Things get off the rails pretty quickly on this one, as the guys discuss Jordan Binnington’s bizarre display this past week against the San Jose Sharks. They then move on to Kraken news, specifically the announcement that the team is pitching in to save the University of Alaska Anchorage hockey program.
Full sequence here. Binnington went after 3 guys. Received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pic.twitter.com/18a20idIcS
You’ll also get a pretty robust WHL Update from WHL correspondent Andy Eide and a recap of the PWHPA Dream Gap game. That recap leads to a rare Get Off My Lawn segment led by John.
The guys also discuss John’s Mock Expansion Draft, Claude Julien’s firing by the Canadiens, and much more.
Bits this week include Three Stars. Segments include Goalie Gear Corner, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
The latest Sound Of Hockey Podcast is here, and John is fed up with the Central Time Zone.
Things get off the rails pretty quickly on this one, as the guys discuss Jordan Binnington’s bizarre display this past week against the San Jose Sharks. They then move on to Kraken news, specifically the announcement that the team is pitching in to save the University of Alaska Anchorage hockey program.
You’ll also get a pretty robust WHL Update from WHL correspondent Andy Eide and a recap of the PWHPA Dream Gap game. That recap leads to a rare Get Off My Lawn segment led by John.
The guys also discuss John’s Mock Expansion Draft, Claude Julien’s firing by the Canadiens, and much more.
Bits this week include Three Stars. Segments include Goalie Gear Corner, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
It didn’t take Dylan Guenther long to make up for lost time. In fact, it took less than two minutes. At the 1:47 mark of the Edmonton Oil Kings’ season opener Friday, the 2021 NHL Draft prospect banged home a power-play goal.
He was just getting started.
With the Western Hockey League back on the ice after nearly a year-long hiatus, Guenther’s hot start is solidifying him as one of the top prospects for July’s draft. He may be a player the Seattle Kraken have circled to be their first pick ever.
Guenther followed the early marker with an assist 45 seconds later and would finish the game with a pair of scores and two assists. The next night he matched those totals to earn the season’s first WHL Player of the Week award with eight points in two games.
If you talked to him 24 hours before the season opener you wouldn’t be surprised.
“Everyone is super excited to play and we have a lot of adrenaline,” he said the night before. “The guys will be buzzing on the first couple of shifts.”
The WHL is playing a shortened 24-game season focused on player development. Winning games is still important – and the Oil Kings started 2-0 – but so is being seen by NHL scouts for a guy like Guenther.
Waiting around to play has been stressful for everyone involved. It’s Guenther’s draft year, he needed to be seen by scouts, needed them to see the step he has taken after an impressive rookie campaign where he scored 26 goals.
“The whole uncertainty of the year was leaning on my shoulders a bit,” Guenther, 17, admitted. “I felt that, but I think I took that time to better myself and better my game and I’m excited about that.”
Dylan Guenther by the numbers
Playing in the WHL at 16-years-old is tough.
The jump from minor hockey to playing with NHL prospects can be a monumental one, but it’s one that Guenther made with ease last year. It helped that the 6-foot-1 winger had a brief call-up at the end of the previous season. He not only got his feet wet but produced by scoring three goals – including a game-winner – in eight games.
Last year he exploded. Along with the 26 goals he piled up 33 assists for 59 points in 58 games on the way to winning the league’s Rookie of the Year award. He chipped in on the power play as well, scoring eight times with nine assists.
Being considered for the top of a draft is not a new experience for the Edmonton native. The Oil Kings selected him with the first overall pick in the WHL’s Bantam Draft in 2018.
“Going into the Western League draft I just tried to play my game to the best of my ability,” Guenther said. “Just blocking out the outside attention is important. This is obviously a much bigger scale, but I think if I play my game and play the right way everything will fall into place at the end.”
What kind of player is he?
Speed, skill, with a scoring touch are attributes that describe Guenther’s game. He sees the ice well and can distribute the puck.
