, like four other exceptional status players before him, he could very well be selected first overall.
The Silvertips will open training camp at the end of the month, opening the season at home against last year’s first-round opponent Vancouver on September 21.
(Top photo of Landon Dupont: Chris Mast / Mast Images)
It’s been a long offseason of waiting around for news and notes to drop, but finally it feels like a corner has been turned, and the 2024-25 WHL season is beginning to take its shape.
One of the lingering questions for the Everett Silvertips was who would be their next head coach, and this week, the coaching carousel finally slowed to a stop.
Everett finalizes Mike Fraser as GM and Steve Hamilton as coach
Year after year, the Silvertips have been that pesky team that refuses to go away, producing countless amounts of under-the-radar talent that hasn’t once missed the playoffs in franchise history.
Despite being in contention on a regular basis, the team has never quite had enough to make it over the hump. Now, reaching the pinnacle will be in the hands of two new leaders.
The team finally named Mike Fraser the full-time general manager after he served as the interim GM following the departure of Dennis Williams, working his way to the top of the organizational ladder over the course of six years.
“My goal with the Silvertips continues to be a focus on developing exciting prospects on the ice and quality people that our community can be proud of,” Fraser said. “I also want to continue the winning tradition in Silvertip Country, and I greatly look forward to what lies ahead.”
Fraser, 45, didn’t wait long in making his first big move as GM, as not even a week later he announced long-time WHL head coach Steve Hamilton would become the sixth head coach in franchise history.
Hamilton, 52, has a plethora of experience behind benches over the past decade. He was with the Calgary Hitmen for the last six seasons, following four seasons coaching the Edmonton Oil Kings. He was an associate with the Oil Kings during their 2013-14 Memorial Cup-winning season.
During an introductory video made by the Silvertips, Hamilton harped on the winning culture that’s been established in Everett, as well as what made them so tough to play against when he coached for past teams.
“Everett’s always been known as an incredibly difficult team to play against,” Hamilton said. “[They’re] fast, tenacious, in your face, and I think a lot of that has to do with the fans they play in front of.”
While Hamilton shines in experience, his head coaching resume and record leave a bit to be desired, considering Everett’s lofty expectations of seriously contending for the next few seasons.
Never winning more than 36 games in a season, Hamilton only has a single playoff series win during his tenure as a WHL coach, winning only eight total playoff games and missing the playoffs entirely in four out of his eight seasons (excluding COVID years of 2019-20, 2020-21).
The highest his teams have ever finished for goals for in a season was seventh in 2018-19, and they have sat near the bottom of the league in this category. Considering how much Everett had to rely on scoring by committee for much of last season, not valuing that side of the puck as much might just cost the Silvertips later in the season when finishing games truly matters.
There is some upside, however, as Hamilton’s calling card as a coach comes on the defensive side of the puck. Plus, the players he’s worked to develop, most recently Top 10 NHL Draft pick Carter Yakemchuk in Calgary, have had success. His understanding for that side of the game is likely why Everett felt he was the best fit, especially to help maximize the talents of their NHL drafted bluelinersEric Jamieson, Kaden Hammell, and Tarin Smith.
“Our job as coaches is to get the most out of our group, wherever we are in a cycle,” Hamilton said. “And if we can max out the potential of the group, that’s certainly the goal year in and year out.”
Hamilton will have a lot to work with. This could arguably be the best roster/group of defensemen he’s had in his career, but this window of opportunity has to be seized.
“There’s really a lot to like about where the organization is positioned,” Hamilton said. “It was an opportunity to come into a situation where the team’s on the rise.”
There’s one more big domino to fall in Everett, as exceptional-status defenseman Landon DuPont has yet to sign to his scholarship and development agreement. There has been reassurance from a number of sides that the deal is all but done, but admittedly, the drama continues to build with each passing day.
Other U.S. Division coaching hires
Wenatchee: Don Nachbaur
The Wenatchee Wild wanted more stability with its new bench boss, and they found that stability courtesy of veteran coach Don Nachbaur, making Wenatchee his fourth destination in the WHL.
