While the Seattle Kraken showed once again that they can be competitive in every game—even when the flow of the game is a little faster than others—they also showed that the Dallas Stars still have their number, losing 3-2 at Climate Pledge Arena on Thanksgiving Eve.
All-time, excluding the 2022-23 playoff series when Seattle won three games, the Kraken are now 2-9-2 against the Stars and have lost eight in a row. From the Dallas perspective, that’s a 12-1-1 record.
The Kraken looked good in this contest, and if they play like that every game, they’ll win most nights. But Casey DeSmith was sharp, the power play was atrocious, and two fluky goals cost the Kraken standings points.
Here are Three Takeaways from a 3-2 Kraken loss to the Stars.
Takeaway #1: Jared McCann in, Jaden Schwartz out
As the Kraken offense sputtered over the last few weeks, it became more and more clear how much they missed their purest goal scorer, Jared McCann, who was absent for a whopping 17 games with a lower-body injury. He finally returned to the lineup on Wednesday and registered an assist on Vince Dunn’s game-tying goal 18 seconds into the third period.
I liked McCann’s game. Though he only put two shots on net officially, I remember him buzzing around dangerous areas on several occasions during the contest.
“He had a couple good chances,” coach Lane Lambert said. “I thought he looked good. He hasn’t played for a long time; he hasn’t played much hockey this year at all. I think he’s gonna help us for sure.”
McCann did not exactly get to ease his way back into game action, though. Just 19 seconds into his very first shift since Oct. 18, Alex Petrovic caught him with a brutal high stick to the mouth, which sent McCann down the tunnel temporarily.
“Just tried to battle for a puck, and next thing you know, my tooth was in my throat,” McCann said. He also said he felt “better and better” as the game went on. It was good to see him back out there.
Hear from Jared McCann on his… painful… return to the lineup. “Next thing I know, my tooth is in my throat.” #SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/7C807l6QDC
On the flip side, though, just as McCann returned to the lineup, another key piece went out with a lower-body injury. Jaden Schwartz went to the goal crease and got tangled up with DeSmith and Vladislav Kolyachonok late in the second period. He hobbled to the bench and down the tunnel and did not return to the game.
Lambert did not have an update on Schwartz after the game, saying he was still being evaluated.
Takeaway #2: The power play stunk
On a night when the Kraken were either tied or a goal away from being tied for the entire game, they really needed their power play to chip in at least once. Despite getting ample opportunity—Seattle had the manpower advantage five times in the game, in fact—the PP came up completely empty on the night.
There were two especially critical moments where Seattle could have used contributions from the power play: first, when McCann’s dental incident in the early stages of the game drew a four-minute power play but did not generate a goal; and later, when Petrovic hauled down Matty Beniers behind the net with just 3:35 left. Seattle showed a little more creativity on that last one, shifting their players all over the offensive zone to try to create different looks, but it never felt like they were all that close to scoring.
“Myself included, I definitely made some plays that I want back,” Dunn said. “[We need] to simplify, make plays under pressure, and we’re the guys that need to make those plays, and we didn’t do it tonight. I thought the PK was great, and then the PP lets the team down a little bit, so that’s frustrating.”
Added Lambert: “Entry-wise, I didn’t think we did a great job, as we strove to enter the zone. Give them credit. They’re a big team, they’ve got long guys and big defensemen, but we could have done a better job there… [The power play] was needed tonight, and it’s been good for us, and it’s been there when we’ve needed it in the past. Tonight wasn’t that night.”
Takeaway #3: Better shot generation
One big positive I saw in this one was more time spent in the offensive zone than in some recent past outings. Lambert has talked about more shot generation ad nauseam lately, and I chatted with a few players about this topic for my Kraken Notebook piece a couple days ago. The message seemed to get through, though, because there was clearly a concerted effort to get things going north more often and letting shots rip whenever there was an opportunity to do so.
Case in point: Brandon Montour gathered a puck in the corner after Shane Wright missed a wide-open net and didn’t hesitate to send it toward DeSmith from below the goal line. Montour got rewarded, as it banked off DeSmith’s right foot and into the net to make it 1-1 at 9:06 of the first period.
MONTY MONEY! 💰 🚨
Shane Wright misses a wide-open net, but Brandon Montour corrals it in the corner and scores from the goal line.
What was encouraging about this was that they put 28 shots on DeSmith (a high number by Seattle’s standards) but didn’t open themselves up defensively. Two of the goals against were somewhat fluky, with a high-tip play working perfectly to make it 1-0 and a floating wrist shot with five minutes left in the third on which Adam Larsson perfectly screened Joey Daccord and failed to get the block.
Kolyachonok scores to make it 3-2 with five minutes left.
Again, if the Kraken can generate like that consistently without sacrificing much of their stout defensive structure, they’re going to remain a playoff competitor.
By the way, they did officially get to Thanksgiving in a playoff spot, although as Blaiz Grubic wrote a while back, losing on Wednesday and dropping to third place in the Pacific Division lowers their chances significantly. Roughly 89 percent of second-place teams at Thanksgiving make the playoffs, whereas about 63 percent of teams in third place at Thanksgiving qualify.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! I’m thankful for our great readers, listeners, and followers.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
The Seattle Kraken practiced at Kraken Community Iceplex on Tuesday for the first time since embarking on a four-game road trip in which they went 2-1-1, but fumbled a golden opportunity to sweep a back-to-back, losing 1-0 in a shootout to the Islanders to close out the trip on Sunday.
Lots of meaty topics in this Kraken Notebook, including a conversation with Joey Daccord about how he and Philipp Grubauer have been playing lately, some feelings of gratitude from Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, an encouraging update on Jared McCann, and more.
Enjoy!
Joey Daccord feeling good about his game
It’s a rare thing for a goalie to earn a 34-save shutout and still come away with a loss.
“The only other one I can remember [like that in my career] is the Calder Cup Finals against Hershey,” Joey Daccord said, referencing a 30-save performance that he had for the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2023. “We lost 1-0 in overtime, so it technically was a shutout, but we ended up losing. So, it doesn’t really count, but that’s the only one I can think of that was 0-0 that we lost.”
Daccord was red-hot in the contest against the Islanders but came up a shootout goal short of victory in the goalie duel against David Rittich, closing out a week of solid goaltending between himself and batterymate (and birthday boy) Philipp Grubauer.
“Some nights the puck bounces your way, and some nights it doesn’t,” Daccord said. “And that was one of the nights where it was about halfway through the game, and I was like, ‘I think the puck’s bouncing both goalies’ way tonight.’ And I was like, ‘I think it’s going to be hard to score a goal tonight.’”
