The preseason is done, and the games will count from here on out, starting with the season opener in Calgary on Thursday. It’s difficult to extrapolate many insights from a shortened preseason when only the last two games resembled NHL lineups. It’s also worth noting that one of those games, the Kraken versus Flames preseason game on Thursday night, was basically the full NHL Kraken playing against Calgary’s AHL team.
The roster is set for now
The Kraken made their roster moves on Sunday to be roster compliant for the NHL deadline on Tuesday. Unfortunately, there weren’t many tough decisions to be made because the Kraken designated Mackie Samoskevich (day-to-day) and Jake O’Brien (week-to-week) to injured reserve.
As I see it, there are five bubble players: Ben Meyers, Curtis Douglas, Ville Ottavainen, Cale Fleury, and Josh Mahura. In my opinion, Fleury and Mahura’s spots are more secure, but the team could be concerned about losing the 24-year-old Ottavainen in a possible waiver claim.
Here is how the lines look going into the season:
I don’t expect those lines to stay intact for very long, but I did like the Winterton-Catton-Wright line on Saturday night against Vancouver.
Jake O’Brien status
The Kraken’s first-round selection from the 2025 NHL Draft played the first preseason game before being classified as injured. It was only one game, but he seemed much more NHL ready than I expected. He looked comfortable with the puck and made some nifty skilled plays that showcased his potential. The scouting report on O’Brien is high-end hockey sense and excellent vision. I anticipate he will be more of a playmaker, but his timing and positioning are top notch here in his preseason goal last Saturday.
I anticipate that, once healthy, he will be sent down to Coachella Valley. It would have been nice to see him play one of the final two preseason games against some tougher competition, which would have provided a better benchmark for his game and helped us understand just how “NHL ready” he really is.
Heading into Training Camp, I expected him to spend the entire season with the Firebirds, but there could be a scenario where he gets some NHL games later in the season.
Pack mentality
I don’t think every hard hit or questionable transgression requires a response or a scrap, but I did like the pack mentality that the team showed over those last two preseason games. To prove the doubters wrong, this team needs to be better than the sum of its parts. From everything I’ve heard around Training Camp and through different media outlets, it feels like there is a deliberate effort to build a better team commitment and culture on and off the ice from the players themselves.
This shows up in that pack mentality on the ice. It’s a “you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us” type response. It showed up when newcomer Mackie Samoskevich took a hit after a shot on net last Thursday. You also saw a response on Saturday when Ryan Winterton went after Elias Pettersson after he hit Shane Wright late in the third period.
Other musings
There are currently eight defensemen and 13 forwards on the roster. The Kraken only used eight unique defensemen but 19 different forwards all last season. Some of the guys sent down will certainly get an opportunity later this season.
Mackie Samoskevich is currently listed as day-to-day and on injured reserve. IR indicates he is out at least a week, though IR can be retroactive to when the injury occurred. So, it’s still possible he plays the opener.
Even if Samoskevich is out on Thursday, the Kraken will likely have five players under 24 in the lineup. That will be the most under-24 players the Kraken have suited up for a season opener in their six-season history.
Matty Beniers seems to be taking a bigger leadership role this season. When speaking to the media, he seems more assertive and vocal when talking about the team and eager to prove the pundits wrong.
The Kraken allowed two power-play goals against in four shorthanded situations on Saturday night. It was more like three power-play goals in those four opportunities since time expired right as Vancouver scored its fourth goal. That’s bad, and the penalty kill must improve this season, but it is way too early to freak out about the penalty kill.
Speaking of killing penalties, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard is going to be a regular NHLer very soon. He is starting the season in Coachella Valley, but he is knocking on the door right now.
In case you missed it, the Seattle Torrent’s first round pick “threw” out the first pitch at a White Sox game over the weekend.
USA Hockey Olympic gold medalist Abbey Murphy made the ceremonial first shot at the White Sox game 🏒 pic.twitter.com/OUYU9IWmlj
Bobby McMann (SEA) – I know it is just preseason, but Bobby McMann had a goal in each of his two preseason games. During his 18-game stint with the Kraken last season, he was on pace for 47 goals over an 84-game season. I would settle for 30 this season. Semyon Vyazovoi (SYU/SEA) – The Russian goaltender has five wins and two losses in the KHL this season, with two of those wins being shutouts. He is the Kraken’s most promising goaltending prospect in the system. Brandon Montour (SEA) – He had two goals and an assist in his two preseason games. Again, it’s just preseason, but it’s nice to see that Monty is starting the season healthy. (Check out Darren’s interview with Monty if you want to hear what he was dealing with last season.)
Goal of the week
I love this entire sequence.
The week ahead
The regular season kicks off for the Seattle Kraken on the road with a Thursday game against the Calgary Flames and then they face the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday in Edmonton before heading home for the home opener on Sunday in another game against the Flames.
The Flames are expected to be a bottom-five team in the league, but a lot of pundits are predicting the same for the Kraken. Meanwhile, predictions for Edmonton are all over the map, so who knows what to expect from them. The Kraken are a collective 4-14-1 against the Oilers in franchise history. Their last win in Edmonton was Jan. 3, 2023.
I am not expecting much from the game against the Oilers, but it is important to get a few points from the two games the Flames. The Kraken do have a back-to-back scenario over the weekend, but so do the Flames, so no excuses.
I will settle for three points out of the three games.
And finally
I know not many people are giving this team much of a chance this season, but I think the path is there if they can stay healthy. A full season of Bobby McMann should be an upgrade over what they got last year, Samoskevich adds another scoring threat, and I’m very excited to see what Catton can do in his second NHL season. If those things break the right way, I can see this group sticking around the playoff bubble. And if they’re still in the mix come March and April, anything can happen.
“Down on the Farm” is your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. This week we check in on the stock of several Seattle Kraken prospects who participated in camp and the first two preseason games. We’ll also pass along news on several camp reassignments, a Jake O’Brien injury update, and video and data from around the system.
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. Let’s dive in.
Kraken quickly assign youth to Firebirds camp amidst condensed NHL schedule
On Monday, the Kraken announced a series of transitions that trimmed the NHL roster to 27 players. We analyzed those moves in our Kraken Contracts Corner post on Tuesday. Among the “prospect” tier of players, only Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, Jake O’Brien, Ville Ottavainen, and Nikke Kokko remain in Seattle.
While the sweeping nature of these cuts and reassignments was a bit surprising, it may be indicative of the new normal moving forward—at least under the current front office. With the new CBA, a couple of significant changes likely affected the team’s approach.
The first change is the 84-game regular season. With that schedule adjustment comes the trimming of the preseason to just four games—and a commensurate overall tightening of camp. Something had to give, and for the Kraken, it was the initial evaluation window. Even with the “quick” cuts, the team had only just begun working on special teams units on Tuesday. With the first NHL game less than a week away, the team needs a smaller, more focused camp to have the veterans ready.
The second change relates to the preseason “veteran” rules, which Blaiz Grubic broke down on Wednesday. Under the new rules, teams have increased flexibility to load even more young players into any individual preseason game. This afforded the Kraken the opportunity to play lineups almost exclusively comprised of prospects during the first two preseason games and still reassign those players relatively “early.”
Under the new CBA, Jake O’Brien is a “veteran” for preseason purposes (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Kraken prospect preseason stock watch
Stock up: Oscar Fisker Mølgaard
Mølgaard was the best player on the ice during Rookie Camp and was the team’s clear best player during the team’s first preseason contest, Sep. 19 versus Vancouver. He also had a number of strong plays in the team’s veteran-heavy Sep. 24 game against Calgary.
While Mølgaard may not have one elite trait, he can contribute in all areas. He’s sound defensively; he brings penalty kill value; he is a skilled puck transporter through the neutral zone with speed and protection ability, and he filters pucks to his teammates in the offensive zone, usually in the slot, with deceptive and precise passes.
I’m likely in the minority, but his standout camp has me convinced Mølgaard can contribute more to winning right now than veterans like Freddy Gaudreau and Ben Meyers. I’d say the same thing about Curtis Douglas and Jacob Melanson, but they play different positions and roles, so it’s unlikely there is a one-for-one swap there. And all of this is before even considering the likelihood of continued development, which I believe will elevate him above some other veterans in the middle of this roster.
Mølgaard is too good to demote. He should be playing in the NHL. That said, I wouldn’t want him to sit as an extra for any extended period of time. If he’s not starting most games on the fourth line, he should go to the AHL and await a regular opportunity.