From WHL coaching milestones to NHL playing experience to international success, our new head coach has it all…
After spending 19 prior seasons in Seattle, Tri-City, and Spokane, and despite having yet to win a WHL title, the notoriously hard-nosed Nachbaur is a successful coach in league and is currently in third place all time for coaching wins. He is just eight wins away from the illustrious 700-win mark.
Spokane: Brad Lauer
The Silvertips and Spokane Chiefs followed similar timelines in each of their hiring processes, with both citing immigration issues as the primary reason for why they took so long.
But who wouldn’t want to wait for a guy like Brad Lauer? While his stint with the Winnipeg Jets failed to produce the expected special teams results, those results came easier for him with the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Lauer lays claim to the highest winning percentage in WHL history at .792, and he led the Oil Kings to their second Memorial Cup in 2021-22.
Spokane GM Matt Bardsley said the hiring of Lauer came from the team’s desire to maximize the talent they have on the current roster, while fostering the younger players to step into more prominent leadership roles.
“Lauer understands that from the development side that it takes patience and repetition with young players,” Bardsley said. “But at the same time he’s mentioned multiple times preparing them for ultimately everybody’s goal to get to the NHL.”
Portland: Kyle Gustafson
The defending Western Conference champion Portland Winterhawks are about to enter a new era.
Taking his place is associate coach Kyle Gustafson, who’s been Johnston’s right-hand man since the beginning of his first tenure in 2011. He’s been with Portland practically every year since 2003 as either an assistant or associate coach.
Other news
Tri-City traded Kraken defensive prospect Lukas Dragicevic, along with goalie Eric Kahl to the Prince Albert Raiders for three players and a draft selection. Dragicevic, 19, reportedly put in a request with GM Bob Tory to be traded.
Spokane officially put in a bid to host the 2026 Memorial Cup. If Spokane is selected, it would mark the first time since 1998 that junior hockey’s marquee tournament would take place in the state of Washington.
Seattle Thunderbirds Scott Ratzlaff and Sawyer Mynio, and Chiefs center and Kraken prospect Berkly Catton are participants for Canada at the World Junior Summer Showcase.
Mynio impressed in his WJSS game against Sweden on Wednesday with one goal and one assist.
All NHL teams aspire to accumulate talent throughout their lineup. While this can be accomplished through trades or free agency, the most cost-efficient way to acquire talent is through the NHL Draft. Drafted players are cost controlled throughout their entry-level contracts and require only draft picks to get them into the organization.
The Seattle Kraken have been wisely accumulating draft assets, selecting 36 players over the last four NHL Drafts. Early returns suggest that first-round picks like Matty Beniers and Shane Wright will be key contributors. Beniers already has 167 games under his belt, and we can expect Wright to be a full-time NHLer next season.
The Kraken have also seen recent standout performances from a pair of second-round picks. Both David Goyette and Jagger Firkus led the OHL and WHL respectively in scoring last season. Given these developments, how should we evaluate their progress? Statistically, are they tracking as home run draft picks and future stars? Or should we remain more reserved in our outlook?
Performance relative to age
Jagger Firkus (Photo/Brian Liesse)
One useful lens for analyzing progress is performance relative to age. Even within the same draft class, there can be a wide disparity in age. For the 2024 draft, top-ranked prospect Cole Eiserman (drafted No. 20 overall by the New York Islanders) is about 10 months (304 days) younger than Artyom Levshunov (drafted No. 2 overall by the Chicago Blackhawks). At this age, 10 months is a huge runway in developmental timeline. This effect is compounded in junior leagues like the OHL and WHL where players as young as 16 and as old as 20 are playing side-by-side against each other every night.
Intuitively, we should expect a 20-year-old to be far more physically developed than the average 18-year-old (the average age of each team was 18.7 in both the OHL and WHL last year). Without the context of age, we may be prone to draw faulty conclusions about a player’s long-term potential. So how can we contextualize the seasons that Goyette and Firkus just had?