Daccord also spoke glowingly of the performances Grubauer has had in his last two outings, winning 4-1 against San Jose in relief of an injured Matt Murray on Nov. 15, and then 3-2 in overtime on Saturday against the Penguins.
“He was unreal against Pittsburgh. It was so fun to watch,” Daccord said. “I mean, even that overtime, he had three or four monster saves. And then we go down and get one shot and score. I was like, ‘That’s hockey!’ He definitely stole us two points that night.
“And that San Jose game, where he came in in relief of Murr, it’s tough to go in and be that sharp. Me and Murr were watching on TV for that one, underneath in the locker room. And all we were saying was, when you come in like that, you just want to get a couple shots right away, a couple D-zone shifts, so you can just get into the game. He made a couple of monster stops right away. That first shift, they got hemmed in for like, two minutes, and he made a few saves. And we were like, ‘Alright, he’s good.’”
Indeed, even with Murray on the shelf, Kraken goaltending is in a pretty nice groove right now.
It’s funny how this three-goalie system has worked out so far. People thought the Kraken were crazy when they didn’t buy out Grubauer and also added Murray, but Murray and Grubauer got Seattle through an injury to Daccord, and now the Daccord/Grubauer combo has been lights out with Murray on the shelf. Maybe there’s something to this three-goalie system after all…
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard enjoying the ride
It was great catching up with Fisker Mølgaard, who was called up last week and has played two games for the Kraken. The 20-year-old Danish forward is as nice as they come in the sport, and you can tell he’s really enjoying the opportunity to spend some time in the NHL.
“It’s almost hard to explain,” Mølgaard said. “It’s a dream come true, and just being a part of this every day and learning from all the other guys… It’s a great experience. So, I’m happy to be here.”
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard competes at Kraken rookie camp in September. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Fisker Mølgaard said the first person he called when he got the news that he was heading to the show was his dad, who was on his way home from work in Denmark when he received the call.
“I know he was super proud,” Fisker Mølgaard said. “He said he almost shed a tear, and that doesn’t happen that often. So it was a special moment for all of us.”
How long Fisker Mølgaard sticks around remains to be seen. There’s a chance he goes back to Coachella Valley as soon as Wednesday, depending on what happens with Jared McCann (more on that in a bit).
Offensive struggles persisting
The Kraken were never expected to be an offensive juggernaut this season, but if they were going to be a playoff contender—as they appear to be—then it would have been reasonable to anticipate middle-of-the-league scoring. Instead, they’ve found success in spite of an inept offense that ranks among the worst teams in the league with 57 goals for (30th in the NHL) and 2.59 goals per game (29th).
The players recognize that the lack of offensive production is a problem, and so does the coaching staff. Lane Lambert largely attributes the struggles to passing up shots, but he and the team know it’s more nuanced than that.
“I mean, definitely one part of it is passing up on shots,” Matty Beniers said. “If you’ve got an opportunity to shoot, and that’s the best play there is, you’ve got to shoot the puck, and you’ve got to get it on net.”
Lambert sees a team that is consistently looking for “something better” but believes there’s value in getting pucks to the goalie, even if it isn’t a Grade A chance.
“There’s also the philosophy that shots create shots in terms of rebounds,” Lambert said. “There’s A chances, B chances, and C chances, and C chances or C shots can create an A chance off a rebound.”
Beniers agreed with this line of thinking.
“It’s not just shot attempts, but also getting them through and on net, sort of for rebounds or chaos or backdoor plays,” Beniers said.
From the backend, Ryker Evans sees an opportunity for the defense to help drive more offense and create more opportunities for the forwards too, but says there’s also a need for more movement in the offensive zone.
“Shooting-wise, in a sense, it’s just being a bit more selfish and shooting the puck instead of trying to pass it into the net,” Evans said. “Offensive-wise, I mean, it’s there. At times, we’ve got good net-front presence, so as a D, you’ve just got to get the puck to the net. And I think just doing a little bit more motion from other guys, and maybe get a high F3 and just— I think the biggest thing is just finding the lanes and getting the puck to the net.”
Jared McCann should help
The players and the coach seem to be on the same page in terms of their strategy for getting out of this offensive rut, but there’s also the question of personnel. The Kraken do not have many goal scorers on their roster, and their most reliable shooter—Jared McCann—has missed 17 games with a lower-body injury.
There’s good news on that front, though: it looks like he could be in the lineup for the game Wednesday against the Dallas Stars. Lambert wouldn’t confirm this to be the case, and McCann is still listed on injured reserve.
But he was on a regular line Tuesday with Berkly Catton and Shane Wright, and he also manned the right half wall on the power play. When a player is included in the power play at practice, he typically plays the next game, so this is a very encouraging sign.
“He’s a goal scorer, and, I mean, he’s a big part of this team, so having him back in the lineup would be huge,” Evans said. “And he’s just going to do what he does and put pucks in the net.”
Added Beniers: “That’s always a boost [to get McCann back]. I mean, the guy shoots the puck from everywhere. That’ll help for sure; he’s obviously a shooter, he’s one of our main shooters, so he’ll help a lot.”
Here’s how the Kraken lined up at practice:
Mason Marchment // Jordan Eberle // Matty Beniers Jaden Schwartz // Chandler Stephenson // Eeli Tolvanen Jared McCann // Berkly Catton // Shane Wright Tye Kartye // Freddy Gaudreau // Ryan Winterton Jani Nyman // Oscar Fisker Mølgaard
Vince Dunn // Adam Larsson Ryan Lindgren // Brandon Montour Ryker Evans // Jamie Oleksiak Cale Fleury // Josh Mahura
If McCann is activated from IR, Seattle will have to make a roster move to make space for him. That likely means one of Nyman, Fisker Mølgaard, or Cale Fleury goes to Coachella Valley.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
The Seattle Kraken didn’t always look like the better team this past week, but the standings don’t care about style points. They care about results, and the Kraken keep finding ways to collect them.
It started with a flat 4–2 loss in Detroit, the kind of game that could’ve set the tone for a rough road trip. Instead, Seattle flipped the script in Chicago, storming back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to steal a win. Two nights later, they pulled off another comeback in Pittsburgh, capped by a thrilling overtime finish. And on Sunday, Joey Daccord pitched a shutout against the Islanders, only to see the Kraken fall 1-0 in a shootout.
They got five out of eight possible points and finished the trip sitting in second place in the Pacific Division. For a team ranked near the bottom of the league in goals scored per game, that’s no small feat. The formula has been the same all season: stingy defense, timely goals, and a comfort level in tight, low-scoring battles. It’s not always pretty, but right now the vibes are high, and the Kraken are proving that survival in the NHL is about finding ways to win, not how you get there.