He has played on the wing with the Oil Kings but says that he can, and is comfortable, playing as a center.
“I’m a guy who plays with speed and I see the ice well,” Guenther said about his game. “I think my hockey IQ is the strongest part of my game, whether its finding open ice to jump into or creating space myself to score goals. I’m an offensive player. I have to work on my strength, with that will be my play along the boards.
“Skating is something I’m always looking to get better at. The game is always getting faster so that’s something I’m always looking to improve on.”
He’s the kind of player that puts pressure on the defense and attracts defenders to him.
That was on display Friday night with the play below. His teammate, St. Louis Blues prospect Jake Neighbours, takes a hit to get the puck to Guenther along the boards. Three defenders skate towards Guenther which leaves a teammate wide open in the slot.
Guenther easily flips the puck across ice, past the defenders for his mate to score an easy goal. Pick your poison with this guy.
The old adage "take a hit to make a play" has never rung more true for Jake Neighbours. But it pays off for the @EdmOilKings. pic.twitter.com/OII8UtmXhd
“I really like Dylan,” one NHL scout says. “He plays with really good speed and loves to attack the net off the rush. Along with that he plays a responsible three-zone game.”
The Kraken are promised a pick in the top six of the upcoming NHL Draft, depending on how the lottery balls bounce.
A lot of scrutiny and pressure comes with being a top prospect and he heard from 15 to 20 teams over the offseason. He’s playing with a couple of players, such as Neighbours who was selected by the Blues in the first round of last year’s draft, which will make it easier.
“It helps having a couple guys go through it before you,” Guenther said. “Just the way they handle themselves both on and off the ice. They conduct themselves like pros and that’s something I like to do and something I learned off them.”
These 24-games will be big for Guenther’s future.
He’ll finally be seen by scouts after waiting a year. He probably won’t continue at a four-point-per-game pace, but his skill will be on display and Edmonton is poised to win a lot of games.
How high he goes remains to be determined and he has no preference as to which team selects him. That team could be Seattle, which would make Guenther a part of Kraken history as the first-ever pick by the league’s newest franchise.
“The thought of that is crazy,” Guenther said. “An expansion team, I remember when they got announced. It’s super exciting. I remember their whole process. They have a logo and I really like the logo. It’s cool. I’ve never been to Seattle, but I’ve heard it’s a nice city. That would be pretty cool.”
The NHL has turned the corner on the quarter pole and now our eyes are focusing on the blurry division races as the trade deadline looms. Trades this year could – and most likely will – have an impact on the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft projections as well.
Key players being targeted may find themselves moved and that will change their protection status. Whether teams buy or sell will be determined over this next stretch of the season. Will contenders add? Will hot starts fade and those teams decide to sell?
While we watch that pan out, here are games to catch this week:
Boston Bruins versus Washington Capitals
When: Wednesday, 4 PM on NBCSN and Friday, 4 PM on NHL Network
Washington and Boston continue to plow along and play good hockey. It’s surprising that these games are going to be indoors since NBC seems to plug one or both of these teams into its stadium games on the regular – Wednesday’s game will be on NBCSN albeit inside. The national programming is not without merit.
Coming into this week, the two clubs are separated by two points at the top of the MassMutual East Division with the Capitals on top, but with the Bruins holding a pair of games in hand. Boston has a chance this week to take over the lead and take a big step in the race. The games should be good as it features two veteran-laden teams who have raised the Cup and know how to win. These teams aren’t young, but they are good. Look for terms like ‘crafty’ and ‘wily’ to be uttered a lot by the television crews.
Players to watch
Zdeno Chara will be playing against his former club in his former home arena – the one he is most remembered for – which adds a fun element. The Bruins will throw out Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Patrice Bergeron a ton in these games. Making up one of the best lines in the NHL, the trio are also the top three Boston scorers this season. Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo played his Junior hockey for the Tri-City Americans if you’re looking for a local angle. Jake DeBrusk was almost traded to the Seattle Thunderbirds once but that’s a story for another day.