In order to draw some rudimentary conclusions, we looked at the top 15 scoring seasons for both OHL and WHL players from 2014 to 2024. The jury is still out on the long-term ceiling of some of these players, but there is enough data to make some inferences. Within the OHL, the list includes current NHL stars like Connor McDavid, Mitch Marner, and Jason Robertson, solid top-six players like Dylan Strome, and bottom-six forwards like Kevin Labanc. We also see players like Justin Brazeau and Aaron Luchuk who, to-date, have been unable to carve out NHL careers.
The common thread here is that standout performances in your 17- or 18-year-old season are often predictive of high-ceiling NHL careers. Standout performances from 19- or 20-year-olds should be taken with a bigger grain of salt. Included in this latter group are Christian Dvorak and Rory Kerins. While the former is a useful albeit replaceable bottom-six forward, the latter may or may not crack the NHL at all.
The WHL paints a similar picture. Two thirds of the top scoring seasons from the last 10 years are owned by 19 and 20-year-old players, many of which have struggled to hold NHL jobs. Kraken fan favorite Oliver Bjorkstrand has found success as a top-six forward while Sam Steel appears to have settled into a bottom-six role.
What is also notable is what the data doesn’t show. Superstar talents do not tend to linger in Major Junior for long. Connor Bedard just won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie. By the time he was 20, Connor McDavid had played nearly 200 NHL games and was scoring over 100 points per season. Post-draft, Mitch Marner spent another year with the London Knights before debuting in the NHL with a 61-point season.
With this in mind, we should be wary of projecting Firkus and Goyette as top-of-the-lineup stars. They both had excellent seasons, but their statistical profiles are more in line with solid middle-six forwards. While on the surface this may seem disappointing, this isn’t bad news. It is important to remember that even players selected early in the draft often do not become full-time NHLers.
Looking at five years of draft data from 2010-2014 and using the 100 games played mark as a threshold, we find that 82 percent of first-round picks became NHLers, but that number drops off to only 46 percent in the second round. Even then, reaching the 100 games played threshold is hardly indicative of being a true difference maker on a contending team. Solid middle-six forwards would be fantastic outcomes for Firkus and Goyette, and contending teams need this type of talent in the middle of their lineup to win.
Berkly Catton (Photo/Spokane Chiefs)
While our analysis leads us to some muted optimism for Firkus and Goyette, we should end on a more positive note. The Kraken’s most recent first-round pick, Berkly Catton, just wrapped up a very special season relative to his historical 17-year-old peers, putting him in rare company. Hockey analyst Cam Robinson summed it up best.
Every CHL draft-eligible skater to produce 50+ goals and 115+ points in the 21st Century:
• Sidney Crosby • Patrick Kane • Connor Bedard • Berkly Catton
Last season, the Kraken offense was ranked fourth from the bottom of the NHL. In drafting Catton, a dynamic rush scoring forward, they may have selected a player uniquely suited to address this gap.
You’ve seen them at development camp. Now it’s time to figure out where the Kraken prospects will play this upcoming season.
With a few high-profile prospects expected to make the leap from the American Hockey League to the NHL, and several other players set to “graduate” to the AHL from junior hockey, there should be plenty of upward movement in Seattle’s system this year.
Graduating to NHL
Ryker Evans
Evans, 22, has little left to prove in the AHL. After flirting with being an NHL regular for parts of last season, we expect Evans to fill Brian Dumoulin’s spot on the roster in 2024-25 after the veteran left-shot blueliner was traded to Anaheim on July 2.
Shane Wright
After a successful campaign in Coachella Valley as a 20-year-old, the former fourth overall pick is poised to make the jump to Seattle’s lineup next season.