Shots on goal and shot attempts
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Kraken are struggling to generate shots on goal. They currently rank 32nd in the league with just 24.1 shots per game. Part of that is playing with the lead, but another part is the recent uptick in time spent on the penalty kill. Seattle is still one of the more disciplined teams in the league, but they’ve been shorthanded a bit more than usual over the last 10 games. When you’re killing penalties, you’re not spending much time generating offense.
That doesn’t explain everything about the low shot volume, but it’s definitely a piece of it. The Kraken don’t fare a whole lot better when you look at overall shot attempts either; they’re 28th in that category.
Maybe the most concerning part: they aren’t generating high-danger chances. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Seattle ranks dead last in both high-danger shots and high-danger shot attempts. This was a concern last season and a talking point coming into this one. It’s been slightly better over the last seven games, but it still feels like something that needs addressing if the Kraken want this run to continue.
High-danger shots against
On the flip side, Seattle has been excellent at limiting high-danger looks against. At even strength, the Kraken allow just 5.4 high-danger shots per game, well below the league average of 6.0. That was on full display Sunday against the Islanders, a game in which New York controlled plenty of zone time but struggled to break into the high-danger areas.
Other musings
The Kraken’s game against the Islanders was their first in 10 outings without allowing a power-play goal against.
Sunday’s shootout loss was their 10th overtime game of the season. They had just 13 all of last year. Seattle is 4–6 in OT this season and has lost all three shootouts.
The point against the Islanders was the Kraken’s first point in the second half of a back-to-back since March 22, 2024.
Freddy Gaudreau is now 11-for-20 in career shootout attempts, ranking fourth in the NHL among players with 15-plus attempts. The Kraken could’ve used him in those other two shootout games.
A whopping 81.1 percent of Kraken game time this season has been played tied or within one goal. That leads the league.
Despite their scoring issues, Sunday’s 1–0 shootout loss was the first shutout of the season against the Kraken. They were shut out seven times in each of the previous two seasons.
A weekend note from the broadcast: The Kraken are minus-eight in first-period goal differential, second-worst in the NHL behind Detroit. They’re tied for sixth-best in the third period.
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard made his NHL debut last week in Chicago. He played about six minutes a night in his two games, but it was still great to see him rewarded for strong progress. He’s the first Kraken pick from the 2023 draft class to play an NHL game. I don’t expect to see him much the rest of the way, but he’s ahead of schedule.
Seattle Kraken Goalies: Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer — The two of them combined to go 2-1-1 this week with a .940 save percentage and four ‘quality starts.’
Ryker Evans (SEA) — The third-pair defenseman tallied one goal and three assists over the last four games and looks like he’s taking a real step forward this season.
Jakub Fibigr (BRA/SEA) — The seventh-round pick put up five points in three games for Brampton and looks like a lock for Czechia’s World Junior team.
The week ahead
The Kraken return home, but the schedule doesn’t exactly soften. First up are the big, bad Dallas Stars, winners of seven of their last 10 and the team Seattle has struggled against more than any other Western Conference opponent. The Kraken’s 2-9-2 regular-season record against Dallas is a glaring reminder of how tough this matchup has been. They haven’t beaten the Stars since that playoff series back in 2023. If history is any indication, this one will be a grind.
Things get only slightly easier when the Edmonton Oilers come to town. Yes, Seattle already beat them once this season, but as long as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are wearing those sweaters, “easy” isn’t exactly in play. Edmonton has had its issues, but those two can tilt the ice instantly. Honestly, if the Kraken can scrape out two of a possible four points this week, I’d call that a win.
And while we’re talking about hockey in Seattle, another quick nod to the city’s newest team: the Seattle Torrent. Their debut game was fast, fun, and competitive. With the home opener coming up, it’d be awesome to see a big crowd show up and give the franchise a proper welcome.
And finally…
At the end of the day, the Kraken keep banking points, even if the road there hasn’t always been convincing. The defense-first identity is clear, the offense remains a work in progress, and yet the standings show Seattle right near the top of the Pacific. So how are you feeling about this team—encouraged by the results, frustrated by the style, or somewhere in the middle?
You don’t see that every day. Kraken goalie Joey Daccord earned a 34-save shutout against the Islanders… and LOST 1-0 in a shootout.
Still, the Kraken are coming home with a better-than-.500 record from their challenging four-game trip that took them to Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Long Island—a swing in which they faced four teams who have all been better than expected this season.
A win Sunday would have been a really nice cherry on top of the sundae, but the Kraken did manage to force yet another overtime against the Islanders and came a shootout goal away from sweeping a back-to-back for the first time since 2022-23. Alas, they came up short, but still snagged a point in the second game—the first time they’ve done that since the 2023-24 season.
“We didn’t score any goals, so we didn’t find a way to capitalize,” coach Lane Lambert said. “Of course, neither did they. I thought our goalie was really good. I thought their goalie made some good saves as well, but it’s just a common theme right now, shot volume or lack thereof. We passed up too many shots again, so at some point, we’ve got to figure this out.”
Daccord was incredible in this one. Here are Three Takeaways from a 1-0 Kraken shootout loss to the Islanders.
Takeaway #1: Joey deserved better
It’s rare that a goalie pitches a shutout and still somehow comes away with a loss, but that’s what happened to Daccord on Sunday. He was dialed in from the drop of the puck, which was a good thing, because he did get tested early. As the game wore on, you could see that the Kraken were content to sit back and wait for their opportunities—of which there were very few. That meant they were leaning heavily on Daccord, who was equal to the task.
Daccord rebounded from giving up a squeezer of a goal in the trip-opening loss to the Red Wings on Tuesday with a solid 24-save win in Chicago on Thursday. He was even better on Long Island on Sunday, kicking out 34 of 34 shots in regulation and overtime, then two shootout attempts before Bo Horvat finally got one past him to extend the shootout to an extra round. Kyle Palmieri beat him again with the next shot and won the game.
#SeaKraken lose in the shootout… They had it. Horvat saved the Isles, Palmieri won it.
While the Kraken did a decent job of keeping things to the outside, there were more breakdowns in this game than in others. Some rush chances, some passes right into the slot, and some dangerous-looking flurries in front of the net. But Daccord was so calm and collected in net that he just never seemed to get out of position or sprawling to make stops. Even when shots were coming through traffic, pucks were hitting him and sticking without rebounds, and in the end, he stopped north of four expected goals, according to MoneyPuck.
Daccord’s effort comes on the heels of Philipp Grubauer’s 30-save performance on Saturday in Pittsburgh.
