As far as the Seattle Kraken are concerned, it was a mostly quiet week from the organization. However, there was a rather large—albeit expected—Kraken-related bombshell dropped by the University of Michigan. In a strangely timed Friday evening news dump, the school confirmed that Seattle’s No. 2 overall selection in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, Matty Beniers, will return to the school for his sophomore season.
We dig into that Beniers news and plenty more in this week’s edition of Weekly One-Timers.
Matty Beniers returns to Michigan
Beniers joins No. 1 pick Owen Power (Buffalo) and No. 5 pick Kent Johnson (Columbus) back in Ann Arbor for the trio’s second season together.
And lest you forget, No. 4 overall pick Luke Hughes (New Jersey) is an incoming freshman for the Wolverines this year, and they still have guys like John Beecher (No. 30 overall in 2019), Thomas Bordeleau (No. 38 overall in 2020), and Brendan Brisson (No. 29 overall in 2020). So, rightfully, every pundit in the hockey world will surely be choosing Michigan as the odds-on favorite to win the national championship.
This is the whole point for Beniers deciding not to immediately join Seattle. The Wolverines had the misfortune of a COVID outbreak prematurely ending last season on the eve of the NCAA Tournament for a group that was already among the favorites to reach the Frozen Four. Now bring back all that great talent and add in Hughes, and this has the makings of one of the best college hockey teams of all time.
Plus, after one year of college hockey with no fans in the stands, a drastically altered schedule, and heavy restrictions throughout, we’ve heard the future Kraken center talk about how he hasn’t gotten the true college experience yet.
Is it disappointing that we won’t see Beniers in training camp and fighting to be a part of the Kraken roster all season long? Of course. Is it surprising that this was his decision? Certainly not.
Our guess here at Sound Of Hockey is that Beniers and his highly drafted brethren will all jump ship as soon as Michigan’s season ends, meaning you should still get a chance to see the touted prospect at Climate Pledge Arena at least a few times in the spring.
Kraken add goalie depth
Another bit of Kraken news this week was the signing of netminder Antoine Bibeau to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K at the NHL level. Bibeau is certainly bound for the minor leagues, barring injuries to Philipp Grubauer or Chris Driedger. He does have four games of NHL experience for the Maple Leafs and Avalanche and is 2-1-0 in his career. At the AHL level, he has a career record of 100-64-28 with a 2.74 goals against average and .907 save percentage.
Of course, the Kraken also have Joey Daccord in the fold, and they will share their AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers with the Florida Panthers—who will have goalie prospects of their own needing time—so it will be interesting to see how Bibeau actually slots in as the season plays out.
Kole Lind jumps on a tire for some reason
Kole Lind, the 22-year-old forward prospect selected by the Kraken in the Expansion Draft from Vancouver, posted a video of himself wearing skates and jumping onto a tire this week.
We at SOH have a lot of questions for Lind. They are:
Why?
How?
Huh?
Whu?
What the…?
WHY?!
Call me cynical, but I feel like it’s possible to get the same results by jumping onto something that won’t roll away if Lind were to land a centimeter off in any direction, potentially causing serious injury. Nonetheless, this is a pretty good party trick.
King Henrik announces his retirement
Our 15-year swoonfest has ended. Perhaps the dreamiest goalie to ever don the pads has announced that he has officially hung them up for good.
Breathtaking good looks aside, Lundqvist truly was a remarkable talent in net. I recall seeing him in person for the first time in a game against the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden during the 2009-10 season.
I remember being surprised by how deep he played in the crease, practically never leaving his goal line. He got away with it because he had this wide stance that nearly spanned the entire bottom of the net from post to post, and his ability to react to shots was as good as any netminder I’ve ever seen. Growing up, I was taught to always play at the top of the crease to take away angles from shooters, so it was fascinating to see a netminder have such profound success with that style.
That night, the Rangers won, and the fans chanted, “Hen-reek! Hen-reek!” about a half-dozen times as the King stood on his head throughout.
It’s also interesting to note that although Lundqvist signed a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals last season, his scary cardiac diagnosis and ensuing open-heart surgery meant that he actually did end up playing his entire career with the Blueshirts.
In all, Lundqvist posted a career record of 459-310-96 with a 2.43 goals against average and .918 save percentage. He led the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and backstopped Team Sweden to Olympic gold in Turin in 2006. He is a shoo-in first-ballot Hall of Famer, and the Rangers have already confirmed that his No. 30 will be hoisted to the MSG rafters this season.
By the way, 30 is a pretty common goalie number, so in a way, it was a bit selfish of Lundqvist to choose it way back when he began his NHL career. He clearly knew that he would become one of the best netminders ever and his jersey would eventually be retired, taking a coveted numerical option away from many future Ranger backstops.
But I digress. Congratulations Henrik on an incredible career. I’m sure you are reading this.
Chris Pronger jersey retirement
Speaking of jerseys being hoisted to the rafters, the St. Louis Blues announced that they will retire No. 44 this season.
SAVE THE DATE! No. 44 will be raised to the rafters on Jan. 17, 2022. https://t.co/RpusaohT7R
We at SOH were surprised to see it wasn’t the Arizona Coyotes who would be retiring Chris Pronger’s number.
Coyotes booted out of Gila River Arena
Speaking of the Coyotes, the City of Glendale announced this week that they are no longer seeking an extension of their lease agreement with the club beyond the 2021-22 season.
Some have said it’s a negotiating tactic, but others have said it’s truly the end of the road for the team at Gila River Arena, and the Coyotes will need to find a new home after this season. Katie Strang had a great rundown of the situation in The Athletic. She also had reported on the toxic situation playing out between the Coyotes and their vendors back in February, and that certainly is a factor here.