Shane Wright (Photo/Brian Liesse)
In the mix for NHL
Ryan Winterton
Carson Rehkopf
Logan Morrison
Even with the Kraken signing Chandler Stephenson, there’s still room for a player to break into a fourth-line role with Seattle in 2024-25. Another spot could even open up if Brandon Tanev is traded to free up cap space this season, something we could still foresee happening being that he is on the last year of a contract that carries a $3.5 million cap hit.
Winterton, 20, and Morrison, 22, are coming off productive first seasons with Coachella Valley. Winterton, who tallied 35 points in 58 games for the Firebirds, is a good potential fit for a checking line role with his play style and looked good in his end-of-season stint with the Kraken.
Carson Rehkopf is entering his 19-year-old season and isn’t eligible to play in the AHL due to the NHL-CHL transfer agreement. He will likely be sent back to Kitchener in the Ontario Hockey League for one last season of junior hockey. However, Rehkopf is one of Seattle’s best prospects and, while unlikely, he could fight for a roster spot in 2024-25 with a good training camp.
Logan Morrison (Photo/Brian Liesse)
NHL long shots, likely headed to AHL
Ville Ottavainen
Ottavainen will almost certainly begin the season in the AHL, but he could be in the mix for the first call-up if an injury arises on the Kraken blue line. The 21-year-old rearguard’s development will be better served playing every day in the AHL than as a seventh defenseman for the Kraken, but he’s huge at 6-foot-5, 216 pounds, and he is well regarded in the organization. Ottavainen could have an NHL future.
NHL long shots, likely headed to junior
Berkly Catton
In a similar vein to Rehkopf, Catton, the Kraken’s first-round pick in 2024, has a very slim chance to make the NHL roster. More realistically, he’ll be immediately sent back to junior or, if he impresses in training camp, he’ll play the 10-game trail allotted to prospects while still retaining the option of having their contracts “slide.”
Berkly Catton (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Graduating to AHL
Jagger Firkus
Ty Nelson
David Goyette
Jani Nyman
Niklas Kokko
Lleyton Roed
Firkus, Nelson, and Goyette are members of Seattle’s exciting 2022 draft class who are finally eligible to play in Coachella Valley after successful junior careers.
Nyman and goaltender Kokko are also members of said draft class and are expected to make the full-time jump to North America from their native Finland. Nyman had 43 points in 48 games for Ilves in Liiga, Finland’s top league. Kokko played for two teams in Liiga this past season and experienced his best success with Pelicans, posting a .926 save percentage and a 1.49 goals-against average and backstopping that team to the final.
Roed, a college free-agent signing, should be one to watch on Coachella Valley next season. The 21-year-old forward is coming off a 38-point season (30 games) for Bemidji State and can absolutely fly. He’s a fun player to watch.
Niklas Kokko (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Status up in the air
Andrei Loshko
Tyson Jugnauth
Both Loshko and Jugnauth are entering their 20-year-old seasons, meaning they are eligible to play in the AHL, but are unsigned. The Kraken could sign either of them and place them on the AHL roster, but that decision is two-fold: the Kraken first must decide whether it’s wise to add them to their prospect pool, then if there’s enough playing time available to put them on the AHL roster.
Loshko, a fourth-round selection in 2023, was traded to Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL before last season and posted 67 points (28 goals) in 64 games.
Not getting the role he expected with the Wisconsin Badgers, Jugnauth, a fourth-round pick in 2022, moved to the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, where he was a point-per-game player (41 points in 41 games).
Tyson Jugnauth (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Staying/heading overseas
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard
Zeb Forsfjall
Kim Saarinen
Peetro Seppala
Visa Vedenpaa
Semyon Vyazovoy
Fisker-Mølgaard likely will play a minimum of one more season overseas before heading stateside. The Danish forward is set to return to HV71 in the SHL, Sweden’s top league, where he helped that club stave off relegation last season.
After playing the last two seasons for Coachella Valley, Seppala was signed by Orebro HK in the SHL this offseason. He remains in the Kraken system.
All of the listed CHL players are too young for the AHL and will head back to juniors this next season.