Stock up: Jagger Firkus
While Mølgaard was the team’s best player in its first preseason game, I’d give player-of-the-game honors for Seattle’s Sep. 20 game in Calgary to Firkus. Firkus showed what he needed to against mostly AHL-level competition in that game. He can be a volume-shooting wing who can get to his shot with transition vision and speed, savvy offensive-zone positioning, and illusiveness and feints on the puck to open up shooting angles that others cannot. He also contributed enough defensively high in the zone and along the walls to survive.
He’s not a “complete” player, and his game is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. For me, though, the only question is: can Firkus carry over a rough approximation of this same proven AHL game to the NHL? We won’t know that until he gets the chance. My hope is, one way or another, Firkus gets a run of third-line games at some point before the All-Star Break.
Check out Firkus’s shifts from the Sep. 20 game against Calgary below. He’s No. 57 in white.
Stock up: Ty Nelson
Nelson showed in camp and in the preseason games that he can be trusted with difficult defensive responsibilities in a way that distinguishes him from the team’s other top defense prospects right now. Add in the offensive instincts to activate and pinch when the play calls for it, and you have a player who can, at times, bring offense too—as he proved with goals in each of his two preseason contests.
“You can see the growth he’s taken from last [year’s] camp. He worked real hard last season, and he looks a lot more comfortable out there,” said Kraken assistant coach Aaron Schneekloth of Nelson. “He’s been a real good bright spot for us at camp.”
Stock up: David Goyette
Goyette was always noticeable at camp, flying to the puck on the forecheck. He plays with NHL pace and has upped his physicality to a passable level. After failing in his first effort as an offense-first player at the professional level, he has remade his game and should be commended for it.
He did well for himself in Seattle. Whether there is enough upside in this version of Goyette to climb to the NHL level or even earn regular AHL starts on a Firebirds roster is a different question. His skill impact at the AHL level is rungs below J.R. Avon, who also had a very nice camp.
Stock neutral: Tyson Jugnauth
The skating and puck possession ability showed elite flashes through camp and into the preseason. And with the puck on his stick, he can connect teammates and drive offensive sequences like an NHL defenseman.
The defense remains a problem, though. Interestingly, the in-zone issues didn’t show up as much in the limited preseason sample. And, on the better side, he showed more physicality on the boards and at the net front than he has ever demonstrated before. (Channeling that physicality toward effective results is the next step.) The defensive issues showed up more in terms of getting caught out of position (without forward coverage), which directly resulted in at least three odd-man rushes against following turnovers. He also took a poor interference penalty in transition defense.
The skill is there, but Jugnauth needs to show more defensively to be playable in the NHL.
Stock down: Eduard Sale
Sale had a couple of plus possession sequences and quick passes in the preseason contest, but overall his impact remains muted. Rarely does he hit landmarks off the puck to be a dangerous secondary option off a turnover or rebound. He offers little in the way of forechecking or defense. And he doesn’t show NHL-quality possession and manipulation skills to regularly get himself open for a shot or pass. Another relatively anonymous camp can’t be anything other than a “stock down” for Sale.
Stock down: Carson Rehkopf
Rehkopf showed a bit more forechecking desire and physicality as camp went on. Perhaps this is the secondary set of skills he needs to establish his skill game.
But overall, he was only slightly more noticeable than Sale. He struggles to protect the puck, which leads him to defer possession to others, and he struggles with his consistency off the puck, both offensively and defensively. Perhaps most telling, Rehkopf did not work in a half-wall role on the power play even during Rookie Camp. His impact was more muted as a net-front player. This neutralizes his most elite trait—his shot. It’s a very big season for Rehkopf, who needs to earn an offensive role, ideally one that includes ripping one-timers on the power play.
Notes on four other Kraken players
Jake O’Brien | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
As we detailed last week, we had suspicions that O’Brien had not been operating at full health. Nonetheless, he was a participant in training camp and the team’s first preseason game, which culminated in a goal for the 19-year-old.
On the downside, O’Brien did not come out of the game healthy. He was again ruled out day-to-day with a lower-body injury—presumably the same one that hampered him over the summer. He was back on the ice, skating separately in a red “no contact” jersey today, Friday, Sep. 25.
I was tempted to put O’Brien in the “stock down” category above due to the quiet camp outside of the preseason game, but I think it’s fairer to say it’s an “incomplete” grade given the injury. I suspect he will be reassigned to Coachella Valley camp when he is healthy enough to return to practice.
Loke Krantz | F | Linköping (SHL)
Krantz is skating with his SHL club to begin the year and has recorded his first goal.
#SeaKraken forward prospect Loke Krantz scores his first goal of the season in Linköping's Sep 22 SHL game against Brynäs. pic.twitter.com/rO73VqhHAf
Logan Morrison and J.R. Avon | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
It needs to be noted that throughout camp Morrison and Avon processed the game quickly, maximized their skill, and drove play against AHL-caliber competition. They stood out positively on a consistent basis. As older players with perceived lower ceilings, the question is: Do they ever get a real NHL chance with Seattle?
Ville Ottavainen | D | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
Ottavainen may have been in consideration for the “stock up” category, given that he has remained with the team as the last defenseman prospect deep into camp. However, he was involved in an incident in the most recent Calgary game that puts a damper on things. Ottavainen took a bad hit from Brennan Othmann in the Sep. 20 Calgary game and then another hit from the same player in the Sep. 24 Calgary game. Even so, tackling and pummeling Othmann while he’s on the ice and not squared up for the fight was out of line.
Though Lane Lambert suggested he was OK with it, it was a suspension-worthy sequence in my opinion. As it turns out, Ottavainen escaped with only a game misconduct and a fine. If there is a silver lining, I wonder if the incident lessens interest in the player when and if he goes on waivers (if there was any such interest to begin with).
Kraken prospects data update
Ola Palme leads the Kraken organization in overall scoring with three assists in four games.
Victor Fyodorov added another goal this week and leads the organization with two so far on the season.
Kim Saarinen had a strong week, posting a .947 save percentage and 1.51 goals against average in two Liiga starts. He is fourth in Liiga in save percentage among goalies with at least five starts. He is also your Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week.
Visa Vedenpaa made his first Liiga start of the year this week. He figures to be the backup for Kärpät again this season.
Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker
1: Viktor Fyodorov, Kim Saarinen, Semyon Vyzaovoi
Previewing the week ahead
Your Deep Sea Hockey Game of the Week is actually a game not on the schedule below. The Coachella Valley Firebirds play their one and only preseason game on Sunday, Sep. 27, against the Ontario Reign. The game will not be broadcast, according to Firebirds Director of Communications and play-by-play announcer Evan Pivnick. So, we’ll have to look to the Firebirds’ PR staff for any updates.
Tracking 2027 NHL Draft prospects: Jonah Neuenschwander*
Neuenschwander is a tall Swiss-born forward playing his second season at Switzerland’s top professional level, the National League. Neuenschwander brings physicality and offensive skill, including a quality shot. He’s a natural center but has experience on the wing at the professional level already. He will need to see development in his agility, edgework, and overall pace to ascend the professional ranks. In a draft with a number of older players, his March birthday puts him on the younger end of the spectrum.
Right now, Neuenschwander projects as a top-10 pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. He is the left-shot center wearing No. 19 in white in the video below.
*I can’t prove it, but I’ll tell you I spelled that correctly on my first attempt.
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.
In a game that had a little bit of everything, the actual Seattle Kraken — the majority of whom will be in the lineup come Opening Night — took down the Calgary Flames 4-3 in a shootout Thursday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
And despite most of the lineup being regulars, the Kraken let the Flames, who played with a group of largely inexperienced players at the NHL level, hang around.
It would be more concerning if it wasn’t the preseason. But good news, everyone! It is still preseason!
Here are Three Takeaways.
Takeaway 1: Shaking off the rust
For most of the Kraken roster, this was the first game they had played together in over five months. The first couple of periods of the night, the rust was apparent. But with the games in the preseason not counting in the standings, Kraken head coach Lane Lambert would rather have the mistakes and growing pains come now versus when the games count.
“A lot of guys on our team hadn’t played a game for quite a while, and it showed,” Lambert said. “I thought we got better and a little bit more connected in the third, but for the most part, a lot of stuff that we’ve been talking about in Training Camp about playing with speed and putting on pressure, we establish that tonight the way we want to. So, we will continue to build.”
Ryker Evans’ charge down toward the goal late in the third period tied things up before Matty Beniers and Berkly Catton helped win it in the shootout. Evans recognized the importance of a game like this in creating early chemistry and helping lessen the corrosion, even if it’s against a team without many NHL regulars.