“They were really good [on the trip],” Lambert said. “I mean, it’s a big reason why we went the way that we went on the trip, but at the same time, our guys battled in front of them, blocked a lot of shots. I thought they both played very well.”
Added Freddy Gaudreau, “Joey and Grubi, the last game, both our goalies are giving us huge confidence out there. It’s huge when your goalies are just solid like that. They’ve been fun to play in front of. They’re just showing up every single game, and they’re ultra talented, so it’s fun to play in front of those guys.”
Takeaway #2: Anemic offense continues
The Kraken did have some good looks in the game, and Big Save Dave Rittich came up with some important stops at critical moments for New York. But the Kraken—as they almost always do—went long swaths of the game without putting a shot on Rittich and ultimately mustered just 21 official offerings in 65 minutes of play.
Part of that is a lack of possession to get themselves set up in the offensive zone, and part of it is playing a structured and patient game that’s comfortable keeping the score low and largely in Seattle’s end. But part of it is a team-wide habit of deferring to teammates when players are in shooting positions, and then not connecting on those passes. In other words, they’re just trying to be too damn cute with the puck.
Asked by Piper Shaw why that seems to happen, Lambert said: “I think we’re looking for something better, and I don’t understand why. We’ve got to shoot the puck. The only way you can score goals, and I’ve said it before and over and over again, is to put pucks on net.”
Of course, it does sting Seattle’s scoring chances to have their only real goal-scoring threat, Jared McCann, out of the lineup, along with the play-driving Kaapo Kakko. Word on the street is that McCann could return this week, which would give this sputtering offense a boost.
Takeaway #3: A positive road trip, in the end
The Kraken’s struggles in the second of back-to-backs continued on Sunday. BUT… but…
With the shootout loss, Seattle did get another point out of the game and came home with five out of eight possible points from a trip that started with a regulation loss in Detroit.
It was the first time since March 22, 2024 (so, more than a full season ago) that the Kraken earned a point in the second of back-to-backs. Remember, they went 0-12-0 in that scenario last year, a borderline impressive feat in and of itself.
“We had a good road trip,” Lambert said. “2-1-1 and points in three of four. Tonight’s game ultimately comes down to a— call it what you want, but a skills competition at the end. If we win that, we’re feeling pretty good about ourselves, and I think we should still feel good about ourselves.”
In the still-airtight Pacific Division standings, the point moves Seattle into sole possession of second place behind Anaheim, although Vegas has played one fewer game and technically has a slightly better points percentage.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
The Kardiac Kraken™️ (that’s what I’m calling them now) did it again! After rallying back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday, Seattle again faced an uphill climb Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In this one, they entered the third period tied 1-1, but going shorthanded for the fourth time in the game against the NHL’s best power play proved to be one too many rounds of playing with fire.
Evgeni Malkin made it 2-1 with the manpower advantage at 5:56 of the third, but Matty Beniers forced overtime, and Brandon Montour won it in the extra frame. The win gives the Kraken a big opportunity to take six of eight points on the road trip, as they head to Long Island to face the Islanders on Sunday.
“We defended as hard as we could,” coach Lane Lambert said. “I thought our goaltender played a great game, and there’s no question we’re going to be right back at here in not too many hours, so we just have to make sure that we focus in and be good with our structure tomorrow.”
Here are Three Takeaways from a 3-2 Kraken win over the Penguins in OT.
Takeaway #1: Mason Marchment gets the monkey off his back… then faceplants
The start of Mason Marchment’s Kraken tenure has been far from perfect. Since he scored in Seattle’s first game of the season, we’ve frequently noticed him fumbling pucks, missing passes, and deferring to teammates instead of letting it rip in obvious shooting situations.
But since Lambert elevated him onto the top line with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle, Marchment has seemed to be finding his way in deep sea blue. He made a massive impact against the Penguins with a goal, a primary assist, and a hilarious fall.
His goal and high-comedy tumble opened the scoring in a tight-checking game at 1:24 of the second period. Marchment actually turned the puck over to 18-year-old Ben Kindel, but then Kindel handed the puck right back to him and took himself out of the play at the Pittsburgh blue line. Marchment, finding himself with an open lane down the slot, took a few steps north and let his big shot go, sneaking it under the left arm of Sergei Murashov. As he pumped his fist and took a huge sigh of relief, the boards jumped out at Marchment and took him down in a heavy way.
IT'S A MUSH PUSH! 🚨
Marchment gets a gift handed to him by Kindel, then rips it through Murashov for his first goal since Game 1 of the season!
He absolutely bites it on the celebration, though. 😂
“Classic him, falling on his face with a big smile on his face,” Brandon Montour told Piper Shaw on the Kraken broadcast.
Marchment also factored into the critical game-tying goal in the third period. The top line had been buzzing for the better part of a minute, spending most of that stretch in Pittsburgh’s zone. After some perimeter passing, Marchment handed it to Ryker Evans, who began walking down the left half wall. The two traded places, and Evans dished it back to Marchment. Marchment wasted no time in finding Matty Beniers through the seam. Beniers dusted it off and slung a perfect shot under the bar.
MATTY MAGIC! 🚨
At the end of an outstanding shift by the top line, Mason Marchment makes a perfect seam pass to Beniers, who goes top cheddar. Beautiful goal.
We were thrilled when the Kraken traded for Marchment in the offseason, but early returns have been limited. It’s great to see him get rewarded with two points in this one, and Kraken fans have to feel encouraged that this could be a turning point for him.
“[Marchment] has played very well for at least a couple of weeks now,” Lambert said. “He’s been a force out there, he’s making plays, he’s using his body. He’s playing well for us.”
By the way, on Beniers’ goal, Lambert said: “That was a snipe.”
Takeaway #2: Grubauer shines again
The last couple of games have been the most confident Philipp Grubauer has looked in a long… long time. One could argue it’s the most confident he’s looked at any point during his tenure with the Seattle Kraken.
In a way, Grubauer is making general manager Jason Botterill look brilliant for not buying him out over the summer, because he has been razor-sharp in his last two appearances and has earned two straight wins—at a time when fellow backup Matt Murray has landed on the shelf for an extended period with a lower-body injury.
Grubauer came up with 30 saves in this one, his highest total of the season, and improved to 4-0-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average and .912 save percentage in six appearances, far and away his best numbers as a Kraken (though still in a relatively limited sample size).
What I liked most was the way he bounced back after his miscue with Ryan Lindgren gave Sidney Crosby an easy goal at 16:16 to tie the game 1-1. Sometimes a misplay like that—whether it was his fault or Lindgren’s or a combination of the two—can rattle a goalie. But Grubi went right back to work after that and continued looking calm and collected in the crease.