We might not see the NCAA players for a while. The Kraken hold their rights until they run out of eligibility in college hockey. Janicke, an incoming senior at Notre Dame, is the closest to graduation of the bunch.
The Seattle Kraken drafted Alexis Bernier, a right-shot defenseman out of the QMJHL’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar with the No. 73 pick in the NHL Draft. Despite speculation the Seattle Kraken would invest on the blue line in this draft, the team came away from the first two rounds with three forwards: Berkly Catton, Julius Miettenen, and Nathan Villeneuve. Bernier, who played top-pair minutes for a Baie-Comeau club that made it to the QMJHL finals in 2023-24, was the first defenseman selected by Seattle.
This pick was a bit surprising based on the public rankings. Bernier’s highest ranking we tracked came from Elite Prospects, which had him at No. 100 overall. NHL Central Scouting ranked him the No. 62 North American skater.
Alexis Bernier defends Lleyton Roed at 2024 Kraken Development Camp
Evaluating Bernier, the prospect
Bernier played in all situations for Baie-Comeau, taking difficult matchups at 5-on-5 and logging minutes on both the power play and penalty kill. He’s a fluid mover and adept puck handler, and he was one of his junior team’s best players at breaking out of the defensive zone.
Perhaps his strongest trait, according to scouts, is his hockey sense, which allows him to diagnose and shut down opposing offensive chances before they materialize. Among defensemen, he was second on his team and seventh in the QMJHL with an on-ice plus-minus of +38 during the 2023-24 regular season.
He has adequate size and bulk at 6-foot-1, 197 pounds, and demonstrated the ability to box out opponents at the net front at Kraken Development Camp. I saw a very smooth and polished skater. On the other hand, I saw a shot and offensive skill level that were a notch or two below other offensive-minded blue liners in attendance. In addition to adding strength, the in-zone offensive aspects of the game will be a key area of development for Bernier.
While it is very early, Bernier looked like a third-pair or depth projection at camp.
The Sound Of Hockey Big Board had Bernier at No. 122 overall. On most public analyst boards, he was a mid- to late-round consideration. Bob McKenzie’s scout-informed list had Bernier listed among 10 honorable mentions after a ranked list of the top 90 players. So, the 73rd overall pick was either the early edge of his range or a few rounds early. My data-only ranking had Bernier at No. 341 overall, though that ranking favors scorers.
Video scouting Bernier
Scouting breakdown
Strengths:
“His head swivels in the defensive zone. He locates attackers all around him and adopts the right positioning and stick angle to nullify as many of their plays as possible on them. And then, with the calm of a veteran, he picks up the puck, turns toward the play, and launches the perfect pass to a teammate inside space.
“Bernier’s breakout abilities help him cut down his defensive zone time. They contribute to his shutdown abilities. As much as possible, he keeps the puck in control of his team with his poise and clever, simple passes. If a teammate gets open in the offensive zone, he spots him. And if another frees himself for a breakaway, he lands the stretch pass.” – Elite Prospects
“He’s a fast, agile defenseman who really knows how to utilize his skating ability. He loves using it to keep the tempo high, whether that’s with his gap control, man-to-man defending, breaking pucks out, or activating from the offensive blueline. Despite not being overly big he really plays hard and with an edge. He might never be a true specialist on either side of special teams, but he’ll be someone who can comfortably handle the responsibilities of both.
“The Drakkar are going to be top contenders in the QMJHL for the next two seasons, and Bernier seems like the type of player who elevates his game to new heights during a deep playoff run and then never looks back.” – McKeen’s
Weaknesses:
“He makes the occasional poor read under pressure but also shows the skills to manipulate pressure. The skill levels and skating are both questions. Fluid, but a bit upright and unable to really correct mistakes or separate from opponents with speed… He could be a mid-to-late-rounder. Not sure that any of his dimensions rank highly enough to project him confidently to the NHL, but his foundation of skills grades highly.” – Elite Prospects
Final thoughts
As mentioned above, based on scoring data only, I had Bernier as a borderline 2024 NHL Draft prospect. Players of his profile rarely develop scoring touch later in their careers, so Bernier likely needs to be a defensive standout to progress beyond the AHL. And, while I saw some building blocks at camp, he looks like he needs to take developmental leaps on that side of his game too.