For the Capitals, pay attention to their power play. Alex Ovechkin will probably find himself in the left faceoff circle looking for a one-timer. The Bruins know that but he’ll still get a couple of good looks from there. Nicklas Backstrom is looking true to form and leading the Capitals in scoring and if you like puck-moving, scoring defensemen then John Carlson is your guy. He’s been doing it a long time and is off to another strong start.
The Seattle Kraken watchlist
Boston has come interesting players to keep an eye on. Up front, Nick Ritchie is close to equaling his season totals from last season. On the back end, scout up on Jeremy Lauzon.
The Capitals feature Seattle Kraken message board favorite T.J. Oshie as well as former Thunderbird Brenden Dillon. Both are likely to be exposed and would obviously be interesting Kraken picks. But the Capitals have other players who could end up in Seattle, including goalie Vitek Vanecek, who has been a pleasant surprise in Washington.
Carolina Hurricanes versus Florida Panthers
When: Sunday, 2 P.M. NHLTV
The Discover Central continues to entertain. This is a division that is the definition of topsy-turvy. Seemingly every day brings a new top team and entering this week it’s the Florida Panthers who continue to surprise. Carolina is not far behind, just one point out heading into the week, tied for second with a little outfit known as the Tampa Bay Lightning.
But this isn’t about the defending champs, its about the Hurricanes and Panthers who will serve up a fun Sunday afternoon matinee. While this is a big game, it feels like this race is going to come down to the wire in the spring.
Players to watch
Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and Carter Verhaeghe aren’t household names outside of hockey fans – because the Panthers don’t get the national airtime other teams do – but are having impact seasons. They’ve been good for a while but now are on a team that is winning and leading a division. Goalie Chris Driedger, who played 22 games for the Tri-City Americans once, continues to outplay the expensive Sergei Bobrovsky and is a big reason for the Panthers’ success this season.
Carolina is fun. The Hurricanes have depth and youth which is a great combination. Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, and Martin Necas are all high-end entertaining players that will stand out to you. It’s not just youth for the Hurricanes, however. Their young roster is littered with veterans like Vincent Trochek, Jordan Staal, and defenseman Dougie Hamilton who are all producing. This is a team that is almost always must-watch.
Vegas Golden Knights versus San Jose Sharks: Friday, 7:30 P.M. NHLTV. This was an intense rivalry just a season ago. It hasn’t had the same juice this season but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a spark. Fans of the Seattle Thunderbirds may enjoy it as former players Shea Theodore, Keegan Kolesar, Patrick Marleau, and Alexander True are all in the mix.
As the Seattle Kraken hockey operations team looks toward the Expansion Draft, the age of each NHL player will factor into their selections. On Saturday, we posted a broad look at the average player ages of NHL teams, but that just scratches the surface of understanding how teams are constructed. Today, we take a deeper dive into the ages of players and wrap it up with how this could factor into the Kraken’s selection process for the Expansion Draft.
Average age by position and line
Let us start by looking at the median ages of NHL players by position and how they stack up on depth charts.
A couple interesting points to call out here. First, the youngest line in hockey tends to be the first forward line with a median age of 25.8 years old. Conversely, the oldest line is the fourth forward line. Last, the median age of goalies is older than any of the forward or defense lines. This makes sense, since goalies typically take so much longer to develop than skaters.
Average ages by team and line
Here are a couple fun call-outs when looking at this data:
The Vancouver Canucks have the youngest forward line in the NHL (21.8), which is their first line: Elias Pettersson (21.9) Nils Hoglander (19.8), and Brock Boeser (23.6).
The Jets have the oldest forward line in hockey (34.2), their fourth line: Nate Thompson (36.0), Mathieu Perreault (32.7), and Trevor Lewis (33.7)
The Ottawa Senators have the youngest team across all positions with an average age of 25.5 years old.