Where does this organization go next? Gary Bettman has stated he expects the team to remain in the Phoenix area, but you can bet there are other markets out there—namely Quebec City, Houston, and Kansas City—that are salivating over the developing situation in the desert.
Team USA off to good start at Women’s Worlds
The IIHF Women’s World Championship got underway this week in Calgary, and Team USA dominated Switzerland en route to a 3-0 victory on Friday. The Americans got goals from Brianna Decker, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Grace Zumwinkle.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
On this episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Darren reveals that he’s in a pretty terrible slump as a beer league goalie, and he just needs to talk about it. John and Andy provide some not-so-helpful suggestions, but hopefully just getting it out in the world is enough to help Darren turn it around. No breakthroughs happen in this session, but stay tuned to future episodes.
After the therapy session, the guys discuss some of the minor Kraken signings from this week and the revelation of finalized NHL schedules, with times now solidified. We also get a brief WHL Update from our WHL correspondent Andy Eide.
Darren then shares some info about the University of Alaska Anchorage hockey program. He spoke with the chairperson from Save Seawolf Hockey this week and wrote a story about their drive to rescue the program from extinction (you can donate at saveseawolfhockey.com). The deadline and goal are both very much in sight.
Finally, the guys hold a robust discussion on jersey advertisements before moving on to segments, which include Goalie Gear Corner, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
Save Seawolf Hockey still needs your help to reach its goal of $3 million to rescue the University of Alaska Anchorage hockey program before its August 30 deadline. To donate or pledge money to the cause, visit saveseawolfhockey.com or text “UAAHOCKEY” to 41444.
It’s been a year since the University of Alaska Anchorage announced that it would cut its men’s hockey program, along with women’s gymnastics and men’s and women’s downhill skiing, to save itself approximately $2.5 million per year amid massive state funding cuts. Now, a grassroots “Save Seawolf Hockey” campaign is on the verge of rescuing the hockey program from what once appeared to be certain extinction.
The chairperson of Save Seawolf Hockey, Kathie Bethard, is a mother of three former NCAA Division I athletes, including a Colorado College hockey player, a UAA hockey player, and a University of Texas soccer player. She’s had a long career as a computer programmer and technology trainer, a work life that really has had nothing to do with college hockey.
Save Seawolf Hockey has been leading the fight to preserve UAA hockey. Image/Save Seawolf Hockey
Instead, she developed a love for the sport when her oldest son first started playing minor hockey in Anchorage at age four. That led to her joining the UAA booster club for the program’s first-ever season, some 42 years ago, and she’s been involved with the club—including serving as the president of its board for six years—in various capacities ever since.
But that involvement with UAA really isn’t what made her the right person to lead this campaign to save her beloved Seawolves. Instead, it was her willingness to simply stand up and do something when it looked like the program would be lost.
“I guess because I said, ‘We can’t let this happen,’” Bethard explains. “People were willing to rally around that cry, jump on board, form a committee, start a grassroots campaign.”
One year ago, UAA announced plans to cut the hockey program
When then-chancellor of UAA Cathy Sandeen announced the school’s plan to eliminate hockey, gymnastics, and skiing in August, 2020, it caught Bethard and the rest of the hockey boosters completely by surprise. In fact, the team itself was only given a two-hour notice before the announcement to gather the players together and let them know what was happening. It was a devastating blow for everyone involved.
“I was just astounded that they could do that with no warning to the public and especially the boosters who have supported this team for 42 years,” recalls Bethard.
She was simply unwilling to accept that fate for the Seawolves and the countless members of the Anchorage community who had supported them over the last four decades, so Save Seawolf Hockey was born.
It started with a write-in email campaign that brought an overwhelming response to the school’s board of regents. That operation eventually led to an agreement by the university that if any of the three sports being axed could raise two years’ worth of operating expenses, then that individual program could be reinstated for the 2022-23 season. For hockey, the annual operating budget is $1.5 million, so a goal of $3 million was set.
While most would see raising $3 million as an impossible task, Bethard and her comrades recognized that now there was a legitimate path to saving the program. “We took that and ran with that. $3 million is a lot of money to raise, but we were really optimistic at first because we had clear plans as to what we were going to do.”
The pandemic put a wrench in fundraising plans
Making things even more daunting for Save Seawolf Hockey was the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Though fans couldn’t attend, the organization still planned to utilize TV broadcasts to facilitate “split the pot” raffles and silent auctions during games as relatively surefire ways to raise funds.
Former UAA captain Derek Donald takes a slapshot. UAA has a long history in the WCHA. Photo/University of Alaska Anchorage
They also figured there would be heightened public interest in the Seawolves during the season. Whether the team survived the budget cuts or not, 2020-21 would be the program’s last run in the storied WCHA. The conference had voted to disband so that seven of its member teams could leave to re-form the old CCHA, cutting out UAA, Alaska Fairbanks, and Alabama Huntsville and leaving those three without a conference.
The increased public interest and fundraising opportunities quickly evaporated when Sandeen announced in November that all winter sports would be canceled, citing, “The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, and athletics staff.”
If Save Seawolf Hockey was going to be successful in its goal of raising $3 million, it was going to need some serious help and some serious creativity.
Enter the Seattle Kraken
Bethard and her committee did get creative. They held their raffles and auctions virtually and hosted a youth tournament, “The Seapup Cup,” in conjunction with an outdoor alumni game between UAA and in-state rival UAF. That’s when the Seattle Kraken got involved, a real turning point in the process.