During the draft I admit that I was disappointed that the Kraken targeted a defensive defenseman at No. 73, given the team’s desperate need for skill and offense from the back end and the availability of a few other gambles, such as Henry Mews (74 overall pick to Calgary) and Luca Marrelli (86 overall to Columbus).
Only time will tell if Bernier hits. But, even if he does hit, he’s highly unlikely to be the kind of top-of-the-lineup defender many were anticipating the Kraken would land in this draft. Bernier’s skill level simply didn’t compare to some of the team’s better blue line prospects at Development Camp, much less surpass it.
None of this is Bernier’s fault, of course. But Seattle’s blue line depth chart–both from a quality and quantity perspective–remains a question.
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.
It’s no secret that the Seattle Kraken, since the announcement of the 32nd NHL franchise in 2018, have worked hard at establishing their roots in any way possible in the Pacific Northwest.
From doing pop-up community events throughout the PNW to inking a new TV deal aimed at reaching a wider swath of fans across the region, it’s clear they’re trying to create and sustain lasting bonds within the local community.
Much of the most die-hard fan engagement in the early days came from the WHL fanbases in the U.S. Division, where the Kraken’s roots are grounded with the core group of people that drove the interest of attaining a franchise in the first place.
In their inaugural season, as a means of thanking those loyal fans from the markets that pushed for the franchise, the Kraken chose to hold their home preseason games in Spokane, Everett, and Kent while Climate Pledge Arena was in the final stages of construction. When they could have chosen one venue and stuck with it for that preseason, the team decided it was better for engagement purposes to do the games at those three separate junior hockey venues across Washington State.
We have since seen on several occasions that the organization has a penchant for bringing players into the fold with local ties. This is likely just by happenstance, but it does create some nice benefits for both the team and its fans, with whom the Kraken continue to foster relationships.
They’ve continued to nurture partnerships with the local WHL clubs and cities ever since the “Three-Rink Rush” days, but three years later, keeping a local flair in the players they employ is helping to strengthen those bonds in a more organic way.
WHL-heavy NHL Draft
The Kraken started off on Night 1 of this summer’s NHL Draft with the selection of Berkly Catton at No. 8 overall from the Spokane Chiefs. One of the most skillful and intelligent forwards in the class, he led all WHL draft-eligible players in goals (54) and points (116) in 2023-24.
On Day 2, Seattle stuck with the theme by taking three more WHL forwards, selecting power forward Julius Miettinen from the Everett Silvertips, then striking in the later rounds with two solid two-way forwards in Swift Current’s Clarke Caswell and Red Deer’s Ollie Josephson.
When the draft concluded on Saturday, a total of 34 WHL players were selected throughout both Days 1 and 2, which was the most of any eligible developmental league in the world. The Kraken’s four picks were the most of any NHL team.
Add in last season’s selections of Everett’s Kaden Hammell and Tri-City’s Lukas Dragicevic, as well as Tyson Jugnauth joining Portland midseason, and the Kraken now have at least one player representing almost every team in the division. Beyond the U.S. division, Seattle also selected Caden Price from Kelowna in 2023 and Jagger Firkus from Moose Jaw in 2022.
Ron Francis in his media availability after the draft detailed why his staff leaned towards the WHL.
“Our player development staff, as it plays out, doesn’t have to travel very far to see some of our players now,” Francis said. “The WHL has always been a good league, and the cities around Seattle have always had good teams and good players.”
While all those players in their own rights were worthy of being selected, the Kraken notably avoided drafting a defenseman until Round 3, which was shocking considering many pegged them to lean heavily on the blue line this draft given their shallow defense pool. Touted defensive prospects Zeev Buium or Zayne Parekh were a couple of the names that were available at No. 8.