The Kraken are managing the duo of Grubauer and Joey Daccord a little differently than how they’ve historically handled them in back-to-back scenarios, running Grubauer out in the first game and saving Daccord for the second. So far, that plan has paid off. Sunday on Long Island, let’s see if Daccord can get them to their first win in the second of back-to-backs since the 2023-24 season and their first win in both games of a back-to-back since 2022-23.
Takeaway #3: Rallying back again
The Kardiac Kraken™️ aren’t making things easy on themselves. For a team starved for offense, you’d think they’d push a little harder to generate offense earlier in the game. But as we’ve heard from Lambert throughout the season, they need to be comfortable in tight games. And what’s really impressive is that it doesn’t seem to matter whether they’re ahead or behind by a goal (or two, as was the case Thursday in Chicago); they show good patience and composure either way, and when it feels like they need a goal, they’re getting it.
In the end, it was Montour who played the overtime hero in this one. After four minutes of struggling to even get possession and Kris Letang ringing one loudly off the post, Evans finally grabbed hold of the puck and retreated behind his own net to allow for a forward change. Evans began a controlled breakout with Freddy Gaudreau and Berkly Catton, then headed to the bench himself. On came Montour.
Gaudreau made a great play to gain the offensive zone with speed and hit the brakes at the top of the left circle, drawing two of the three Penguins defenders to him. He laid it back to the blue line, where Montour skated right into it, walked down Broadway, and ripped it past Murashov.
The Kraken couldn't get sustained control for the first four minutes of OT. But they finally got a chance here, Freddy Gaudreau drew two defenders and laid it back for Brandon Montour to walk down Broadway.
Of course, it would be nice to see the Kraken win in easier fashion every now and then, but what they’re doing is working. With the victory, they improved to 11-5-5 on the season, good for 27 standings points and a very temporary tie with the Anaheim Ducks for first in the Pacific Division.
Are the Kraken nasty wasty?
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.
We’ve hit another 10-game checkpoint in the season, which means it’s time for the next installment of 10 for 10: a quick look at 10 stats from the last 10 games that help show how the Kraken are trending.
The first stretch of the season saw the Kraken pick up 13 out of 20 points. Over Games 11 through 20, they grabbed 12 points. The output wasn’t identical, but pretty darn close, and surprisingly consistent for a team still searching for its identity.
Let’s dig into what stood out.
Data Point 1: Goals scored
The Kraken keep banking points, but the goal scoring drought is still very real, and somehow, it’s actually gotten worse over the last 10 games.
Data Point 2: Shots for and against
If it feels like the coaching staff has been hammering the “shoot more” message lately, it’s because they have. Lane Lambert brings it up almost every night, and the emphasis on generating more offense has been clear.
That said, over the last 10 games, the Kraken still rank just 24th in shots on goal. On the flip side, the defensive structure is holding strong: they rank 11th in fewest shots against per game.
Data Point 3: The penalty kill
The Kraken have allowed a power-play goal in eight straight games, but oddly enough, their overall penalty-kill percentage over the last 10 games is better than it was in the first 10.
Data Point 4: Crowded standings
This is more of a leaguewide trend, but it affects Seattle directly. The standings are extremely tight right now, with only Colorado really separating from the pack. Traditionally, roughly 80 percent of teams holding a playoff spot at U.S. Thanksgiving go on to qualify, but with the standings so jammed, that old rule might face a real stress test this year.
Data Point 5: Scoring from the defense
With Ryker Evans back in the lineup, the Kraken now have three defensemen who can legitimately drive offense. That’s a rare luxury, and it’s reflected in the percentage of team goals coming from the blue line.
Of course, the flip side is that the forwards aren’t scoring nearly enough, which ties back into the bigger goal-scoring issue.
Data Point 6: High-danger shots
The Kraken may not be filling the net, but they are generating more high-danger chances lately. If they keep trending upward here, goals should eventually follow.
Data Point 7: The “old guys” are leading the way
For a team that’s fighting for every goal, it’s notable that the two oldest skaters on the roster, Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz, are tied for the team lead with eight goals each and collectively off to one of their strongest collective starts.
And right behind them? Shane Wright, sitting third on the team with five goals.
Data Point 8: The return of Freddy Gaudreau
Freddy Gaudreau’s addition this summer looked like a clear upgrade for the penalty kill. The penalty kill dipped while he was out, and although it hasn’t fully rebounded, the Kraken coaches seem to like what he brings to the PK based on the minutes he’s getting since coming back from injured reserve.
Data Point 9: Time spent leading
The Kraken have scored first in 12 of their 20 games so far and earned 16 out of 24 possible points in those situations. Still, they haven’t actually held the lead for long stretches this season.
Spending a lot of time leading isn’t a requirement considering their overtime win in St. Louis, which never actually included a second where they were leading in the game.
Data Point 10: Overtime games
One big driver of the Kraken’s early success has been their ability to get games to overtime. Some fans think the record is being “propped up” by all the OT points, but to me, that speaks more to how competitive this team has been and how comfortable they are in tight games.
For context: yes, Seattle has had a lot of overtime appearances, but four teams have had even more. Edmonton leads the league with 10.
Closing thoughts
That wraps up this edition of 10 for 10. As before, the numbers paint both promise and frustration: strong structure, better high-danger chances, solid defensive play… but still waiting for the goal scoring to catch up.
Now, I’d love to hear from you.
What stats or trends would you like to see included in future 10 for 10 breakdowns? Are there areas of the game you want a deeper dive on—special teams, matchups, advanced metrics, anything else? Let me know, and I’ll work them into the next installment.
“Down on the Farm” is your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. This week we’ll highlight Blake Fiddler’s early-season performance in the WHL before handicapping his chances at playing in the 2026 World Junior Championship. After that, we’ll have notes, video, and data from all corners of the Kraken organization, plus a preview of the schedule ahead, 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.
Blake Fiddler continues to flash difference-making skill
Blake Fiddler offers a rare collection of tools. On defense, he flashes an active and skilled stick that can disrupt opponents at the blue line and net front. He engages any offensive player who gets close to the blue paint, often pushing them entirely clear of his goaltender. For goalies, clear eyes and clean feet can’t lose. Fiddler is a big help in this regard.
Offensively, he starts the play with pinpoint breakout passes and finds teammates moving through the neutral zone for clean entries. He also shows the ability to transport the puck with strong speed and puck-protection skill. Once he has speed moving forward, he is a freight train. Junior players are often afraid to challenge him for fear that he will physically defeat the check and have a clear line to the goal. This creates space for him to operate and find his teammates on the rush.