Kraken fans likely saw some of the marketing that the team did back then on behalf of UAA, trying to get people to donate money and leading the way financially with significant donations from the team’s ownership group. But the support didn’t stop with just donations and a few announcements.
Says Bethard, “They’ve been very very generous, and not only generous with their money but generous with their time. They meet with us on a regular basis to help us kind of plan our strategy, how we’re going to do things.”
Even now, public service announcements are playing on ROOT Sports in Alaska thanks to Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke and his connections to the network that will eventually air Seattle’s games throughout the northwest.
“It’s pretty amazing, actually, the help they’ve given us… It’s their guidance and just clear vision and I guess their positiveness that we’re going to get there, and we are going to get there. We know that.”
Closing in on their goal
Save Seawolf Hockey was originally given a deadline of Feb. 15 to reach its $3 million fundraising goal. That date has long since passed, but when it came and went, the school’s board of regents recognized the real progress that had been made—the group at that time had raised $1.8 million—and unanimously approved a motion to extend the deadline to Aug. 30.
So here we are, just 11 days away from that extended deadline. Where does Save Seawolf Hockey sit? “We’re at $2.65 [million] as of [Tuesday] and we’re gaining momentum every day.”
Staying the course
There have certainly been some high points in this process, like when Leiweke entered the equation and pledged his support, when UAA president Pat Pitney and the board of regents agreed to extend the fundraising deadline, and when Sean Parnell—who happened to already be a contributor to the cause—was selected as the school’s new chancellor.
But there also have been lows. The team’s last season in the WCHA getting canceled and head coach Matt Curley resigning after seven months as a figurehead for the movement were certainly tough moments to stomach.
Bethard’s hope never waned, though, and her group never lost sight of its goal. “I hate losing so I guess it just increased our determination to show the world we could save this program.”
In it for the long haul
Reaching this goal of covering two years of operating expenses is lofty, but what happens if they reach the goal? What’s to stop the university from cutting its hockey program again after those two seasons are done?
Save Seawolf Hockey has thought of this as well and currently has a memorandum of understanding signed by the school’s athletic department. That MOU indicates that if the boosters reach this goal and continue to help in fundraising efforts for a percentage of the expenses long-term, the school will back the program moving forward.
The UAA Seawolves prepare for a game. Photo/University of Alaska Anchorage
They also now have an important voice supporting them.
“The new chancellor that we have is absolutely awesome. He’s behind the memorandum of understanding one hundred percent,” Bethard says of Parnell. “He’s stepping up to the plate. He’s actually helping us in some of our fundraising calls, he’s meeting with us on a regular basis. It gives me just a tremendous amount of pride, I think, the fact that we’ve won over not only the athletic department but also the university as a whole.”
Bethard is also hopeful that the Seawolves can find a new conference to play in after they were effectively shunned from the WCHA.
“My big dream and what I’d really love to see is a true Western Collegiate Hockey Association that’s west coast. How many pro teams do we have? California, Washington, Nevada…” She believes there’s a market for it in those places. “Collegiate hockey has its own draw… [They play] because they love it, you know, and they’re out there leaving their heart on the ice every night.”
It’s funny how sometimes all a movement needs to get its footing is somebody to step up and lead. It doesn’t necessarily matter that person’s background, it just takes passion, commitment, a cause that people believe in, and unbendable perseverance to reach the end goal.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
We are about a month away from the Seattle Kraken opening their first training camp in club history. As the action plays out at the Kraken Community Iceplex, general manager Ron Francis and coach Dave Hakstol will be tasked with determining which four guys will open the season as the club’s top centers.
Finding a top center is paramount to having a successful team. That’s not a matter of opinion, it’s been studied, and center is the most important position to have if you want to win in the NHL.
The Kraken don’t currently have an elite center on the roster – although 2021 top draft pick Matty Beniers could some day be that guy – but have a couple guys who should be productive pivots. The forward group overall is solid and a tough-to-play-against group.
All but one of the players up front have played both at center in the past and on the wings. Having versatility is great, but at the end of the day, Hakstol will need some full-time centers for the Kraken.
He has candidates, and how they perform in training camp and in the team’s six preseason games will go a long way in figuring out who will be in the middle when the season opens on Oct. 12 in Vegas.
Here is a look at the candidates to find a role at center for Seattle:
Gourde is the best center on the Kraken roster. He has the numbers – was on pace to score 25 goals over an 82-game season last year – and he’s got the analytics. Oh, and he’s won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning. So, we can write him in as the top center, right? Well, not to start the season, as Gourde will miss a couple months due to offseason shoulder surgery. Then we have to see how long it takes for him to get up to speed, but the prevailing thought is that before the year is over, he’s Seattle’s top center.
The former Columbus Blue Jacket and Florida Panther will most likely step up for Gourde when the season starts in October. Wennberg jumped up to play a lot of minutes on Florida’s second line last season and had a career year in shooting percentage and goals scored – he potted 17. Don’t expect him to match the 20 percent he shot last season, but he does a lot of things correctly. He is a strong passer and plays a responsible defensive game and can complement good wingers, as he did last season playing a ton of minutes with Jonathan Huberdeau and Patric Hornqvist.
In the mix at center for the Kraken
Jared McCann
Listed as able to play center and on the wing, McCann has a chance to be Seattle’s third center. He’s been a consistent double-digit goal scorer over the past three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. His 32 points in 2020-21 were three off his career best and that was in 43 games. If you’re interested in the underlying stats, then McCann is your guy as all of his possession numbers were outstanding last year. He also was a big power play contributor for the Penguins, chipping in with 17 points with the man advantage.