Of course, Seattle scouts players across the globe, so it’s impossible to claim that the team is specifically looking locally, but having youngsters develop in the team’s backyard definitely makes for easier logistics.
“Our budget just went down for travel,” Kraken director of player development Jeff Tambellini joked last week about selecting Catton and Miettinen in the first two rounds. “But to have Berkly Catton so close, to have Miettinen so close, it’s fantastic. Any chance they get to see our team play and be around our group, the better, so we’re really exeited in the development staff that we’re going to see those guys a lot.”
Is staying local a good strategy?
Staying local is certainly enticing. Why not just go with what you’re most familiar and comfortable with instead of taking a shot in the dark? If you rank two players similarly but have seen one 10 times and the other once or twice, it becomes very easy to lean toward that player you’ve seen 10 times.
But the benefits of having the player close don’t really kick in until after the player is selected, when the Kraken can take a hands-on approach to development.
Kraken prospect and Everett Silvertips defenseman Kaden Hammell emphasized having that familiarity with Seattle has been helpful for his progression as a player.
“Not many players get to play as close [to their NHL team] as I do here,” Hammell said. “With Seattle being right down the road from Everett, anything that I have needed, they’ve been amazing with.”
Portland’s Jugnauth shared a similar sentiment on the latest episode of theSound Of Hockey Podcast.
“Seattle would be great [at making] an effort to see me when I was in Wisconsin, but obviously when they’re coming out there, it’s just to see me,” Jugnauth said. “But now with [Hammell and Miettinen] in Everett, and [Catton] in Spokane, all of a sudden they’re around all the time.”
While the development angle is great, there are always pros and cons when it comes to staying nearby for scouting. While both players and management can make it easier on themselves to access one another whenever they need, a drawback to this approach is it could be limiting the Kraken’s talent pool slightly.
Of course, the Kraken do not limit themselves to drafting locally, and there’s no doubt they do their due diligence when it comes to deciding on the players that enter the organization.
Fans like local talent
We do believe it will be a long-term challenge to retain season ticket holders and keep the casual game-attending audience engaged in Seattle. Having players that were either born in Washington or developed their game in Washington seems to help create connections between fans and players, as the fan relates to the player more.
There’s no better example of this than with the home-state signing of Kailer Yamamoto last summer. While it was a low-risk deal for the Kraken to make at just one year, $1.5 million, Yamamoto was never a great fit for Seattle. We have to think that he was more interested in playing for the Kraken, and the Kraken may have become interested in him at least in small part because of him being born and raised in Spokane and previously playing for the Chiefs.
Sure, there was some upside he could have tapped into, having that first-round pedigree from 2017, but Francis even alluded to Yamamoto’s local ties in the initial press release following the acquisition.
“He played junior hockey in his hometown of Spokane, Washington, and we’re happy to welcome him to the Kraken,” Francis said on July 1, 2023.
Yamamoto wound up appearing in 59 games as a Kraken, scoring only eight goals in his tenure and averaging five fewer minutes than he previously grew accustomed to in Edmonton. Still, there was a fervent group of fans that was not shy in telling us how much they loved Yamamoto and how furious they were any time he was left out of the lineup.
On the other side of the local coin, Oliver Bjorkstrand doesn’t necessarily belong in the same category as Yamamoto given how much more productive he has been as a member of the Kraken. But it’s important to note that him being a former Portland Winterhawk allowed the large and rabid audience down in the ‘Rose City’ to have an in when it came to keeping a rooting interest in the team.
The Kraken aren’t unique in selecting players from their own implicit biases, as many teams boast either hometown or local products of their own. Correlation isn’t always causation in this case.
But with the talent pool being less concentrated in the Pacific Northwest compared to the combined other regions on the continent, and for them to acquire the talent from around here as often as they do, whether it be via the draft or acquisition, it’s easier to see the patterns start to emerge and wonder if there’s reason for their choices beyond impact on the ice.