Once established in the offensive zone, he is not content to deaden his feet at the points. He stays in motion, looking for soft spots where he can receive a pass and set up a shot on goal. He usually makes good reads in this part of the ice, vacating the blue line only when a forward is available to cycle up and cover for him. His movement generated several good chances, including a goal and a deflected-in primary assist, in his Nov. 15 game excerpted below.
On the flip side, his skating—particularly his four-way mobility defensively—needs a good deal of work. There are more awkward moments and possession giveaways than there should be, and his processing on breakout passes and other defensive reads can be frustratingly slow at times. It may be that the looser defensive structures at the junior level hurt his ability to anticipate, or he may just need more repetitions. He has the tools to dominate defensively, but he is often a step slow (or out of place entirely) right now.
Fiddler has been a stalwart for Team USA at U18 and U20 precursor tournaments to the World Junior Championship. There is little doubt in my mind that Fiddler is on track to play an important role for Team USA at the 2027 event, when he will be 19 years old. The question is: Does he have a place on Team USA’s blue line this year at 18 years old (a.k.a. an “underager”)?
Over the summer I had Fiddler on the outside looking in. I’m slightly more optimistic about his chances now because his offensive production has ticked up in the WHL. (Fiddler had 33 points in 64 WHL games last season, a .52 point-per-game pace. He’s at 18 points through just 23 games so far this year, a .78 point-per-game pace.) Team USA projects as a sound team, but one that may struggle to score compared with recent years after an exodus of high-end skill. Fiddler’s offensive traits may be too intriguing to leave at home.
Right now, I’d project Fiddler as the No. 7 defenseman for Team USA at the 2026 WJC.
Notes on three more Kraken prospects
Loke Krantz | F | Linköping HC (SHL)
Loke Krantz, an 18-year-old, 2025 seventh-round pick, continues to earn SHL playing time. His last three games have been with Linköping HC of the top-level Swedish professional league. On Thursday, Nov. 20, he scored his first SHL goal—a beautiful sequence where he handled the puck into the slot and finished with a pinpoint wrist shot into the top corner.
Karl Annborn | D | Västerås IK (HockeyAllsvenskan)
Fellow Swede and 2025 draft pick Karl Annborn tallied his first goal in the second-tier Swedish professional league this past week as well. It came on a sequence where he carried the puck into the zone, took a wrist shot, collected his own rebound, and knocked it past the goaltender at the net front. It was an impressive offensive sequence from the 18-year-old blueliner.
Julius Miettinen | F | Everett Silvertips (WHL)
Miettinen missed the Everett Silvertips’ last three WHL games. Everett dropped two of three in that stretch. He is listed as day-to-day with an illness.
Highlights of the Week
Jake O’Brien returns with another highlight this week, setting up Marek Vanacker on a sweet centering pass around a close defensive challenge.
The good news from the Coachella Valley Firebirds’ Saturday, Nov. 15, game against the Bakersfield Condors was that Jagger Firkus had a hat trick. The bad news was that those were the Firebirds’ only goals in a 6-3 loss. Luckily, Firkus kept the scoring going the next day, adding another goal in a 5-2 win over the Abbotsford Canucks.
Jagger Firkus’s scoring binge contributed to him winning the AHL Player of the Week, announced on Monday, Nov. 17. Four goals in two games is enough to make Firkus your Sound Of Hockey Player of the Week too. That’s two in a row for Firkus. One more and we’ll call it a streak.
Despite being inactive since last Sunday, the 21-year-old Firkus remains tied for the AHL lead in total points. The only other AHL player with 18 points, Brett Seney, is 29 years old and has played three more games than Firkus.
At the other end of the spectrum, spark-plug defensive specialist Zeb Forsfjall still doesn’t have a point yet this season in 19 SHL games.
Visa Vedenpaa turned in perhaps his best Liiga start to date last week, turning away 30 of 32 shots on goal en route to a win.
We cautioned that the raw numbers for Nikke Kokko and Victor Ostman may look a bit weaker this season due to the inexperience on the blue line in front of them. That has been true so far, with both taking a step back in save percentage and goals-against average. I haven’t been too concerned by their play in the games I have watched, though. The numbers should get better as the season goes along and the Firebirds’ young defenders tighten things up.
The Deep Sea Hockey Game of the Week is a Sunday 11:00 am PT matchup between Nathan Villeneuve’s Sudbury Wolves and Jakub Fibigr’s Brampton Steelheads. Warm up for the 2:00 pm PT Seattle Kraken game against the New York Islanders with some junior hockey.
Tracking 2026 NHL Draft prospects: Vladimír Dravecký
Each season I put together a preseason NHL Draft watchlist based on scoring data, and each year there are a handful of players who catapult themselves into early-round conversation by taking a large statistical leap in their draft seasons. Defenseman Vladimir Dravecky is one such example from this season. After averaging less than half a point per game in the Swedish U20 league in the 2024-25 season, Dravecky came over to the OHL and has taken over as a key defensive play-driving force for O’Brien’s Brantford Bulldogs. His 15 points in 22 games rank third among first-time eligible OHL defensemen. At this point, he figures to be a top-50 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Curtis is a Sound Of Hockey contributor and member of the Kraken press corps. Curtis is an attorney by day, and he has read the NHL collective bargaining agreement and bylaws so you don’t have to. He can be found analyzing the Kraken, NHL Draft, and other hockey topics on Twitter and Bluesky @deepseahockey.
We’re a quarter of the way into the NHL season, which makes this a perfect moment to check in on attendance trends around the league. Some teams are up, some are down, and some are just… being themselves. Let’s take a look.
As always, a couple of quick disclaimers. Just because the NHL has crossed the quarter mark doesn’t mean every team has played a quarter of its home schedule. For example, the Toronto Maple Leafs have already played 15 home games compared to just six on the road. When comparing attendance year over year, I always use the same number of games for each team. So in Toronto’s case, I’m looking at their first 15 home games this season versus their first 15 from last season, regardless of when those games fell on the calendar.
Attendance numbers are team-reported and represent tickets distributed, not necessarily the number of people who actually walked through the doors. And none of this is about dunking on teams or fan bases; there are a ton of factors that impact attendance, like team performance, pricing, schedule quirks, weather, and even local sports overlap.
Average NHL attendance
Leaguewide average attendance is up a modest 0.5 percent. In a league where many buildings are already at or near capacity, even small gains are a good sign. Keep in mind, the uneven number of home games played so far can nudge the leaguewide average in different directions. For example, Toronto’s 15 home dates at roughly 18,500 fans per game weigh more heavily than Utah’s eight home games at around 12,500. The effect is small, but it’s worth mentioning, especially this early in the season.