Washington has the oldest team in the NHL at 31.0 years old. Thank Zdeno Chara (43.5), Craig Anderson (39.4), and Alex Ovechkin (35.0) for driving the age up for the Caps.
The Avalanche have the youngest defensemen in the league, averaging just under 23.9 years old.
Here is a data visualization you can use to dig into the detail of age distributions by team.
Seattle thoughts
Player age alone will not be a deciding factor in the Kraken’s selections in the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft this summer, but it will be a component in some of the decisions to be made. An important piece in incorporating a player’s age in the decision-making process is how many years are left on a player’s contract. How might the players contributions decline over the remainder of the deal?
Example:
Dustin Brown has 11 goals and six assists in his 20 games in the NHL this year and will turn 37 in November. Brown has only one year remaining on his contract with a salary cap hit of $5.9 million per year.
TJ Oshie has five goals and nine assists in his 20 games in the NHL this year and will turn 35 in December. Oshie has four years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $5.7 million per year.
Both players are expected to be exposed in the Expansion Draft. Even though Brown is two years older, he probably carries the least amount of risk between the two because he only has one year remaining on his contract. In the salary-cap-strapped era the NHL is going through, Brown would probably be more tradeable at the trade deadline next season since teams only need to fit his salary in for the remainder of the year.
The Kraken will also need to evaluate players that are just entering the NHL to forecast what their upside might be. In San Jose, both Dylan Gambrell and Alexander True should be exposed in the Expansion Draft. Both play center. Gambrell is one year older than True and has been a regular in the Sharks lineup this year. True has played this season in the AHL and has five points in six games. They seem to have very similar capabilities, but does the one-year age difference change any of the NHL projections for either player?
For this week’s Data Dump Saturday, I investigate the ages of players in the NHL. Age will be one of the critical factors the Seattle Kraken will need to consider when drafting players in the Expansion Draft this summer. I thought this would be a good topic to dig into to help understand how most teams are built in the NHL.
Average age of NHL players
As you can see, the average age of NHL players has changed over time. Before you make any assumptions about the average age getting older the last few seasons, keep in mind the last two seasons are tough to evaluate as a comparable of the prior seasons.
Last year’s regular season was cut short by a month. The last month of a season is a time where teams tend to call-up their prospects from the AHL or possibly get their major junior and college prospects some games if their regular season has ended. These players will be younger and therefore drive the average age down a bit.
This season is obviously incomplete, so it does not have the late-season call-ups accounted for either. The shortened training camp and elimination of the pre-season also prevented coaches and general managers from getting a look at some of the younger prospects. So those guys may not have had the same chances at making NHL rosters out of camp.
Average age of NHL players by position
Nothing too surprising here other than it really illustrates that goalies tend to break into the league much later compared to other positions. Ilya Sorokin, Kevin Lankinen, and Ville Husso all made their NHL debuts this season and all of them are over 25.
Average age by team
Everyone seems to enjoy looking at the average age by team, so here you go.
Zdeno Chara (43.5) and Craig Anderson (39.3) are inflating the Capitals numbers a bit, but even when you look at the median, they are still the oldest team in the league.
Of course average age does not tell the whole story, so I plan to dig into this a bit more over the next few days to help paint a better picture of how ages come into play when building rosters.
As always, let me know if you have any thoughts, questions, or suggestions for Data Dump Saturday. Enjoy your weekend.
It has been another relatively quiet week on the Seattle Kraken front, and around the Seattle sports scene in general there has been practically no news or semblance of significant controversy [slams door just in time to fend off barrage of rotten vegetables, daggers, and pitchforks].
There have been some major bombshells heard from around the rest of the hockey world, though, so those will be the focus of this edition of Weekly One-Timers. For the Kraken-minded reader, here are a couple items to at least whet your appetite because again, we know there hasn’t been much to talk about for Seattle sports fans.