“They came out to play, and we’re just getting their feet under us,” Evans said. “It was good to get the cobwebs off there. I think by the second period, especially the third, we kind of started to play our game. But it’s always good to get the first one out of the way.”
Takeaway 2: Chippiest of chippiness
It doesn’t matter if it’s the preseason; if you’re a Seattle Kraken player, chances are you HATE seeing the red, white and yellow jerseys of the Calgary Flames. While people might go with the logical Vancouver or Vegas as their biggest rivals, I’d venture a guess Calgary’s pretty high on that disdain list for many players in the Seattle locker room.
Trying to describe the chippiness in the second period is a tall task, but let’s give it a shot.
It all started with the Kraken on the power play, of all things. Flames defenseman Chase Harrington caught Mackie Samoskevich with a hit up high that sparked a skirmish towards center ice. Samoskevich was slow getting up off the ice, though he looked fine through the rest of the game.
Then, an awkward hit by Flames center Sam Morton on Chandler Stephenson spurred Vince Dunn and company to respond.
The talk of the night, though, has to be Ville Ottavainen and his sucker punches of Flames left-winger Brennan Othmann. Othmann, who had two assists on the night, also checked him hard during Sunday’s game in Calgary.
Chaos ensued thereafter. Ottavainen is a player who’s on the cusp of making the team out of Training Camp, but for Lambert, he didn’t have trouble with how he responded.
“I didn’t mind it,” Lambert said. “Othmann ran him in Calgary with a high hit and got kicked out of the game. So, really good job by Otto to respond to that. I don’t have a problem with that at all.”
There were 16 total penalties in the second, totaling over 40 minutes of box time. Getting it all out of the way now seemed to be the messaging.
“Not a bad thing for sure,” Lambert said, joking there was everything but a 5-on-3 power play or 4-on-4 to go off of tonight. “It was a good opportunity to take a couple of looks at a couple of things that we’ve been talking about.”
Takeaway 3: Mackie Samoskevich making an immediate impact
It’s no secret the Kraken have needed a spark offensively, especially with its top line. The Kraken got a little sneak peek of what Mackie Samoskevich could potentially bring to that group.
He was quick with his up-ice rushes and tried a lot of leading passes. We saw some of that Michigan Wolverine chemistry with Beniers tonight, too.
“It was fun,” Beniers said. “He’s got a lot of speed. He’s got a lot of skill. He makes a lot of plays. So I thought we worked well together out there and had a lot of speed coming up the ice together.”
When the Kraken cut the deficit to 3-2 in the third period courtesy of a Brandon Montour laser beam, Samoskevich was the one that stripped the puck from a Flames attacker in the neutral zone, then immediately turned up ice to create the forechecking opportunity that led to the goal.
“He’s got speed coming up the ice, and we have to continue to use that,” Lambert said. “I thought he did a really good job on Montour’s goal. We just need to keep using his speed.”
The Kraken weren’t as far away from a playoff spot last season as their final standing might suggest. Yes, there were plenty of frustrating nights, and the brutal home stretch where they couldn’t seem to get out of their own way. But they were still hanging around the playoff race into March despite injuries, a league-worst penalty kill, and an offense that struggled to score consistently. Making the playoffs this season doesn’t require a miracle. It just requires a handful of reasonable things breaking in Seattle’s favor.
Here are five reasonable things that need to go right for the Kraken this season.
Stay healthy
This feels like the obvious one, but it also might be the most important. Over the last few seasons, the Kraken have dealt with more than their fair share of injuries. Every team goes through it, and “next man up” sounds great in theory. The problem is that Seattle simply hasn’t had the kind of NHL-ready depth that allows a team to absorb multiple significant injuries without feeling the effects.
Last season, Kaapo Kakko, Brandon Montour, Jaden Schwartz, and Jared McCann all missed time. In the cases of McCann and Montour, both players ultimately played through injuries that impacted their effectiveness even when they were in the lineup. If you want an idea of what Montour was dealing with, Darren’s recent one-on-one with him is worth a watch.
One thing that has stood out during Training Camp so far is that both McCann and Montour appear healthy and are fully participating. That may not sound like much, but it is already a better starting point than a year ago.
The Kraken don’t need perfect health. No team gets that. They just need their best players available for most of the season.
The young guys need to take meaningful steps
Player development isn’t always linear, and the Kraken are banking on several young players taking the next step in their careers this season. Berkly Catton is at the top of that list. Given the options available to him last season (NHL or WHL, but not AHL), sticking with the Kraken was probably the right place for him rather than another year in Spokane. While I wouldn’t describe his season as a struggle, there were stretches where finishing chances proved difficult. Even so, he consistently showed flashes of the high-end skill that made him one of the organization’s most exciting prospects.
The encouraging part wasn’t necessarily the production. It was how often the talent was apparent. There were plenty of moments where Catton created offense, made plays in tight spaces, and demonstrated that his skill set can translate to the NHL. The Kraken don’t need Catton to become a superstar this season. They just need him to be more comfortable, more confident, and a little more productive than he did a year ago.
The same general principle applies across the roster. Whether it’s Catton, Shane Wright continuing his ascent, or younger players solidifying everyday roles, Seattle needs its internal improvement to supplement its offseason additions.
The new guys need to fit in immediately
A year ago, one of the biggest disappointments was Mason Marchment. The Kraken acquired him to add offense and a bit of nastiness, but the fit never really materialized. At various points of his brief stint in Seattle, he looked disconnected from the flow of the lineup, and the production wasn’t there. By mid-December, Seattle had moved on.
That situation serves as a reminder that acquiring talent and successfully integrating talent are two different things. This year’s newcomers need to be different. The biggest name in that group is Mackie Samoskevich. Samoskevich arrives from Florida with plenty of upside and the possibility of flourishing with a larger role than he may have received with the Panthers. The Kraken don’t need him to lead the team in scoring, but if he can hit the 20-goal mark, that would provide a significant boost for a team that finished 28th in goals scored last season.
I’m also including Bobby McMann in the “new guy” category, even though he appeared in the final 18 games of last season. McMann was an immediate fit. He scored 10 goals in those 18 games and seemed comfortable instantly. Of course, expecting that pace over a full season would be unrealistic. Maintaining a 47-goal pace is something reserved for the league’s elite scorers, but if McMann can give the Kraken 25 to 30 goals over the course of a season, that changes the complexion of the lineup.
Remember, the Kraken have had exactly one 30-goal scorer in franchise history: that was Jared McCann’s 40-goal campaign during the magical 2022-23 season. Finding another legitimate scoring threat would go a long way toward helping an offense that has frequently struggled to generate enough goals.
The penalty kill has to improve
There is no way around this one. The Kraken finished 31st in the NHL with a 72.2 percent penalty kill last season. It started poorly, stayed poor, and consistently hurt them throughout the year. If there was a whiteboard in the coaches’ offices this summer listing priorities for 2026-27, improving the penalty kill had to be at the top of the list.
What makes the situation particularly frustrating is that the margins were already so thin. The Kraken lost 24 games by one goal last season, excluding empty-net goals. That was the seventh-highest total in the NHL.
You don’t need a dramatic special teams turnaround to swing a handful of those results. Even a modest improvement could mean a few extra wins, which would mean several additional standings points. And a few additional standings points could be the difference between meaningful hockey in April and another early offseason.
The penalty kill doesn’t need to become elite. It simply can’t remain near the bottom of the league.
Take it personally
Professional athletes love finding motivation. Sometimes it comes from a playoff loss. Sometimes it comes from being overlooked. Sometimes it comes from a perceived slight.
The Kraken should have plenty of material to work with. We don’t need to rehash the entire Jason Robertson saga, but the Kraken, its fans, and the city itself absorbed more than a few shots this summer after Robertson turned down a deal that reportedly would have paid him $15 million per season. The specific reasons for Robertson’s decision were never disclosed. Maybe it was about competitive outlook, maybe it wasn’t, but either way, the narrative quickly became that Seattle wasn’t a desirable destination and wasn’t a team worth betting on. That’s the kind of thing a locker room should remember.
Beyond that, national media projections have been largely dismissive of the Kraken heading into this season. Despite remaining in the playoff race into early March last year, despite making changes to the roster, and despite playing in a division that arguably got weaker over the offseason, many preseason predictions have Seattle finishing near the bottom of the standings once again.
We shall see if those projections are correct or not. Not that outside opinions decide games, but players have a way of finding motivation wherever they can. And few things are as motivating as proving people wrong.
Final thoughts
None of these things are particularly outrageous. The Kraken don’t need career years from a bunch of players. They don’t need everything to break perfectly in their favor.