Colin Blackwell
Coming off his best season in the NHL, the 28-year-old could be the benefactor of an elevated role in Seattle. He was with the New York Rangers last season and played in a career high 47 games and hit personal best marks in goals (12) and assists (10). His underlying numbers weren’t great – his expected goals number was 46 percent – and that will have to improve if he wants to hold on to a third center role.
Morgan Geekie
The former Tri-City Americans star could be due for a breakout year with the Kraken if he can get more playing time. With the talented Carolina Hurricanes, Geekie was limited to under 10 minutes per game, relegated mostly to the fourth line. But he scored in the WHL, and he scored in two AHL seasons with the Charlotte Checkers. He’s got a great shot and quality possession numbers as well. He’ll get a chance in training camp and the preseason to show that he can handle more minutes, and that could pay off big for both Geekie and the Kraken.
Morgan Geekie has scored everywhere he’s played (Checkers photo)
The remaining candidates for a center position
Marcus Johansson – If Hakstol wants to add some veteran experience to the lineup he can play Johansson at center – and both wings where he has played in the past. Johansson has speed to kill, but his last season in Minnesota was lackluster and he was a bit of a defensive liability.
Mason Appleton – The 25-year-old Appleton had a breakout with Winnipeg last season by scoring 12 goals and 25 points. He split time at center and wing, with more time on the wing. He’ll be a guy to watch during the preseason to see how Hakstol deploys him and how well he performs in the middle.
Alexander True – The former Seattle Thunderbirds center has yet to crack the NHL full time and will need a productive camp to start in Seattle this fall. He’s got size, standing at 6-foot-5, and is a solid center who plays defense, can score a little, and be a strong penalty killer.
Opinions about the Seattle Kraken roster are all over the map. Some people project them to be second in the Pacific Division while others think this group leaves much to be desired, but no one really knows how they will be until they get some games under their belt. It is always fun to remind people, however, that no one projected the success of the Golden Knights in year one. With this in mind, we thought it would be a nice exercise to compare the offensive statistics of the Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights rosters heading into their respective inaugural seasons.
Centers
Vegas’ top centers going into the 2017-18 season were Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Cody Eakin, and Brandon Pirri. Vegas also had Vadim Shipachyov on the roster, but for the purposes of this exercise, we are excluding him from the analysis.
The Seattle Kraken roster has eight players that could play center, but for the purposes of this exercise, we are assuming Calle Jarnkrok and Alexander True will either play wing or in True’s case not be one of the top five centers. Marcus Johansson will also likely play some of each, but we’re counting him as a center here. That leaves Alex Wennberg, Yanni Gourde, Johansson, Colin Blackwell, and Morgan Geekie as the comparable group to Vegas.
Here is a quick look at how the teams stack up against each other, using stats from the year before each club’s inaugural season (i.e., 2016-17 for Vegas, 2020-21 for Seattle).
Offensively, the Kraken’s centers look substantially better than the Golden Knights’ centers looked heading into their first season.
Here is a breakdown of goals per game by player.
Marchessault was a big standout with 30 goals in the prior season before joining the Golden Knights for 2017-18. He put up similar numbers during the 2017-18 campaign with 27 goals. Meanwhile, Karlsson was the big surprise for Vegas, going from six goals in 2016-17 to 43 goals in 2017-18 or .52 goals per game.
Wings
Looking at the wings in Vegas for that inaugural season, we are including Alex Tuch, David Perron, Erik Haula, James Neal, Oscar Lindberg, Reilly Smith, Tomas Nosek, and William Carrier. Vegas added Ryan Carpenter on waivers and acquired Ryan Reaves and Tomas Tatar around the trade deadline late in the season. Because they were not on the roster to start the season, they are excluded from the analysis.
For Seattle, we are including Brandon Tanev, Calle Jarnkrok, Jaden Schwartz, Jared McCann, Joonas Donskoi, Jordan Eberle, Mason Appleton, and Nathan Bastian. As mentioned above, Blackwell or Johansson will probably play wing from time to time, but we already included them in the center category and did not want to double count. Jarnkrok, McCann, Bastian, and Appleton can all play center as well, but for now we are slotting them in at wing.
Here is a look at the numbers.
Like the centers, Seattle’s wingers look better heading into their inaugural season than the Golden Knights wing corps before their inaugural season.
Here is a look at the player detail of goals per game.
Vegas saw big increases in production from Haula, Smith, and Tuch. Collectively they would add 36 more goals in 2017-18 than they produced in 2016-17.
Defense
For the defensive group in Vegas, we are including Deryk Engelland, Colin Miller, Nate Schmidt, Brayden McNabb, Luca Sbisa, Shea Theodore, Jon Merrill, and Brad Hunt. For Seattle we are including Mark Giordano, Adam Larsson, Jamie Oleksiak, Vince Dunn, Connor Carrick, Haydn Fleury, Carson Soucy, and Jeremy Lauzon.
Seattle’s defense is commonly regarded as the strength of the team, and it certainly shows in the offensive production numbers in the graph. Here is the player breakdown.
Vegas only saw a mild increase in goal production from their defensive corps during the 2017-18 season.
Seattle is not Vegas
Looking at goals, assists, and points per game is a very simple way to evaluate the Kraken roster and should not be taken as a testimonial that Seattle will be better than Vegas in season one. Vegas really took advantage of some players having career years during the 2017-18 season.
Are there players in Seattle that can have similar breakout years? TBD, but in the meantime the Kraken roster looks more productive offensively than a lot of people think.