What an odd ride the last six months have been for Claude Julien. In August, he was hospitalized with chest pains which led to him missing the entire NHL playoff bubble. In October, general manager Marc Bergevin made several huge splashes to improve the Canadiens. With newly acquired Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson, and Jake Allen under his watch, Julien returned to training camp in January with elevated expectations. Fast forward a month and change, and Julien is out the door, despite the Habs getting off to a hot start and despite them still sitting in a playoff spot.
What happened?
Well, in 2019-2020, the Habs nosedived into a few pits from which they never could fully emerge, highlighted by two separate eight-game losing streaks. In 2021, after they came out looking like world-beaters in the early going, Bergevin saw the Canadiens heading into another one of those holes. After the team lost six of eight including its last three in a row under Julien, Bergevin decided to take a proactive approach to stopping the bleeding. Assistant coach Kirk Muller was also issued a pink slip.
Julien is replaced in an interim basis by Dominique Ducharme, 47, who has been at Julien’s side since 2018. He is viewed as a progressive coach that will bring a new philosophy to Montreal’s bench.
Julien to the Seattle Kraken?
So will Julien be the first head coach in Seattle Kraken history? Maybe. Maybe not. That’s the extent of our conjecturing at this point.
But seriously, he will likely at least get considered for the job. Julien has 18 years of NHL head coaching experience that consists of two stints with the Canadiens, a brief stop in New Jersey, and 10 years behind Boston’s bench. His Bruins also hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2010-2011, and he boasts a career record of 667-445-152.
We at SOH do believe Seattle will select somebody with NHL head coaching experience as its first benchboss, and the team has made no bones about being patient until the right candidate becomes available. Is Julien that guy?
Artemi Panarin allegations are questionable
The other whopper of a story this week was New York Rangers superstar Artemi Panarin taking a leave of absence after being accused of assaulting a young woman in Riga, Latvia, in 2011. The claim comes from Panarin’s former KHL coach, Andrei Nazarov.
While most reports of this manner result in society quickly piling on athletes and celebrities and finding them guilty in the court of public perception, the opposite has happened here. Instead, countless journalists and former teammates and even the Rangers themselves have rushed to support Panarin, calling the accusations fabricated.
Well, Panarin has spoken out against Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past. On Jan. 21, Panarin posted on his Instagram in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who survived an attempted poisoning while traveling abroad. Navalny eventually returned to Russia and was promptly jailed by Putin’s regime upon arrival. His arrest led to mass protests throughout Russia.
This is pretty significant: New York Rangers superstar forward Artemi Panarin showing support for jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny ahead of planned Saturday protests all over Russia. Hashtags this Instagram post “Freedom for Navalny” https://t.co/9rwcP87oKKpic.twitter.com/8zZyjEjOeO
And wouldn’t you know? Coach Nazarov happens to be a staunch Putin supporter. VICE News had a fantastic write-up on the fascinating and generally bizarre story.
NHL Outdoors was a disaster… But then it wasn’t!
The ice melted. Hand up, I’ll admit it. I did not see that coming.
Through the first period of the Avalanche versus Golden Knights on Saturday, ruts in the ice were horrible, guys were falling all over the place, and play was generally slow and choppy.
So, the league made the very tough call to postpone until 9PM Pacific that night, and also to push back the start of Sunday’s game between Boston and Philadelphia until the evening.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the remainder of today's #NHLOutdoors game at Lake Tahoe will resume tonight at 9pm PTpic.twitter.com/cOGVvVzyFz
In the end, it still was a great event, even with what some would perceive as an embarrassing eight-hour delay in the middle of the first game. The visuals were still stunning, the off-ice coverage was fun to consume, and the Flyers-Bruins game was the most-watched regular-season game ever to air on NBCSN.
Stealing the show was undoubtedly Gritty, who took in the sights of Lake Tahoe, shredded some gnar, and even crashed a wedding.
We can’t help feeling bad for Blades the Bruin, who played second fiddle to his Philadelphian counterpart all weekend, earning just a small fraction of Gritty’s recognition. Blades did have the last laugh when the Bruins beat the Flyers 7-3 on Sunday, though.