They need reasonable health. They need growth from their young players. They need their additions to fit. They need a competent penalty kill. And they need to embrace the idea that almost nobody believes in them.
If those five things happen, the Kraken should find themselves right back in the playoff conversation. And this time, they might just stay there.
Last month, we examined the top 300 NHL-affiliated skater prospects using only scoring data and other quantifiable measures. Today, we have a follow-on look at the top 30 NHL-affiliated goalie prospects. We’ll also have a post script addressing how the goalie rankings affect our earlier ranking of the 32 team prospect pools. Let’s dive in.
Goalie list eligibility
To be eligible for this list, the goalie (1) must be on the roster or reserve list of an NHL team, (2) must be younger than 25 years old as of Sep. 1, 2026, and (3) cannot have appeared in more than 30 NHL games. These thresholds are slightly different than those used for skater prospects, but intended to track inherent differences in goalie development timelines and goalie games played patterns. The approach yielded 137 goalies. The full list will be made available to Sound Of Hockey Patreon members shortly.
As with our skater analysis, this list is not a traditional scouting assessment of goalies. Instead, our goal was to build a list based only on quantifiable measures. The hope is that it would be a valuable supplement (but not a replacement for) the scouting and analytical work on prospects being published by other sources like Elite Prospects. Ideally, it is revealing in its areas of agreement or disagreement with the work of traditional scouting services. Keep scrolling down for a deep dive on our list-making methodology.
Top 30 NHL-affiliated goalie prospects
There are a few names near the top of the list that frequently surface on scouting assessments of top NHL-affiliated goalies, including Jacob Fowler, Sergei Murashov, and Joshua Ravensbergen to name a few. At the same time there are a few (typically European) goalies who are less-frequently discussed. These goalies include Semyon Vyazovoi and Kim Saarinen of the Seattle Kraken, Yevgeni Volokhin of the Montreal Canadiens, and, to some extent, Dmitri Gamzin of the New York Islanders.
Revisiting our prospect pool rankings
When accounting for these goalie prospects as well, we’d make some minor adjustments near the top of our prospect pool rankings. With two top-ten goaltenders, the Utah Mammoth (previously #5) would leapfrog the Nashville Predators and land at No. 4 overall, joining the S Tier. With two top-five goalies, the Kraken (previously #8) would move up to No. 7 on the list, joining the A Tier. And, finally, the Canadiens (previously #14) would move up to No. 8 and also join the A Tier on the strength of their two top-ten goalies.
Goalie analysis methodology
What does our data-only analysis involve? For our analysis of skaters, we used scoring points adjusted first and foremost with an NHL equivalency (“NHLe”). NHLe is a method to compare the scoring proficiency of players in the various professional and junior leagues across the globe. (I used Thibaud Chatel’s model, which is the most up-to-date public research in the area. Check out Chatel’s Substack for an in-depth discussion of NHLe.) We then made additional adjustments linked to probable NHL success.
For goalies, we look to the best efficacy indicator we have: save percentage. If we had detailed shot type and location data for non-NHL leagues we could employ a more sophisticated expected goals model for both skaters and goalies. Absent that information, the best we can do is to adjust save percentage for league context. We did this with a two-step process.
First, we calculated each goalie’s 2025-26 season goals saved above average (“GSAA”). This begins by calculating the league average save percentage for each league. By multiplying this figure times the total number of shots a goalie faced, you generate an “average” number of goals allowed for that goalie. You then net that figure from the goalie’s actual goals allowed and you have the goalie’s GSAA. (Again, this differs from “goals saved above expected” because it does not account for the specific context of where those shots were coming from. This can vary from goalie to goalie and team to team based on quality of skater defense and other factors. But GSAA is the best we can do with public data.)
Second, we need to make an adjustment for the strength of league because we know that 10 goals saved above expected in the AHL is more impressive and predictive of NHL success than a similar figure in the WHL, for example. Presumably, analysts could develop a similar “NHLe” for goalie prospect save percentage, but that research is not well developed in the public sphere. For our crude purposes, we used the traditional skater NHLe as a stand in for league strength.
From there, we made further adjustments linked to goalie success rates, beginning with height and age. We also made a minor adjustment to level up the GSAA (which is counting statistic) for the small handful of goalies playing in leagues with relatively short schedules. For our purposes, that resulted in a small enhancement for the NCAA goalies only.
As with our skater presentation, only one team-season of data is shown in the list above for each player. It should be the highest level reached where the player played at least ten games. That said, if a goalie split his season between multiple teams and/or leagues, all of that save data is accounted for in the ranking.
* * *
Did we miss a player? Do you have any questions? Reach out to us in the comments below or on Twitter/X @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey or on BlueSky at @deepseahockey or @soundofhockey.com.
Header photo of Kim Saarinen by Brian Liesse.
Curtis Isacke
Curtis is a Sound Of Hockey contributor and member of the Kraken press corps. Curtis is an attorney by day, and he has read the NHL collective bargaining agreement and bylaws so you don’t have to. He can be found analyzing the Kraken, NHL Draft, and other hockey topics on Twitter and Bluesky @deepseahockey.
The Seattle Kraken opened the preseason with a bang, winning their first two games with a very young roster dressing both nights. Watching the Kraken this past weekend, I started counting the NHL players on the ice between them and their opponents, the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday and Calgary Flames on Sunday, which had me scratching my head.
The NHL requires teams to dress at least eight veterans for every preseason game. However, the new collective bargaining agreement, which took effect Sept. 16, expanded the definition of a preseason veteran. A player now qualifies by meeting any one of these criteria:
At least 100 career NHL game
At least 30 NHL games in the previous season
At least 400 combined career AHL and NHL games (New)
A first-round pick from the past five drafts (New)
A second-round pick from the past three drafts (New)
Previously, a player qualified with at least 100 career NHL games, 30 NHL games in the previous season, or as a first-round pick from the most recent draft.
Under the new agreement, the following Kraken prospects qualify based on their draft status:
First-round picks from the past five drafts: Chase Reid (2026, but he is playing at Michigan State and is not in camp), Jake O’Brien (2025), Berkly Catton (2024), Eduard Sale (2023), and Shane Wright (2022).
Second-round picks from the past three drafts: Casey Mutryn (2026, Boston College), Blake Fiddler (2025, University of Denver), Julius Miettinen (2024), and Nathan Villeneuve (2024).
Preseason games
With these rules, Seattle dressed 11 “veteran”-qualified players against Vancouver on Sept. 19 and the minimum eight against Calgary on Sept. 20.
Veterans against Vancouver: Freddy Gaudreau, John Hayden, Jacob Melanson, Ben Meyers, Julius Miettinen, Jake O’Brien, Eduard Sale, Cale Fleury, Ryan Lindgren, Josh Mahura, and Joey Daccord.
Veterans against Calgary: Curtis Douglas, John Hayden, Eduard Sale, Mitchell Stephens, Nathan Villeneuve, Ryan Winterton, Victor Olofsson, and Philipp Grubauer.
Two preseason games maximum
Players with at least 100 NHL games can appear in no more than two preseason games. John Hayden played in both games over the weekend and has appeared in 272 NHL games. He was placed on waivers Monday with the intention of assigning him to Coachella Valley, but if he had stayed in camp, he would not have been eligible to play the remaining two preseason games.
Sale also played in both games, but he has not appeared in an NHL game. He remains eligible for all four preseason contests, but he too was sent down. It’s the same story for second-round picks Jani Nyman and Jagger Firkus.
The following players have appeared in one preseason game and are eligible to appear in one more: Gaudreau, Meyers, Fleury, Lindgren, Mahura, Daccord, and Grubauer, as well as Gustav Olofsson and Mitchell Stephens, who are no longer in camp.
Two down, two to go
The NHL’s expanded 84-game schedule reduced preseason play from six games to four. With two wins in hand, the Kraken now move into their final two exhibitions.
Seattle held a non-game-group practice Sept. 20, and the Sound Of Hockey Twitter intern was onsite and got a look at the forward lines.
These forward lines look much closer to what we could see on Opening Night against Calgary on Oct. 1. Expect more of these players over the final two preseason games as the Kraken work to finalize their roster.
Looking ahead
Most players from the first two games are headed to the AHL, but their performances offer plenty to anticipate in Coachella Valley. The Seattle Kraken confirmed that with their massive first round of cuts on Monday.
The #SeaKraken have reassigned the following players to the Coachella Valley @Firebirds:
Alexis Bernier Lukas Dragicevic Ryden Evers Jagger Firkus David Goyette Kaden Hammell Tyson Jugnauth Andrei Loshko Julius Miettinen Ty Nelson Jani Nyman Caden Price Carson Rehkopf Lleyton…
Even though they were just excused from camp, two players that stood out to me are Logan Morrison and Ty Nelson.