Here’s a look at team-by-team change based on the same number of games last season:
Utah’s attendance bump is tied to arena upgrades that added roughly 1,350 seats. They still play in the league’s smallest building, but there is ongoing chatter about future facilities for both the Jazz and Mammoth, suggesting this arena’s small capacity is only temporary. Meanwhile, Carolina, Montreal, and Washington are slightly down due to seat reconfigurations and building renovations.
Looking at sellouts
The NHL remains very much a “sellout league.” More than half the games end up as virtual or actual sellouts, and several teams are at full capacity pretty much every night. That’s great for business, but it also limits how much average attendance can grow. Because of that, sellouts are a helpful metric for understanding movement.
So far, the league is slightly down: 58 percent of games have been sellouts, which trails last year but lines up with the last decade of non-COVID-impacted seasons.
Here’s the team-level breakdown:
Minnesota is the most surprising storyline here. They’re typically around a 90 percent sellout rate but sit at just 15 percent so far, with eight fewer sellouts in their first 13 home games compared to last season. Toronto also stands out, but several of their early home dates went head-to-head with the Blue Jays’ postseason run.
NHL attendance by team and game
Here’s a look at how each team is trending game-to-game:
Some quick thoughts
San Jose’s game-to-game swings are wild, but despite the volatility, they’re still better off than last season. I expect them to stabilize a bit as the year goes on.
Chicago should also see a bump if the on-ice product continues to be as entertaining as it’s been.
Pittsburgh has been a pleasant surprise. Despite preseason predictions that they were headed for a tank, they’ve been in the playoff mix the entire way—something that usually nudges attendance upward over time.
Once again, NHL attendance looks pretty steady overall, with a few interesting wrinkles once you dig into the details. Performance does matter, but the effects typically lag by months—sometimes even full seasons.
Wrapping up
Big picture, attendance across the NHL looks pretty steady so far, with a handful of teams bucking expectations in both directions. As the season rolls on and schedules and performances even out, we should get an even clearer picture of how these trends shake out.
That was a big-time win by the Seattle Kraken, clawing back from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to steal a 3-2 result from the Blackhawks in the Windy City on Thursday.
Seattle didn’t have its best for two periods, but Joey Daccord was sharp and held his mates in the game long enough for them to finally find a late offensive spark.
“We didn’t have enough shot attempts in the first two periods,” coach Lane Lambert said. “Our D did a way better job in the third period.”
Here are Three Takeaways from a big 3-2 Kraken win over the Blackhawks.
Takeaway #1: The Ryan Lindgren game
We always knew Ryan Lindgren would be a guy who flies mostly under the radar, quietly going about his business as a responsible, stay-at-home defenseman. On this night, Lindgren made a couple of massive plays that directly impacted the outcome of the game.
“He’s just all heart, all the time,” Lambert said. “Huge block at the end, that’s what he does for us. He defends hard, and he gives us everything he has.”
First—and this one was unfortunate to see—he made his presence known late in the first period when former Kraken Andre Burakovsky barreled over the blue line and was off balance as he fought for the puck with Jaden Schwartz and Adam Larsson. Lindgren stepped up and lowered his shoulder, and Burakovsky went face-first into Lindgren’s shoulder pad.
Andre Burakovsky got lit up by Ryan Lindgren just before the end of the 1st period and went down the tunnel.
Burakovsky left the game after the hit and did not return. The NHL will surely take a look at this hit, because the main point of contact is Burakovsky’s head. I’m guessing Lindgren avoids any kind of discipline, though, because of the way Burakovsky was leaning forward into the hit, but we shall see.
The next memorable Lindgren play in the game ended up being a game-changer. Although he was the one who created the Chicago opportunity by flubbing a shot at the blue line and handing it to Connor Bedard for a breakaway, his recovery indirectly led to Seattle getting the win in the game.
After turning it over, Lindgren chased down the young superstar, and just as Bedard was about to pull the trigger, Lindgren hit him with a perfect love tap of a slash on the shaft of his stick.
Andre Burakovsky got lit up by Ryan Lindgren just before the end of the 1st period and went down the tunnel.
Now, there are folks out there who thought both of the aforementioned plays should have resulted in penalties, and they may have had a case.
I recognize I may have a slight bias, but watching Lindgren’s defensive play on the Bedard breakaway in slow motion shows it should not have resulted in a penalty or penalty shot. It wasn’t an egregious chop, he got him on the shaft of the stick (not the glove), and it was just enough to disrupt the shot. That said, when a shooter is in alone like that and the stick play comes from a chasing defender, those do get called most of the time. So had it been called, I also would have understood.
Ryan Lindgren thwarts a Connor Bedard breakaway and avoids taking a penalty.
You know who did think it should have been a penalty? Connor Bedard. And he was so sure of this, he screamed at the ref until he earned himself an abuse of officials penalty that ultimately cost the Blackhawks the game (more on that in Takeaway #3).
Lindgren also helped Seattle seal the deal after it had taken a 3-2 lead by blocking a wide-open Bedard look with a minute left in the game. He did so in painful fashion, catching Bedard’s rocket one-timer in the open palm of his glove.
Bedard will be seeing Lindgren in his nightmares for a while.
Takeaway #2: Kraken woke up in the third
Give some credit to the Blackhawks for how the first two periods went; they came into the game red hot, posting a 5-0-1 record over their previous six games. Ironically, the last time they had lost in regulation was a 3-1 loss to the Kraken on Nov. 3, so that streak got bookended by Seattle wins.
All that said, the Kraken didn’t have it for the first 40 minutes of this game, especially in the second period. They stayed relatively close, but like the game Tuesday in Detroit, things went sideways in the middle frame.
Two poor plays by Jordan Eberle (a weak dump-in that led to a 3-on-1 the other way) and Jamie Oleksiak (a lackadaisical race for a loose puck in the corner) led to the goals against and meant Seattle would be chasing in the third period.
And chase they did.
“[It was] compete and shooting pucks,” Lambert said. “In the first 40 minutes, I thought that we were slow to do things. Give our players credit. They got the message and took charge and got the job done.”
The second Montour’s one-timer pinballed in off Oscar Fisker Mølgaard and then Tye Kartye, you could sense the floodgates had opened. Lo and behold, Shane Wright tipped a Ryker Evans shot just over two minutes later to tie it 2-2 and set up Jaden Schwartz’s late-game heroics.