WHL schedule released
The WHL announced the full schedule for its US Division’s abbreviated season. The Seattle Thunderbirds will open on March 19 at home against the Spokane Chiefs. The Everett Silvertips will open the following night also at home and also against Spokane. The season will last until early May, and there will not be any playoffs.
Fans will not be allowed to attend games in person, but the WHL did announce a new streaming service through CHL TV that will allow viewing access to all scheduled WHL games. WHL Live, as it’s called, is $59.99 for the full season or $6.99 for a 24-hour pass. If you are a WHL fiend, remember, the Central Division starts play on Friday, so you’ll immediately have something to watch.
Seth Jarvis is good at hockey, Dustin Wolf bounces back
Typically, 19-year-old CHL players are ineligible to play in the AHL until their CHL season ends. But with the ongoing pandemic leaving major junior hockey in limbo for so long, the leagues made an unprecedented agreement to allow those that had signed entry-level pro contracts to temporarily level up until their respective CHL teams return.
Portland’s Seth Jarvis was selected in the first round of this year’s NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. While he waits for his Winterhawks to return to play, he has been allowed to compete for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, where he has been very impressive. Despite playing his first professional hockey, Jarvis already has six goals and three assists in just seven games.
Everett’s Dustin Wolf—selected in 2019 by the Calgary Flames—has been suiting up for the Stockton Heat. Wolf made his debut on Sunday and got shellacked by the Toronto Marlies, allowing five goals on just 11 shots. We’re happy to share that the friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast recovered beautifully in his next appearance, stopping 36 of 38 shots to earn his first professional win and first-star honors.
Wolf and Jarvis will return to the WHL when their teams start back up in March.
The King is back
Oh, you thought you had seen the last of Henrik Lundqvist’s dashing good looks after he said he wouldn’t play this season because of a heart condition? Well, look who’s back on the ice after open-heart surgery!
Could you imagine looking this good while running? I certainly can’t.
Today is a good day. The checkup with the doctor this morning reaffirmed what I’ve been feeling last few weeks, everything looking great. It energized me so much I had to go out for a run (FYI, I’m not a runner) Today is a good day! 😃👍🏻#Stepbysteppic.twitter.com/AXrZzMDbts
The Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL will officially change its name (temporarily) to the Sioux Falls Fighting Wiener Dogs on Saturday. It’s the second time the team has performed this stunt, which comes in conjunction with the Sioux Nation Pet Clinic Wiener Dog Races. Get your Wiener Dog gear here!
Bruce Boudreau bought his second USPHL team over the summer, this one in Hershey, PA, his full-time home. The team has cleverly named itself the Hershey Cubs, and the logo is a thing of beauty.
The Cubs logo takes after the old Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA, for whom Boudreau played in the 1975-1976 season.
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.
For the last three months, the Sound Of Hockey team has been poring over NHL rosters, sizing up prospects, sharing our best estimates on the Expansion Draft protected lists, and identifying potential Seattle Kraken players to monitor. Now looking ahead to the next few weeks, each of us at Sound Of Hockey will be taking a stab at a Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft. These days, mock Expansion Draft articles are a dime a dozen, and most are fraught with poor assumptions and non-compliance to the expansion rules. We hope to avoid that with a few guiding principles.
Rules of the Sound Of Hockey Mock Expansion Draft
Protection lists are based on latest updates on Sound Of Hockey (Central, East, West, North).
You are allowed one UFA-and-sign selection. Selection should pass the sniff test of being a legitimate option (i.e. expecting to draft and sign Alex Ovechkin does not feel legitimate).
No side deals. Although we are aware that this will be a major part of the actual Expansion Draft, we don’t have enough insider knowledge about what could be done here or what the Kraken would actually try to pull off. So for the purposes of this mock draft, we’re keeping this off the table.