Morrison went undrafted and has spent three years in Coachella Valley. He led the Firebirds with 61 points last season and has three points, including two goals and an assist, through two preseason games. He also earned three-star honors in both games.
At 24, Morrison is not exactly overlooked, but younger prospects tend to draw more attention. His preseason has been a good reminder of what he can bring.
Nelson scored two goals in the first two preseason games. He led Firebirds defensemen with 11 goals last season and ranked second on the blue line with 35 points. His leadership also stood out at Rookie and Development Camps, with him wearing the “C” when Kraken prospects faced the Vancouver Canucks in the Prospects Challenge. During preseason games, he has been vocal between whistles, directing teammates into position and checking in with the goaltender.
Several players have shown they are knocking on the door and could push for NHL opportunities during the grueling 84-game schedule.
If you have questions or comments, please leave them below.
Blaiz Grubic
Blaiz Grubic is a contributor at Sound Of Hockey. A passionate hockey fan and player for over 30 years, Blaiz grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is an alumni of Washington State University (Go Cougs!). When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about hockey, he enjoys quality time with his wife and daughter or getting out on a golf course for a quick round. Follow @blaizg on BlueSky or X.
On Monday, Sep. 21, the Kraken announced the first wave of Training Camp cuts and reassignments. In today’s edition of Kraken Contracts Corner, we’ll break down those moves and then pick up with Part II of our two-part series grading the Seattle Kraken’s significant offseason signings. We’ll then conclude with a few other contract odds and ends you need to know as the Kraken continue preparing for the season.
Seattle Kraken trim camp roster to 27 players
After two preseason games that gave the coaching staff an opportunity to see several of the team’s prospects up close, the Kraken announced a number of transactions Monday morning that trimmed the NHL Training Camp roster.
Following those moves, there are 23 “veterans” still in camp, including “roster-bubble” veterans Curtis Douglas, Ben Meyers, Jacob Melanson, Cale Fleury, and Josh Mahura. There are also four younger players still with the NHL team: Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, Jake O’Brien, Ville Ottavainen, and Nikke Kokko. I suspect that Mølgaard is the only player in the younger group who has a chance to stick around and displace a veteran on the initial roster, absent an injury.
Going through the transactions, the Kraken reassigned defensemen Finn Kearns, Rylan Singh, and Will Reynolds to their junior clubs, as expected. The team also released Brody Gillespie and Maks Corovic from their Rookie Camp tryouts. Gillespie and Corovic will rejoin their respective junior clubs, too, and again be draft eligible in 2027.
The Kraken’s other moves are intended to send players to the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The following 16 players are waivers-exempt and were assigned to the AHL directly:
D Alexis Bernier
D Tyson Jugnauth
F Carson Rehkopf
D Lukas Dragicevic
F Andrei Loshko
F Lleyton Roed
F Ryden Evers
F Julius Miettinen
F Eduard Sale
F Jagger Firkus
D Ty Nelson
F Nathan Villeneuve
F David Goyette
F Jani Nyman
D Kaden Hammell
D Caden Price
It was surprising to see some of these players sent down so early, but this is a product of the shorter Training Camp this season.
The most interesting transactions are the players who, due to age and service time, require waivers to be assigned to the Firebirds:
F J.R. Avon
F Logan Morrison
F John Hayden
G Victor Ostman
Other teams have a 24-hour window to claim any one of these players off waivers. If unclaimed, the players will report to Firebirds camp. Ottavainen will also require waivers if he does not make the NHL team, as would any of the bubble “veterans” listed above. O’Brien, Mølgaard, and Kokko are waivers-exempt.
Finally, the following four players are signed to AHL contracts and will now report directly to Firebirds camp following their release from NHL camp agreements:
F Justin Janicke
D Gustav Olofsson
F Ian McKinnon
F Mitchell Stephens
Grading the offseason signings
Curtis Douglas signs a two-year, $1.25 million AAV UFA contract on signed Jul. 1, 2026
The takeaway
Rugged forward depth and roster competition at a bubble NHL-AHL rate.
Details
Market analysis
Douglas was a “Group Six” unrestricted free agent on Jul. 1. Most often, a player becomes an unrestricted free agent when his contract first expires after his 27th birthday. Douglas, 26, became a free agent earlier because he was over 25 years old, had played more than three “professional seasons,” and had accumulated fewer than 80 NHL games.
For our comparables, we looked at unrestricted free agents between 25 and 29 years old with at least 20 NHL games played but fewer than five goals and 10 points in their last season preceding free agency. Since much of what Douglas trades on is his physicality, we also required that the player have at least 30 hits in that season. (Douglas had 64 for the Canucks last season in 43 combined games between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vancouver Canucks.)
This returned a list of 28 comparable contracts from the last four offseasons. The deals averaged 1.5 years in length and were valued near the league minimum at 1.1 percent of the Year 1 salary cap. The Kraken gave Douglas a two-year contract at 1.2 percent of the cap. Both figures are just slightly above average, meaning favorable to the player.
Context analysis
The Kraken clearly valued Douglas’s very specific physical profile. In a way, it’s hard to separate the Douglas signing from the next one we’ll discuss, Jacob Melanson. They will likely push each other for the same checking role, and the loser may find himself on the outside of the NHL roster looking in. I suspect the team would prefer that Melanson emerges victorious and Douglas is AHL depth, but Douglas at least protects against a “sophomore slump” for Melanson. Both players have the same marching orders (whether express or not): Play sound defensive hockey, but protect the team’s top young players when necessary.
If Douglas does not make the NHL team, Douglas would require waivers to go to the AHL. The two-year term could dissuade a potential claimant. If or when Douglas is in the AHL, he would only count $50,000 against the Year 1 NHL salary cap, with the remainder “buried” in the minors.
Grade: C+
Even if the term or value may be slightly high, it was likely necessary to secure the player. We are essentially talking about rounding errors in the big picture. And one could argue it’s really a one-year deal because Douglas’s contract could be fully buried in the AHL for the 2027-28 season without cap consequence.
Jacob Melanson signs a three-year, $1.45 million AAV RFA contract on Sep. 4, 2026
The takeaway
Finding precedents for this contract is difficult. It’s a unique contract for a uniquely physical player.
Details
Market analysis
Melanson has played in only 37 NHL games, with 36 of them coming last season. He has two goals and three assists at the NHL level, all during the 2025-26 season. At the AHL level, he has played parts of three seasons, never topping 19 points in any campaign.
Typically, when a 23-year-old restricted free-agent forward with this resume goes to the negotiating table, he is bargaining for guarantees on a two-way contract or maybe a multi-year term.
We know Melanson’s case is different. Scoring really isn’t his value proposition. He is a fourth-line forechecker, and his speed and physicality do create advantages for his team when he is out there. Teams rarely pay for that skill set, though. The player has to be special in his contributions. Brandon Tanev is a player who earned a big contract playing this way, but the examples are few and far between.
Over the last four seasons, there were 16 contracts for RFA forwards aged 21 to 26 with 20 or more NHL games but fewer than five goals and five assists in their last season before the contract. Until June 2026, none of those contracts were worth more than $1,000,000 annually or more than 1.02 percent of the cap. Only four players had received three-year contracts, with the rest two- or one-year terms.
Between June and Melanson’s signing in September, however, two interesting contracts were signed:
Zach Ostapchuk signed with the Sharks in June for four years and 2.26 percent of the cap; he had four goals and three assists in 59 NHL games last season.
Ville Koivunen signed with the Penguins in August for eight years and 3.85 percent of the cap; he had two goals and five assists in 39 NHL games last season.
Koivunen is a different kind of player; the Penguins are clearly betting long-term on middle-six scoring upside after the player posted 56 points in the AHL in 2024-25 and 41 points in 34 AHL games last season. Melanson is unlikely to score like that.
Ostapchuk may be a more revealing comparison, though. Similar in age to Melanson, he also fits more of a checking profile, with 140 hits in 2025-26. Though this falls well short of Melanson’s hit rate (more on this in a moment), it’s notable physicality. Beyond that, Ostapchuk has a longer track record than Melanson, with 122 total NHL games played.
All told, even when accounting for Koivunen and Ostapchuk, Melanson’s comparable contracts were for 2.4 years and 1.18 percent of the cap. Melanson signed well above those marks, getting a three-year deal worth 1.39 percent of the cap.