Welcome back to Weekly One-Timers, where the smoke has cleared and the temperature has fallen to a more comfortable level. The Seattle Kraken had another fairly busy week on the hiring and signing front, rounding out their coaching staff a bit more and getting two of their remaining three restricted free agents officially in the fold. Meanwhile, we at Sound Of Hockey have been hunkered down inside trying not to breathe in the poisonous air outside while also trying not to sweat our a**es off. We are thankful for the reprieve that Seattle is experiencing this Sunday.
Seattle Kraken hire goalie coach and assistant AHL coach
Andrew Allen
The Kraken officially named Andrew Allen as their goalie coach this week. Allen, 45, is already a friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast (Episode 110), so it makes perfect sense that Seattle would hire him, being that the most important relationship already exists. But seriously, Allen is an awesome dude with a fascinating story, and his hiring comes as no surprise.
He played college hockey for the University of Vermont, then went on to play five pro seasons, bouncing back and forth between the ECHL and AHL and dressing in two NHL games for the Florida Panthers. Worth noting, Allen had a brief stint with the famed Macon Whoopee.
When his playing career ended, Allen’s coaching journey started with minor hockey in Canada, before he eventually got the opportunity to coach the Japanese national team.
“I was like a rockstar,” Allen told the Sound Of Hockey Podcast of his time coaching in Japan. “In North America, it’s like goalie-to-student ratio of three or four. They would put a kids camp on their website… It would be like a rock concert where it was sold out in seven minutes. You’d have like 40 goalies on the ice, and you’d have camera flashes coming from the crowd, and I’m like, ‘This is amazing!’ And they were so passionate about hockey. So I had such a great experience in Japan.”
He then rose through the ranks and was hired as the developmental goalie coach for the Chicago Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate Rockford IceHogs before becoming the head goalie coach for the Buffalo Sabres, where he spent four seasons.
Most recently, Allen was a pro scout for the Kraken, specifically focused on goaltending.
“Andrew has been a valuable member of our team over the last year and played an integral role in the Expansion Draft as our pro goalie scout,” said Kraken general manager Ron Francis via press release. “We’re proud to keep working with him as he transitions to a coaching role, bringing his wealth of experience with him to our team’s day-to-day.”
Dan Bylsma
The hiring by Seattle of Dan Bylsma as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers did come as a bit of a surprise. The former Stanley Cup and Jack Adams Award winner had most recently been serving as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. In the same role but at the AHL level is not where we expected Bylsma to land, especially since he has real NHL head coaching experience and success on his resume.
Our theory (and this is just a theory) at Sound Of Hockey is that the Kraken are teeing Bylsma up to become the head coach for their AHL affiliate in Palm Springs when that team begins play in 2022-23. Time will tell if we are correct in that prediction.
“Disco” Dan, 50, played 429 career NHL games. He posted a record of 252-117-32 during his six seasons as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He also went 68-73-23 with the Buffalo Sabres over two seasons.
Said Francis, “Dan joins our organization with an impressive resume, and his experience speaks for itself. He’s won a Stanley Cup, a Jack Adams Award, and he has a proven track record and we look forward to him coaching our prospects in Charlotte alongside head coach Geordie Kinnear.”
Kraken sign two RFA’s
Cale Fleury
When the Kraken granted the Sound Of Hockey Podcast permission to interview Cale Fleury this past week, we figured it was only a matter of time before it was announced that he had been signed by the team. Sure enough, on the same day we released the episode, the team confirmed it had signed the 22-year-old defenseman to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level.
Selected from the Montreal Canadiens over such notable veterans as Carey Price and Shea Weber, Fleury was the youngest player taken in the Expansion Draft. He joins a deep blue line and knows that he will have to fight hard to land a spot with the Kraken.
“I think for me, I’ll have to be one of the guys that’s battling for a spot, a little bit different than some of the other guys who were drafted obviously,” Fleury said in his podcast interview. “It’s not really a new position for me, it’s kind of what I’ve been in my whole career so far.”
He added that Francis “would have picked me for a reason,” and he’s absolutely right. Brother of fellow Kraken defenseman Haydn Fleury, Cale played 41 games for the Canadiens in 2019-20 but was bumped down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket this past season with the arrival of Alexander Romanov in Montreal.
“Cale is a smooth skater that has shown even at his young age to be a responsible defender that can play reliable minutes,” said Francis. “We like his mix of physicality and puck-moving skills and are excited to see him develop with our organization.”
Carsen Twarynski
The Kraken also announced that they had agreed to terms with Carsen Twarynski, 23, the forward that they selected in the Expansion Draft from the Philadelphia Flyers.
During his tenure in the Flyers organization, Twarynski played 22 NHL games in total, including seven in 2020-21. He also has 107 AHL games under his belt with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he notched 38 points.
Local WHL fans may recognize his name, as he played major junior hockey with the Calgary Hitmen and Kelowna Rockets from 2014-15 to 2017-18.
“Carsen plays a physical, high-energy game, and we like his tenacity and willingness to compete,” added Francis. “He plays a responsible game and we like his motor.”
With Fleury and Twarynski signed, Dennis Cholowski is the only remaining RFA without a finalized contract.
Around the boards
The Florida Panthers announced this week that “Jumbo” Joe Thornton is taking his talents to Sunrise, where he has signed on for a one-year deal at the league minimum of $750,000. This will be Thornton’s 25th season in the NHL. He has 1,529 career points in 1,680 games with the Bruins, Sharks, and Maple Leafs, and will surely enjoy being back in a place where he never has to wear a shirt.