WRIGHT AS RAIN! 🚨
Tie game, 2-2. Ryker Evans with the shot, Shane Wright with the tip. Evans currently has credit, but that's Shane's goal. #SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/DpuOZIKF4y
While Bedard was sitting in the penalty box for whining, Chicago’s PKers were doing their damndest to bail him out. But as the power play was ticking down, Brandon Montour saw a lane down the left half wall.
As Montour walked down the boards, Schwartz pivoted from the top of the crease and backed himself right onto the far post. Montour threaded a perfectly placed shot-pass through Wyatt Kaiser’s legs and onto the tape of Schwartz, who redirected it through Spencer Knight’s five hole.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE SCHWARTZ! 🚨
With Bedard serving his unsportsmanlike penalty, Brandon Montour finds Jaden Schwartz at the net mouth.
“[Schwartz] shows [younger players] how the game is played, how the game is supposed to be played,” Lambert said. “The importance of the little details and winning battles in hard areas. Great goal by him to cap off the comeback.”
It was a heck of a play by both Montour—who earned his second assist of the night—and Schwartz, and it was an outstanding and unlikely comeback victory for the Kraken.
Bonus Takeaway: Oscar Fisker Mølgaard’s NHL debut
Huge shoutout to friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, on making his NHL debut and recording a point on Tye Kartye’s goal that got Seattle on the board at 5:09 of the third period.
“It was pretty surreal,” Mølgaard said. “It’s a childhood dream coming true, so yeah, I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life, and it’s good to get the first one out of the way.”
We are huge Mølgaard fans for a lot of reasons, but mostly because he’s just an incredibly likable young man.
His family made the trek from Denmark to see his first game in the show.
“It’s unreal. It’s a proud moment for all of us. They’ve been there my whole life, and they were just as big a part of it as I was out there. So I’m really proud to have them here, and I’m glad they came.”
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.
It has officially been one week since the Seattle Torrent took to the ice for the first time at Kraken Community Iceplex. Here’s what we’ve learned and what we’re looking forward to.
Training camp
Torrent training camp was intense. It was three days of high-energy, non-stop drills and hard conditioning. The team spent a lot of time practicing being physical in the corners and transitioning with speed. Coach Steve O’Rourke stood out with his active coaching style and constant encouragement of the players to skate harder and dig deeper.
I have to say, for top-level pro training camp, three days seems like way too short a time for a brand new team to come together. It showed a bit in missed passes and confused looks, but the team seemed to settle in as the week went on. The skaters were never lacking in effort, though. Even players who have a secure spot on the roster looked like they were fighting with all they had, despite many of them having just come off Rivalry Series games.
The players seemed to enjoy themselves, despite the grueling pace. Defender Cayla Barnes said the team was eager to finally take to the ice after what felt like a long and exciting buildup, and that despite the high level of conditioning, “everyone survived.”
Hilary Knight called the intensity level “high,” and she “really liked the way our group hustled out there.” Forward Alex Carpenter was surprised but excited by the level of play on Day 1, saying that “people were throwing bodies around and giving it their all.”
Carpenter also said that learning the new systems is always tough, but after the first practice, she could see that O’Rourke “is an intense guy, but loves to teach, and loves the game… and you can feel that vibe… and it makes you want to skate faster, want to play harder.”
Goalie Corinne Schroeder called bringing women’s hockey to Seattle “huge” and was excited to inspire “not just little girls, but little boys too… they have other role models to root for, not just NHL players.”
Pre-season scrimmages
Photo courtesy of the PWHL.
Unfortunately, the pre-season scrimmages were not available to watch, so we can only pick apart the lines and stats for clues and crumbs.
In the first scrimmage, the Torrent were shut out, but they came out the next day swinging and bested Vancouver 4-2. A couple speculative takeaways from the scrimmage stats:
The team has depth scoring, with the only goals coming from the third and fourth lines, including a goal and an assist from Seattle local Marah Wagner.
All three goaltenders got playing time and put up good numbers, with rookie Hannah Murphy’s lone goal against coming from a penalty shot.
The Torrent looks to be a physical team (and maybe a touch undisciplined in the early going), racking up eight penalties to the Goldeneyes’ two.
The PWHL also reported on the lines that were utilized by each team, and although we haven’t been able to see them skate together, let’s speculate a little, just for fun.
Although scoreless in the one scrimmage they played, a Hannah Bilka – Alex Carpenter – Hilary Knight line is absolutely bonkers. This could be the first line for Team USA at the upcoming Olympics. They aren’t starting from zero with chemistry either. Knight and Bilka played together in Boston, while Carpenter and Knight are close friends, and all three have played together for Team USA.
The Julia Gosling – Danielle Serdachny – Jessie Eldridge line is another interesting group, although they are less familiar with each other. All three players are 5-foot-9 or taller and are known for their physicality.
The defensive pair of Aneta Tejralová and Cayla Barnes is another one to keep your eye on. Those are two high-level defenders who will likely be called upon to shut down the other teams’ stars. They also only played in the first scrimmage but were not on the ice for any of the Vancouver goals.
Roster decisions
Surprising nobody, the Torrent announced Hilary Knight as the team’s first captain. The news came on Friday after the conclusion of training camp and prior to the team’s pre-season scrimmages. Knight is a proven leader, current Team USA captain, and previous Boston Fleet captain.
The Torrent have made two cuts from the training camp roster. They must cut at least three from the training camp roster before final rosters are due on Wednesday. PWHL rules allow for 23 active players on each team. The skaters below are vying for the four roster spots left.
Forwards:
Brooke Bryant – veteran player who won two Walter Cups with Minnesota
Jada Habisch – Fourth-round 2025 draft pick, UConn
Sydney Langseth – Camp invitee, undrafted from Minnesota State – Mankato
Marah Wagner – Camp invite, played last year in Sweden, born in Seattle!
Defenders:
Lyndie Lobdell – Fifth-round round 2025 draft pick, Penn State
Emily Zumwinkle – Camp invite, undrafted from Ohio State, younger sister of Grace Zumwinkle who plays for the Frost
What’s next?
The Torrent will practice Wednesday and Thursday, then head back up to Vancouver to take on the Goldeneyes for their first ever game on Friday, Nov. 21, 7pm at Pacific Coliseum.
If you aren’t catching a bus or train or carpool up to Vancouver for the first game, the PWHL just announced that all Seattle games will be broadcast over the air on Kong and FOX 13. Piper Shaw announced she will be a part of the Torrent broadcast, as will best friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Alison Lukan. That is an exciting thought for us Kraken crossover fans. All games will continue to be free in the US on YouTube, as well.
If you are catching the bus from KCI to Vancouver, come say hi!