Why? Melanson’s money-maker is his physicality. Melanson’s career mark of 33.2 hits per 60 minutes leads all NHL players with at least 10 games played going back at least 50 years. (I stopped looking at that point.) His 33.5 hits per 60 minutes last season led the league and would have led any individual season going back at least 10 years among all players with at least 10 games played. (I stopped looking at that point.) You get the idea.
This makes him such a unique case. How does the league value this type of physicality from a young restricted free agent? We just don’t have recent precedent for it. Ostapchuk is our best evidence that other teams are willing to pay for it like Seattle did here.
Melanson will still be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights when this deal expires in 2029.
Context analysis
Melanson’s value may ebb and flow depending on the matchup and flow of a game, but he has the ability to change a game’s course with a high-energy shift or bone-crunching hit. There’s no other forward on the roster (except for perhaps Douglas, now) who can do that. It makes him a good fit as the team’s 12th (or perhaps 13th) forward. His relative youth also works in his favor. The team surely hopes he’ll be able to hold up his physical play for at least the next three years.
While it is a “big” contract for the type of player Melanson is, it’s also a very modest sum in the grand scheme and won’t prevent the team from doing anything else it wants to do contract-wise.
Grade: C+
This deal seems like a concession by the Kraken in the direction of unique contract demands by a unique player. The Kraken didn’t “win” the deal, but it’s also not necessary to do so. Squeezing every penny on these restricted free-agent deals may not always be the right play—particularly so given the team’s ample cap space—when the downside is alienating the player.
Contract odds and ends
Assuming he is not claimed, goalie Victor Ostman will play this season in Coachella Valley on a one-year contract. After the season ends, he will be a Group Six unrestricted free agent unless the Kraken re-sign him sooner or he plays in 26 NHL games this season (adding to his two previous NHL games).
The rule change allowing 19-year-old first-round picks from the CHL to play in the AHL will be in effect for this coming season. Jake O’Brien is almost certain to be the Kraken’s first such assignment taking advantage of this rule.
Teams had until 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 15 to sign players to contracts under the previous CBA. Since that time, certain deal structures are no longer allowed. The maximum term for re-signing a team’s own player is now seven years, not eight. And certain front-loaded and bonus-heavy deal structures are no longer permissible. Unlike several other teams around the league, the Kraken did not get any last contracts “under the wire.” The players who were technically eligible for such a deal included Jared McCann, Vince Dunn, Ryker Evans, Shane Wright, and Philipp Grubauer.
Curtis Isacke
Curtis is a Sound Of Hockey contributor and member of the Kraken press corps. Curtis is an attorney by day, and he has read the NHL collective bargaining agreement and bylaws so you don’t have to. He can be found analyzing the Kraken, NHL Draft, and other hockey topics on Twitter and Bluesky @deepseahockey.
The “Seattle Kraken” came away with a pair of 4-2 preseason wins this weekend over the “Vancouver Canucks” at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday and the “Calgary Flames” at the not-long-for-this-world Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday.
The quotation marks around the three team names feel necessary for context, because none of the involved clubs iced anything close to NHL lineups in either game. Instead, lots of youngsters got looks. Eight Kraken skaters (plus Nikke Kokko) dressed both nights to get a proper chance to show team brass why they deserve a shot with the big club, either out of camp or later in the season.
Here are Three Takeaways from a pair of 4-2 Kraken wins over the Canucks and Flames.
Takeaway 1: Bubble players making their cases
At this point, it’s no secret which players are fighting for the last couple NHL roster spots, with guys like Jani Nyman, Jagger Firkus, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, Ty Nelson, Tyson Jugnauth, and Logan Morrison all with designs on staying in the Pacific Northwest when camp breaks in a little over a week (I LOVE the shorter camp, by the way).
It has not surprised me to see Mølgaard putting together solid performances in Rookie Camp and Training Camp, especially after he was downright effective in his 13 NHL games last season.
But my eyebrows have been raised the most by Ty Nelson. The always affable and well-spoken 22-year-old defenseman scored both nights on a pair of great reads to step up at exactly the right time.
On Saturday, a loose puck skittered to the top of the slot, where Nelson was on it in a flash, picked his spot, and quickly snapped a blistering shot past Vancouver goalie Nikita Tolopilo. On Sunday, with a rush developing between Morrison and Nyman, Nelson jumped into the play to create a 3-on-1 advantage. Morrison—who racked up three points on the weekend—made a nice backhand dish to Nelson, who dusted it off and sniped it past Devin Cooley.
Ty Nelson continues making a strong case for himself, scoring his second goal in two nights.
Good read to join the rush and another nice finish. Logan Morrison with another nice play too.
Meanwhile, all of the aforementioned players have contributed in some way offensively, including Mølgaard, who has shown nice flashes of creativity.
“I thought Oscar was really good [Saturday], I thought Firkus was really good,” coach Lane Lambert said at practice on Sunday morning. “Morrison’s good— Morrison understands the game. I thought [Ville Ottovainen] played well, and I thought [Cale Fleury] and [Josh Mahura] both played well as well. So there’s a variation of guys— I thought Jani Nyman, for me… it’s really good for Jani this year, coming in here for a second year with me because I think he has a lot better understanding of our systems and things like that.”
As for Nelson, Lambert said after the game Sunday: “He certainly has a little bit of a knack for joining offensively, but [he has a] really good head on his shoulders defensively, and he skates well so he can close quickly. And that’s important to be able to do in this league because if you don’t, and you’re a step behind, the puck ends up in the back of your net.”
The decisions on who should take those last spots on the initial roster will be encouragingly difficult for the Kraken coaching staff and front office. I wondered about the team’s depth going into the season, so knowing this many players look like they can at least fill in if needed gives reason for optimism.
Takeaway 2: Strong starts for Kraken goaltending
I seem to recall some starts to past preseasons where Kraken goaltending has created more questions than answers.
Now, Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer have each started a game and played two periods before being replaced by Nikke Kokko to close things out. It can be a process for goalies to get their timing back when they hit game speeds, so having Daccord and Grubauer both look sharp in their respective outings is a very good sign.
Daccord was tested early Saturday with a point-blank shot from the right circle that he calmly kicked out of danger. He tracked it well and controlled his rebound, then looked dialed in for all 14 of his saves on 14 Vancouver shots.
“He played very well,” Lambert said. “I thought he was square, and I thought he was quick, focused, and I thought he moved the puck real well. So it was nice to see him play well.”
Grubauer followed that up with a solid performance of his own, allowing one goal from the middle of the slot to Aydar Suniev, who scored twice for the Flames (his other goal came in the third period against Kokko). Grubauer also got some puck luck early when a shot went through his legs and hit the far post, though he sprawled to get a piece of that one too.
“Yeah, he was good,” Lambert said. “I think they were crashing the net pretty hard, and I think there were quite a few shots that he didn’t, maybe, see. But that was a good test for him right off the hop to get some traffic like that and have to battle through it. I thought he looked good. I think him and Joey have both looked good.”
Takeaway 3: Lineup already taking shape?
Though we’re only four days into Training Camp, we can already see the Opening Night roster starting to take shape. On Sunday morning, the team had two groups on the ice, but the players heading to Calgary—which included all the bubble players plus Ryan Winterton (I don’t think Winterton is on the bubble anymore)—did not skate at Kraken Community Iceplex.
Instead, the first group was made up almost entirely of players I would consider to be “regulars” (the lone non-regular was Lukas Dragicevic, though I don’t think there’s much to read into there). The other non-playing group was made up entirely of players I don’t consider to be in the conversation for the NHL roster.
“I mean, you can read a fair amount into [who was on the ice], for sure,” Lambert said. “I thought the group was good, I thought the practice was good. Again, it’s a short camp here. This is Day 4, and we are having a day off [Monday], so it’s important to put in some good work. By my calculations we probably only have about five more practice days until Opening Day, with two games included.”
We are expecting the first round of cuts from Training Camp to come Monday.
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.
But today, we’re kicking “Down on the Farm” into gear. There is new on-ice stuff to talk about, finally. Professional and junior leagues around the world are underway. Kraken prospects have been on the ice for four practices at Kraken Community Iceplex and two Prospect Challenge games in Abbotsford, Canada. And the Sound Of Hockey Podcast sat down with Kraken Assistant General Manager Ryan Jankowski to discuss the Kraken prospect pool.
There’s a lot to cover, so let’s dive in. As always, if you have a prospect-related question you’d like to see featured in a future column, drop a note below or on X or BlueSky @deepseahockey.
Canadian junior leagues drop the puck on the 2026-27 season tonight
Friday, Sep. 18, marks the beginning of the regular season for many CHL teams. That said, it will be a lighter season than we are accustomed to for Kraken prospects playing junior hockey.