I believe this is Brent Burns and Joe Thornton. They are walking around Pittsburgh's North Shore and don't give ONE HELL. pic.twitter.com/T7t8LiLlBy
The IIHF Women’s World Championship is finally set to begin this week in Calgary. The event was canceled altogether in 2020, then postponed and moved from Nova Scotia, where it was supposed to be played in May of 2021. Team USA begins prelims on Friday against Switzerland at 6:30 p.m. Pacific on NHL Network.
Everett Silvertips defenseman Olen Zellweger signed his entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks this week. Zellweger, 17, is a silky-smooth skater who had 13 points in 11 games for the Tips this past season. He was selected in the second round of the NHL Entry Draft last month, No. 34 overall, and is primed for a huge season in the WHL.
Palate cleansers
The Kraken schedule now has game times.
The league announced game start times today. Some home games of note for the #SeaKraken: – Oct 31 6pm Start (all Sunday games start at 6pm) – Jan 1st 7pm – Jan 17th 2pm (Monday) – April 9th 4pm (Saturday) All other non-Sunday games are 7pm starts. pic.twitter.com/u1NRGawq2V
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
In this episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, we learn about “the stank of the Sabre” and what that means for players and coaches. We also hear from Cale Fleury, who was the youngest player selected in the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft. Get his side of the story that his brother had told about sending him home in tears at times when they were kids. Plus, hear about his offseason training plans and his expectations for where he slots in with the Kraken.
Also on this show, plenty of Kraken news, including the hirings of Andrew Allen as goalie coach and Dan Bylsma as an assistant with the AHL Charlotte Checkers.
Andy gives a WHL Update about Stu Barnes (former Kraken pro scout) becoming the head coach of the Tri-City Americans, the team he also coincidentally co-owns.
John and Darren give Weekly One-Timers, then the guys wrap up with Tweets of the Week.
Seattle Kraken first-round pick Matty Beniers has a big decision to make over the next month, and it’s one that has no wrong answer. Does he return to the University of Michigan for his sophomore season or sign on with the Kraken to play in the NHL this year?
It’s a good spot to be in. Imagine trying to decide if you should go back to school for another year knowing you have the dream job of all dream jobs waiting for you afterwards.
Not too shabby.
The Kraken selected Beniers, 18, with the second overall pick in July’s NHL Entry Draft, and history shows that he should matriculate to the NHL this coming fall. In most seasons, the second pick in the draft plays in the NHL right away, but it’s not a sure thing.
Last year, Quinton Byfield was selected second overall by the Los Angeles Kings but only got a brief sniff of the NHL. He was allowed to play in the AHL, for the Ontario Reign, due to an exception that allowed Ontario Hockey League players who had signed NHL entry-level contracts to stay in the AHL since the OHL canceled its season. Byfield played 32 AHL games and just nine in the NHL.
In 2014, the Buffalo Sabres took Sam Reinhart second overall. After his nine-game tryout at the start of the season, he was sent back to the WHL’s Kootenay ICE for the remainder of the year.
So, it’s not unprecedented for the second overall pick to not play full time in the NHL the following season.
Beniers, in a moment of maturity, said after the draft that he wasn’t sure what the best path forward was for him. It’s something he planned on talking to the team and his family about.
The Kraken will have to decide quickly if they think the NHL is his best road to development. Beniers cannot participate in the main Seattle training camp in September without signing his contract, thus losing his NCAA eligibility. So the Kraken won’t get the benefit of seeing him train with their NHL roster prior to making a decision.
Nonetheless, that decision will be needed quickly as Michigan hockey players report to school on Aug. 23 and begin practice on Aug. 30.
Is Matty Beniers’ game ready for the Kraken and the NHL?
Despite what the team or player wants, the biggest factor is whether Beniers is ready for the big leagues. He’s still young – he’ll turn 19 in November – but the NHL is a younger league than in the past, and there are plenty of players who have started at the same age.
“Every kid’s different,” Seattle general manager Ron Francis said. “I think the key is when you go and see him play, you want to do what’s right for the kid and make sure that you’re not rushing. Because the NHL is a heck of a league where the big guys are strong guys and fast guys and you want to make sure that when you bring them in, you’re giving them the opportunity to be successful. We try and analyze that.”
At Michigan, as a freshman playing against older players, he was a point-per-game player and made Team USA for January’s World Junior Championships in Edmonton. Beiners was one of the youngest players in that tournament, and while he scored just one goal and two assists in seven games, he was noticeable for the Americans. He played a tough defensive game, was on the penalty kill, and drove possession for the gold medal winners.
After his season in Michigan ended, he once again played for the U.S., this time at the IIHF World Championships. Playing against NHL and pro players, Beniers held his own once again as the U.S. won bronze.
“Matty adjusted so well and if you didn’t know that he’s such a young player you would think that he’s one of the older guys and a veteran.” Kraken director of amateur scouting Robert Kron said after the Draft. “That speaks very highly about his ability to read the game and play at a very high level and not many kids that age get to play in the tournament.”
Based on his on-ice performance, he looks ready to take the next step.
That doesn’t mean there still isn’t work to do or refinement of his game and skill set. He’s not resting on his amateur resume to guarantee anything at the next level.
“I think for me it’s continuing to get bigger and stronger,” he said. “I think that’s something I focused on a lot this year at Michigan. I’m trying to score goals, producing more offensively, and playing my two-way game so not totally sure how far out I am but I think I think I’m pretty close. I’m working hard and I’ll be there soon enough.”