John’s Expansion Draft strategy overview
My strategic roadmap for my team would be to become a perennial playoff contender three to five years down the line and to set up for moments of opportunity to go ‘all in’ for a Stanley Cup run in the future.
In a real-world scenario, my objective would be to accumulate an additional five to 10 additional Entry Draft Picks spread over the next three years. Teams are built through the NHL Entry Draft so the more bets I can make with draft picks, the more likely the chances will be of getting a blue-chip player.
In line with the three-to-five-year strategy, I will index toward younger players that offer more upside and could be bigger contributors after several years.
The single biggest advantage Seattle has in this league is its salary cap space, and just because the Kraken have the cap space, does not mean I want to use it right out of the gate. This advantage could be leveraged for years to come and I would like to preserve this asset if possible.
Expansion Draft goalie strategy
My original goalie strategy was to have three goalies under 30. One would serve as the starter, another goalie would be my backup that is just breaking into the league, and another would spend much of the year in the AHL. This did not play out as I intended. There were a couple goalies I liked that fit this strategy, but they were either a pending UFA or there was someone else on their team that I prioritized over them. I am still happy with the netminders that ended up on my team, though.
The Expansion Draft picks
Expansion Draft Selections
Anaheim – This came down to Max Jones and Josh Mahura. Mahura would have been the choice, but after a couple rounds of selections and tweaks, I was heavy on left defense so Mahura did not add much to the roster. I went with Max Jones.
Arizona – Adin Hill has been circled for a while. It is unclear how good he can be in the NHL, but at the very least he could be the third goalie in the depth chart while we try to figure out what level of backstop he can be.
Boston – I had a tough time with Boston. I landed on Jeremy Lauzon, but depending on the day, I could have selected Nick Ritchie or Trent Frederic. All three could add value to the squad, but I might call around to some GM’s to see if there are any players on Boston that teams might want in a draft-and-trade scenario.
Buffalo – If exposed, I like Henri Jokiharju from Buffalo. He is the youngest player on my roster and could be a cornerstone of the Seattle defense corps for years.
Carolina – Sticking with the youth movement, would love to grab Jake Bean from Carolina. The Canes might be eager to keep Bean, though, and could be a side-deal candidate.
Columbus – Speedy undrafted Eric Robinson is getting a little more playing time in Columbus this year, and Seattle could give him a bigger opportunity.
Calgary – The current captain of the Flames, Mark Giordano, will be 38 around the start of next season, but has not shown any signs of slowing down. I love the thought of him in the locker room as that steady leader.
Chicago – Lucas Carlsson does not have much of an NHL resume but could have some upside.
Colorado – If Devon Toews is available, he is the pick. Crazy to think that one of the better defensemen in the league could be exposed, but the Avalanche’s hands are a bit tied. We should not feel sorry for them.
Dallas – Jamie Oleksiak is my draft-and-sign UFA. Another strong veteran presence in the locker room. If he is asking for too much or does not want to be part of the Kraken, then Seattle might want to draft him and let him walk. I like Anton Khudobin, but he will turn 36 during the 2021-22 season and will still have another year on his contract so I will pass on selecting him.
Detroit – Givani Smith shows the most potential in Detroit.
Edmonton – Assuming Oscar Klefbom is Expansion Draft eligible, this will expose former Portland Winterhawk, Caleb Jones. If so, Jones is the selection.
Florida – When we updated our forecast, we had Anthony Duclair unprotected. This is probably incorrect but we are sticking with the rules of our mock draft so I will be selecting him.
Los Angeles – I never thought I would say this, but Dustin Brown’s numbers this season are tough to ignore. With only one year left on his deal, selecting him seems relatively low risk.
Minnesota – If he is still on the roster come Expansion Draft, Matt Dumba is the selection here.
Montreal – The Habs have a few young and promising defensemen, but Jake Allen is primed for selection and hopefully sharing the burden between the pipes in year one.
Nashville – I am passing on Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen to select a slightly younger and much cheaper Colton Sissons.