As always, it will start slowly. Canadian junior teams play (at least) their opening-weekend matchups without players participating in NHL training camps. Rylan Singh, Finn Kearns, and Will Reynolds will be reassigned to their junior teams eventually but figure to get in a few more practices, if not games, in Seattle first.
Moving forward, though, there will be fewer junior games to watch from a Kraken perspective. Emblematic is the fact that, for the first time, the Kraken will not have even a single prospect playing in the WHL. Some of this is natural ebb and flow, but players like Chase Reid, Casey Mutryn, Blake Fiddler, and perhaps even Jake O’Brien would be playing junior hockey this season but for a couple of significant rule changes.
The most significant change is the NCAA’s decision to now afford eligibility to junior hockey players. Since Division I college hockey is generally understood to be a step up in competition from the junior hockey level, there is now an additional step in the development ladder available to high-end young players like Reid, Mutryn, and Fiddler. Before this rule change, Reid almost certainly would have played another season for the Soo Greyhounds, Fiddler likely would have returned to the Edmonton Oil Kings, and Mutryn likely would have gone to the QMJHL.
The other change is an edit to the NHL-CHL transfer agreement that allows first-round draft picks from the CHL to be assigned to the AHL for their age-19 seasons. Previously, players had to wait until they were 20 to play in the AHL, creating a difficult NHL-or-junior-hockey decision for a player like Berkly Catton. This season O’Brien has a second-tier professional option available to him, and it seems like a foregone conclusion that’s where he’ll be.
Whether O’Brien would have been in contention for an NHL spot this training camp under the former rules is an interesting question to ponder. At this point, I’d lean “no,” which underscores the immense importance of this rule change for O’Brien’s development. He is already Brantford’s all-time points leader. He would get nothing from going back to the OHL.
Regardless, it’s hard not to be excited by the return of junior hockey. Here’s your first “week ahead” snapshot for Kraken prospects.
Notes from Kraken Rookie Camp and the Prospect Challenge games
Jake O’Brien | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
I doubt O’Brien is truly 100 percent following the revelation that he was dealing with a knee injury over the offseason. At times, he seemed to be testing or flexing his leg between drills, and he seemed to be drifting or pushing three-quarters speed in some drills. Add in the fact that the Kraken held him out of the Prospect Challenge games for “precautionary reasons,” and I’m doubtful he’s at full speed right now. This is particularly disappointing because O’Brien taking a step with his skating and physicality was a big goal for the offseason. If it’s a lost summer in that regard due to the injury, he could have a harder time in the AHL.
In terms of his production at camp, O’Brien has been fairly quiet and seemingly hesitant in battle drills. There are still flashes of the high-end skill, though. His ability to deceive the defense and slip a pass to a teammate for a high-danger chance is a true NHL-caliber trait.
Will Reynolds | D | Newfoundland Regiment (QMJHL)
It has been an up-and-down week for the 6-foot-3 blueliner from New Brunswick, Canada. He took a seat while backward skating against the first rush of the Saturday game in Abbotsford and notably lost containment of his assignment on a couple of other occasions. On the other hand, his physicality has been noticeable, and he handled himself well in a one-on-one drill on Friday, Sept. 18, disrupting efforts by Chandler Stephenson and Bobby McMann back-to-back. The question with Reynolds is whether he can show enough skill to climb the ladder. He only just turned 19. There is runway left to show it. The goal this season may be to secure a favorable Division I commitment.
Oscar Fisker Mølgaard | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
As I mentioned in our Kraken Training Camp Roundtable, I thought Mølgaard looked physically bigger—which is not to say “big,” but he looked meaningfully sturdier. And this development came with no diminishment of his crisp skating or impressive handling skills. He routinely abused his competition in one-on-one drills at rookie camp. I’m increasingly wondering if he’s entering the category of “too good to demote,” even if only for a few weeks to begin the season. He could force some hard choices.
Finn Kearns | D | Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
Kearns hit everything he could catch in battle drills and during the Saturday Prospect Challenge game. (Oh yeah, he also added a fight and a goal in that game.) The issue for Kearns is that his skating is not particularly competitive at the NHL level right now. It’s a clear and obvious development need for this 2026-27 season.
Tyson Jugnauth | D | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
Jugnauth’s ability to skate in transition and along the blue line stood out as an elite trait in the rookie phase of camp. He used those skills to dissect defensive structures and create chances all week. The challenge ahead of him is to continue to show those skills against NHL competition. If he can do that while also continuing to be somewhat competitive defensively—as he has been—he could make some decisions difficult.
Tyson Jugnauth (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Jankowski on scouting and developing the next Kraken players
Earlier this week, Kraken AGM Ryan Jankowksi sat for a wide-ranging interview with the Sound Of Hockey Podcast to discuss his hockey journey as well as his current role with the Seattle Kraken. Jankowski is a born and bred hockey scout; he went so far as to say it’s in his “genes,” coming down from his father Lou, who was also a scout. And his enthusiasm for his craft was infectious. Here are a few notable takeaways:
On his role: “Every AGM here has a little bit of a different role, right? Mine is to oversee amateur scouting and player development. So basically everything from drafting the player up until they get here to Seattle. And that’s even working with the development a little bit in Coachella.”
On Semyon Vyazovoi, the prospect “we’re not talking enough about”: After conceding he had no idea about Vyazovoi’s development before joining the Kraken, Jankowski was effusive. “This guy is really good… [W]e’re thrilled with the development that he took last year from, you know, not just being a starter, but was an all-star goalie.” He confirmed Vyazovoi’s contract runs through the end of this season and he has his fingers crossed the team will be able to talk Vyazovoi into coming stateside after that. “He’ll come when he’s ready, but we hope he’s ready at the end of this season. It’s all about cultivating that relationship.”
On Kim Saarinen and his “good opportunity” in Finland this year: Finland’s top professional league, Liiga, is adopting a relegation format, so there will be a lot of pressure on teams to stay at the top level. This will include Saarinen’s team HPK, which has been a mid-to-bottom-table team. After this year, the plan is for Saarinen to come over, but it’s all about “figur[ing] out the goalie puzzle” at that point.
On Casey Mutryn’s top attributes: “[W]e get excited about is his character, his leadership, the type of person that he is mixed in with the type of game that he plays.” Whether he plays one year or two years of college hockey before turning pro “it’ll sort itself out.”
On what appealed to the Kraken about Viktor Fyodorov: “Victor’s very talented. He’s a little bit of he’s got an artist mentality on the ice, but he also takes care of business in his own zone. He’s very well-rounded, very smart, but we do like the skill set that he has… He’s a hockey kid. He’s a hockey player. He loves the game, has passion for it, and seems to be wanting to get better.”
Watch the full interview below. We covered many other topics, from player-specific conversations about Reid, Mølgaard, and Julius Miettinen, to Jankowski’s prospect non-negotiables, and how the NHL Draft actually works behind the scenes.
Kraken prospects data update
Speaking of Fyodorov, he had the Kraken organization’s first—and, as of now, only—goal of the 2026-27 season. I wouldn’t call it “artistry” from an aesthetic perspective, but he was in the right place at the right time to take advantage of a favorable bounce. Along with sticking on his KHL team full-time to begin the season, it’s enough to earn Fyodorov Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week honors on a light schedule.
Saarinen and Vyazovoi both look like the clear starters on their respective teams to begin the 2026-27 season.
Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker
1 win: Semyon Vyazovoi, Victor Fyodorov*
Video from the vault
Check out our Film Room Room posts for recent gameplay video. We’ll dig back into last season’s unpublished archive for this video of Kim Saarinen from Nov. 6, 2025. He’s the goaltender wearing No. 1 in blue for Team Finland.
Tracking 2027 NHL Draft prospects: Landon Dupont
Former Everett Silvertip Landon Dupont enters the season as the consensus No. 1 overall prospect. A recent sub-six-foot measurement puts a bit of a dent in the blueliner’s profile, but the overall package of skills and production is very appealing. He’ll play his draft season at the University of Michigan.
Curtis Isacke
Curtis is a Sound Of Hockey contributor and member of the Kraken press corps. Curtis is an attorney by day, and he has read the NHL collective bargaining agreement and bylaws so you don’t have to. He can be found analyzing the Kraken, NHL Draft, and other hockey topics on Twitter and Bluesky @deepseahockey.
If the Seattle Kraken are going to have any success this season, it will be in large part because their top offensive player is performing at the peak of his powers. Jared McCann, 30, who missed 30 games last season and could often be seen flexing his leg between whistles in the 52 he played, is back in Training Camp and says he’s feeling 100 percent.