The case for staying at Michigan for Beniers
Sure, another year of development in college wouldn’t hurt, but there might be a more attractive and more fun reason for Beniers to return to the Wolverines this season.
“I want to make a run at the National Championship,” he said.
Michigan lost a chance to make such a run last year as a Covid outbreak resulted in the Wolverines being disqualified from the tournament. It might seem overconfident to assume that Michigan could make a run, but when four of the top five picks from the NHL Draft could all be back in Ann Arbor this season, it’s more of a reality.
If Beniers were to return, he could be joining defenseman Owen Power – taken first overall at the draft by Buffalo – along with Kent Johnson (taken fifth by Columbus) and incoming freshman Luke Hughes (taken fourth overall by New Jersey). That’s an impressive core.
Power has hinted that he’s leaning toward returning to Michigan for one more year which could influence the rest of the drafted Wolverines.
Love this shift from Beniers. Above supporting opponents on the rush to recover the puck and initiate a breakout. Attacks on an angle through transition, using width of ice and lateral crosses to gain speed which backs defenders off. Offers the safety valve pass option to Power pic.twitter.com/UnV5mKGkZk
Along with a lot of winning, the other draw of returning would be to have a normal college experience. Beniers and his fellow Wolverines took classes online last year and played games in front of an empty Yost Arena – normally one of the loudest in the NCAA.
The case for signing with the Kraken now
If Beniers is ready for the NHL game, then signing and playing right away would be beneficial.
Seattle can use help up the middle, and Beniers is a player whose ceiling is that of an elite center – the most important position on a hockey team. Obviously, at his age he’s not that player yet, but his two-way game means that he could play and be productive right away as a third- or fourth-line center. He plays at both ends of the ice already and could contribute solid minutes from the start.
There would be no pressure on Beniers to carry the club right off the bat. However, playing this year would get his feet wet in the NHL until his offensive game develops to where Seattle believes it can be.
Signing now would also kick his entry level contract into gear meaning he would be up for a raise in three seasons, something that could end up paying off for him financially. For the Kraken, having the franchise’s first NHL Draft pick on the club for day one, year one, would help cash in on the excitement for the neophyte team.
Will he or won’t he?
The drama, such as it is, will be over quickly with Beniers.
With Michigan hockey starting late in August, we should hear which direction Beniers plans on going soon. What most likely will happen is that he returns to Michigan but signs with the Kraken at the end of the season.
This is something that the NHL has seen before, and recently.
The Vancouver Canucks went with a Michigan guy, defenseman Quinn Hughes, with the sixth pick of the 2018 NHL Draft. Hughes decided to forego signing and returned to Michigan for his sophomore year in 2018-19. When his college season was over, he signed with the Canucks and finished the year in the NHL.
Don’t be surprised if that’s the route Beniers chooses and the Kraken first see him at the end of the season.
Growing up as a kid in Denmark, Kraken center Alexander True hadn’t thought much about the city of Seattle. That changed in 2014 when the Seattle Thunderbirds selected the 6-foot-5 center in the Canadian Hockey League’s import draft when he was 17. Now, seven years later, True’s a Kraken and his name is further etched into the history of Seattle hockey.
Seattle’s NHL club selected True in July’s NHL Expansion Draft from the San Jose Sharks, which puts him in the history books as an original Kraken and part of the franchise’s first roster. But before that, in May of 2017, he scored perhaps the biggest goal in modern Seattle hockey history with an overtime marker against the Regina Pats in Game 6 of the Western Hockey League’s Championship Series to give the Seattle Thunderbirds their first ever league title.
For a guy who grew up thinking he might have a shot at maybe playing pro hockey in Europe, Seattle has become a special place for the 24-year-old as he looks to be a full-time NHL player.
“That’s why life is so funny because you never know what’s gonna happen. It’s crazy,” True says.
One Year Ago. May 14, 2017.@ThomBeuning with the call of Alexander True's overtime game-winning goal in Game 6 vs. Regina.
— Seattle Thunderbirds (@SeattleTbirds) May 14, 2018
When the NHL teams released their protected lists True wasn’t surprised he was left unprotected by the Sharks after he spent the bulk of the previous four seasons in the AHL. He was visiting family when both his agent and San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson called him to tell him the Kraken had selected him.
The emotions were mixed and True says he was happy in San Jose. But the idea of returning to Seattle had him happy as well.
“The first time we knew Seattle was going to get an NHL team one of my first thoughts was, it would be cool to come back and play in Seattle,” True says. “So, it was kind of a little bit of a cool dream to be back there one day.”
Alexander True’s journey to the Seattle Kraken
True’s first year in Seattle was the 2014-15 season with the Thunderbirds, but an injury cost him a big chunk of the year. The next two years he became an integral part of the Thunderbirds lineup and the team made two consecutive trips to the WHL Championship Series.
With a loaded team, True was relegated to playing the third center role – Seattle’s top center was New York Islanders star Mathew Barzal – but he still produced. He scored 39 goals over his last two seasons with the Thunderbirds, but it was in the playoffs that he had the most impact. In 2015-16 he scored six goals and 10 points in the postseason as Seattle fell to the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Championship.
The next year, True was even better. He stepped up into the top center spot while Barzal was out with an illness during the first round, and ended up with 12 goals and 22 points in 20 games.
While with the Thunderbirds, True was coached by 13-year NHL player Steve Konowalchuk.
“He didn’t get enough credit for what he did,” Konowalchuk says of True. “He kind of slid under the radar, but he was every bit as important to what we did. He was unbelievable as a net-front presence on that first power play unit and was so dangerous. The other strength he really had, as a center, he was so good at carrying the puck out of his own end and into the neutral zone… that’s something that is so important at the next level.”