New Jersey – Yegor Sharangovich is a bit of a flier. He is young and has not done a lot in the NHL to date, but he put up some big numbers in the KHL earlier this year.
New York Islanders – Josh Bailey will be another vet that adds playmaking capabilities at right wing.
New York Rangers – Brett Howden is the pick from the Rangers.
Ottawa – The Senators do not provide many options, but Nicholas Paul is the type of versatile middle-six forward that is needed on all teams.
Philadelphia – James van Riemsdyk has put up 21 points in 15 games this year. He’s 31 now, but there’s clearly plenty left for JvR.
James van Riemsdyk's (@JVReemer21) fantastic season continues to roll❗
Pittsburgh – Jared McCann could be a sneaky good middle-six forward and up until his injury was contributing to the Pens.
San Jose Sharks – The watchlist is narrow in San Jose. It comes down to local boy, Dylan Gambrell from Bonney Lake, or former Seattle Thunderbird, Alexander True. I select Gambrell here since he has more NHL experience.
St Louis – Good depth options available from the Blues. There are several players that are regular contributors and could benefit from an elevated role with the Kraken. For now, I am selecting Ivan Barbashev.
Tampa Bay – There are a ton of quality options in Tampa. I am expecting a side deal to come out of Tampa Bay. Ondrej Palat is the one that can contribute immediately, but we still need to figure a way to get Tyler Johnson here as well.
Toronto – Travis Dermott has not had the most productive year, but he is the most skilled Leaf that will be available in the Expansion Draft.
Vancouver – The 22-year-old Kole Lind, has four goals in five games for the Utica Comets. I like his upside.
Washington – This one was tough. As much as I would love to see TJ Oshie or Brenden Dillon back in Seattle, I just could not turn down Vitek Vanecek to round out the goalies.
Winnipeg –Sami Niku is someone we circled at the beginning of the season, even though he has not been able to crack the lineup on a regular basis.
Closing thoughts
This was much tougher than expected. There are too many NHL players on this team. The NHL roster size is limited, so I would probably look a little deeper into the AHL prospects and/or draft some UFAs on expiring contracts with the intent of letting them enter free agency.
Talentwise, the team is thin at center and center is not a place you want to be thin. In future iterations I would identify a few better centers to prioritize. The team isn’t going to be the juggernaut that Vegas was in the first year, but there are some solid pieces and I like the potential of some of the younger guys like Brett Howden, Max Jones, Kole Lind, Jake Bean, and Henri Jokiharju.
Lots to talk about on this week’s Sound Of Hockey Podcast, as John, Andy, and Darren break down NHL Outdoors and all the good/bad times that were associated with the picturesque event. The star of the show was predictably Gritty, who gets plenty of airtime devoted to him on this episode.
There were also a couple major scandals that erupted this week in the NHL. Artemi Panarin is taking a leave of absence from the Rangers after a big accusation out of Russia. Meanwhile, the Arizona Coyotes apparently have a lot of bad stuff happening behind the scenes, as was expertly reported by Katie Strang. The Sound Of Hockey guys fill you in on the details.
The guys give their Three Stars (all players this week!).
They then move from bits to segments, with segments including Let’s Get Quizzical, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
Lots to talk about on this week’s Sound Of Hockey Podcast, as John, Andy, and Darren break down NHL Outdoors and all the good/bad times that were associated with the picturesque event. The star of the show was predictably Gritty, who gets plenty of airtime devoted to him on this episode.
There were also a couple major scandals that erupted this week in the NHL. Artemi Panarin is taking a leave of absence from the Rangers after a big accusation out of Russia. Meanwhile, the Arizona Coyotes apparently have a lot of bad stuff happening behind the scenes, as was expertly reported by Katie Strang. The Sound Of Hockey guys fill you in on the details.
The guys give their Three Stars (all players this week!).
They then move from bits to segments, with segments including Let’s Get Quizzical, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