After his first year in pro hockey, the Sharks would sign an NHL contract with True, and he would make his NHL debut in 2020. He’s only played in 19 NHL games to date, both over the past two seasons, but he has been a productive player in the AHL, chipping in offensively, killing penalties, and playing a strong two-way game.
Konowalchuk not only coached him, but as a pro scout with the New York Rangers the past two seasons got a look at True both in the AHL and in the NHL.
“He can definitely play in the NHL,” Konowalchuk says. “There’s no question that he went out and proved he could be a fourth line, penalty killer. The challenge for him to be a mainstay is what is he going to bring to the table? I think the way you do it is to be a responsible defensive center that can kill penalties and he can definitely kill penalties. So, he has to carve out a role by blocking shots, and doing those kind of things.”
What’s next for True and the Kraken?
True says he has heard from former Thunderbirds teammates Ethan Bear of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Keegan Kolesar of the Vegas Golden Knights as well as his Seattle billets to share in the excitement of being back in Seattle.
The attention now turns to the Kraken and what role he can play.
He’s a player who’s been on the cusp of staying in the NHL and will have a shot with the Kraken. Seattle is thin at center and with Yanni Gourde missing the first part of the season, True will have a chance to impress during training camp.
He’s got the size, is a strong defensive center who plays hard, and has some offensive flash. There’s a good chance that he’ll again split time between the AHL in Charlotte and the NHL, but don’t be surprised if he starts the season with the Kraken.
True’s had a taste of the NHL game and the speed and skill that’s needed. He’s well aware of what he needs to do in order to stick.
“It’s a good league and you have to play really well to stand out,” True says. “Especially when you’re playing against the best players in the world, so I need to play my ‘A’ game. Every single night, every shift I get and don’t take any nights off.”
He says that the only Kraken player he knows is Joonas Donskoi from their brief time in San Jose together. He’s taken part in a Zoom meeting to get to know the rest of the team, however, and is excited to meet his new teammates in person.
True will be playing some hockey before he returns to Seattle. He’ll be in Oslo, Norway, August 26-29 playing for Denmark’s national team – something he’s done in the World Junior Championships and this year’s World Championships – as they attempt to qualify for the 2022 Olympics.
He hopes to be in Seattle the first week of September to take his shot and try to break camp with the NHL team.
True has seen the Kraken preseason schedule and knows the team will be playing games in the WHL’s U.S. Division buildings that he’s familiar with. That includes a game on Oct. 2 against the Calgary Flames at the accesso ShoWare Center where he played as a Thunderbird.
He hasn’t been back to Seattle since his time with the Thunderbirds and hasn’t yet laid eyes on the championship banner that he helped win hanging from the rafters.
“I would like it a lot to play in that game,” True says.
Playing in that game would be a perfect way to connect what True has done for the Seattle Thunderbirds in junior to the present and future with the Seattle Kraken.
For this week’s Data Dump, we thought it would be fun to look at what has transpired in the 2021 NHL free agency period by the numbers. For the last year we have been talking about the salary cap crunch impacting most of the teams across the league. The 2020 free agency period illustrated that impact with overall free agency contract commitments down ~20% from 2019 to 2020. We also saw declines in salary cap hit, total contract value, and lengths of contracts as NHL general managers tried to navigate this flat cap challenge. With about two weeks of free agency under our belts, the question is whether or not this conservative approach would continue for 2021. Let’s find out.
Total dollars committed in NHL free agency
The first thing we looked at is the total dollars committed by NHL teams in 2021 free agency. In other words, what is the sum of the total value of all free agent contracts signed? Since we still have 60+ days before the start of the season, we are showing it by day to have a more accurate comparable on where we stand during this free agent period.
As the chart suggests, GM’s are committing more dollars than any time over the last 4 free agent periods. However, there is a new team in the NHL this season and including the new team’s singings to previous free agent periods is not a fair comparable. For that reason, let us exclude Seattle Kraken signings.
When we filter out the Seattle signings, the total committed dollars are still up over the last four years but not nearly as much when we include the Kraken signings.
2021 NHL free agent signing detail
To get more insights on the free agent signings, we break out the number of signings, AAV cap hit, term, and total committed dollars by year. You can also filter by team and position as you see fit.
When looking at the detail, one area that stands out is a 26% increase year over year in total signings, and we still have 60 days of potential additional signings before the season starts. Part of this increase is driven by Seattle, but the Kraken have only signed six unrestricted free agents. 2021 has just happened to bring more free agents to the market compared to previous years.
NHL free agency spend by team
The last step here is to look at the dollar commitments by team to determine who is spending and who is not.
With a relatively blank slate, there is no surprise that Seattle has committed the most money in free agency this year. Alex Wennberg, Jaden Schwartz, and of course Philipp Grubauer account for $76.4 of the $87.7 million in committed contract money. Not included in the Kraken’s numbers above is Jamie Oleksiak ($23M), Adam Larsson ($16M), and Chris Driedger ($10.5M) that were signed to contract extensions during the Expansion Draft, therefore prior to the free agency period.
League assessment
From the data, cap spend and financial commitments to player payroll are close to pre-pandemic levels. This can and should tie the hands of several NHL teams in the next few seasons. Meanwhile Buffalo, Detroit, Ottawa, and Seattle are all well positioned to use their cap space as a weapon over the next few seasons. This will be an interesting strategy to monitor, as we are expected to remain in a flat cap era for at least another three seasons.