“Last year was obviously disappointing for me,” McCann said. “It was the first time in my career I had that injury bug where it was just every night, something was happening. And I mean, to be honest with you, I’m kind of blessed that it was only one year [of my career]. Obviously, knock on wood, but I feel great.”
Right from the jump last season, you knew McCann wasn’t fully recovered from whatever was ailing him at the end of 2024-25. As the season wore on, he still racked up 20 goals and 20 assists, but there’s no question it was a down year for him statistically. And as the team packed up its lockers on the last day of the 2025-26 season, McCann shared that he had already undergone an end-of-season procedure to address the quadriceps issue that nagged at him all year.
“If I got hit in the quad, my leg would go kind of numb, and it would just— it’d be stinging for a while. It would go away eventually, but then we’re playing the next day or playing a couple days later, and it just kept snowballing.”
After the procedure, McCann hung around Seattle longer than usual to stay close to the Kraken training staff (he also credited them with getting him through as many games as he ended up playing). Once he felt like he could rehab away from team staff, he moved back to Toronto. Through rehab and training, he started to feel like himself again around the 10-week mark after the procedure.
Jared McCann skates past former Blues forward Jordan Kyrou. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
McCann specifically noted that he had lost the ability to jump last season, something hockey players do a lot to strengthen their lower bodies in off-ice training. Once that capability came back, he knew he was close to full recovery.
“I feel like that part of the summer, you know, 10, 12 weeks, was where I was like, ‘Ok, I feel like this is coming back. Like, it feels good again.’”
Is McCann primed for a big season?
On Day 1 of Training Camp on Thursday, McCann skated on a line with Matty Beniers and newcomer Mackie Samoskevich, a potential top-line trio. For his sake, this would be a great season for McCann—who is entering the last year of his contract—to mesh well with his linemates and aim for the 30-goal threshold that has eluded him since he potted 40 in 2022-23. But while Kraken fans have high hopes that a healthy McCann can regain his high-scoring form, he says he doesn’t focus on that stuff.
“I know what makes me successful on the ice, and that’s what I’m focused on is just, ‘What can I do to help this team win more games?’ … I’m not worried about all the other stuff going on right now. I’ll leave that up to [general manager Jason Botterill] and my agent. That’s why I pay him so much.”
Meanwhile, coach Lane Lambert knows how important McCann is to the success of his team.
“He’s a guy that we count on,” said Lambert—who really has never had the benefit of a top-form Jared McCann in his lineup. “I see his production when he’s healthy, and he’s a guy we need from that standpoint.”
“I put the work in this summer, and I’m excited,” McCann said. “I’m excited to feel good again.”
Matty doubles down
The next thing Sound Of Hockey talked to McCann about was Matty Beniers’ recent comments to The Athletic about high-profile players like Jason Robertson shunning Seattle. Beniers told Mark Lazerus in the article, “If you don’t want to be here, we don’t want you, anyway.” The comment got a lot of traction and made its way around social media.
McCann echoed Beniers’ sentiments on Thursday.
“We feel like Seattle has a bad rap right now, but nobody can really understand why,” McCann said. “Because everybody who plays here loves it… Even guys that have moved on to other teams, they even say to us that this was an amazing place to play. Our fans are great, I mean, look at the facilities we have around, right?
“The team does whatever they can to make the players feel comfortable, make the families feel comfortable, and we added some pieces on the management side of it. I wish I had a straight answer for you when it comes to why guys don’t want to be here, but I don’t.”
At the very same moment McCann was saying that to SOH outside the dressing room, Beniers was inside addressing the supersized Day 1 media scrum and doubling down on his initial comments.
“I heard a lot of people liked that,” Beniers said. “It was just the honest truth, right? It wasn’t necessarily a dig at [Robertson] or anybody else, but it was just like, ‘Hey, we want guys that want to be here that love this city and want to be here and want to win here.’ So it was just an honest answer to the question, and it seemed like people kind of grabbed onto it and ran with it.
“It sucked when it happened, and the media had a big, fun day with it, saying, ‘Hey, look at how bad Seattle is. Robertson doesn’t want to go there for all this money.’ So I think it was kind of our duty to say, ‘Hey, no, it’s great here. We love it, we want to win here, we’ve got great fans here.’”
The comments from McCann and Beniers came on the heels of Botterill telling the Sound Of Hockey Podcast on Tuesday:
“I don’t know what the right word is, whether it’s frustration, disappointment, I’m not quite sure. All I know is, hey, we’re going to continue to look to improve this team. We’re going to try to find all avenues from that perspective.
“To say that players don’t want to come to Seattle, I disagree with that. If you look at our history here, we’ve had free agents come here, whether it’s Brandon Montour, Chandler Stephenson, Ryan Lindgren. The players, when they’ve gotten here, I think they’ve been treated extremely well. We can talk about Bobby McMann, but it’s also Joey Daccord, Vince Dunn, Adam Larsson, these players have re-signed within the organization… The things that we added to the mix here and stuff again this year just help, hopefully, build our reputation on this is where players can maximize their ability and be in a winning environment.”
Of course, the perception of what it’s like to play in Seattle would change quickly if the team can start winning. Whether that can happen this season is a big question mark, but regardless, the players, coaches, and management appear to be coming in with a big chip on their collective shoulder. They seem determined to change the perception of playing in the Pacific Northwest.
Shane Wright is back
The timing of Shane Wright having to “face the music,” so to speak, and address the media for the first time since his agent publicly requested a trade out of Seattle for the 22-year-old forward was a bit ironic. Beniers had just reiterated his stance that the team only wants players who want to be here, and in comes Wright, for whom the desired offseason trade never came to fruition.
What we’ve learned over the last few days is that the organization and Wright at least appear to be on the same page in wanting to make the most of an awkward situation.
“I mean, whatever outside noise, I’m not really caring about that, not really focused on that at all,” Wright said. “I’m here and committed to the team, and I want to make sure I have a good camp and get ready for the season and do what I can to help the team win.”
To Wright’s credit, he handled himself well in the presser, though he did imply that the noise was a creation of the media, and that’s simply not true; remember, it was his agent who opted to make the trade request public. Even so, he faced difficult questions with poise and reiterated multiple times that he’s committed to performing to the best of his abilities for the organization and his teammates.
“Hockey’s a business,” McCann said. “I’ve been through it, like a lot of guys have. You’ve got to do, sometimes, what’s best for you. But at the end of the day, Shane’s come in here, he’s worked his butt off, he’s battling the guys on the ice. He’s doing everything to show that he wants to be here. Honestly, if [the news about the trade request] didn’t even come out, you wouldn’t have been able to even tell.”
Watching Wright, he does appear to have taken a step in his development this offseason. He looks fit as a fiddle and was absolutely flying in his first official on-ice session of camp. His first day aligned with what Botterill told the Sound Of Hockey Podcast about Wright earlier this week.
Shane Wright is back in Kraken Training Camp. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
“My conversations with Shane are certainly private, with Shane and with any other player,” Botterill said. “But I think I’ve been very consistent throughout the summer and throughout last year that we’re very excited to have Shane in our organization. And our job is to continue to develop Shane into the best player possible. He has these attributes that are very impressive, speed, shot, hockey sense, and I think… he came in in amazing shape. He looks like he’s dedicated here and excited about the season and to get going here.”
Added Wright: “Nothing’s changed at all. I’m here, I’m a member of the Kraken, and I’m committed to the team. And these are my teammates, and that’s it.”
Training Camp Tidbits
Though the group was split into two sessions, we can already begin piecing together what the coaching staff is thinking about for its initial forward lineup.
Jared McCann // Matty Beniers // Mackie Samoskevich Bobby McMann // Chandler Stephenson // Jordan Eberle Berkly Catton // Shane Wright // Kaapo Kakko Jani Nyman // Freddy Gaudreau // Ryan Winterton Curtis Douglas // Ben Meyers // Jacob Melanson
Of course, we’re way too early to start etching anything in stone, but from those five lines (there were more assembled with players expected to play either in the minors or juniors), we can already start to see combinations that could end up together, as well as which players are on the bubble.
Mackie Samoskevich getting his first “official” action with the #SeaKraken.
Notably, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard was on a line with Jagger Firkus and Eduard Šalé. Is this an indication that all three are destined for Coachella Valley? Or will we see any of them skate with solidified NHLers at some point over the next couple weeks?
Vince Dunn and Brandon Montour were officially added to the leadership group as alternate captains on Wednesday.
Dunn shared that he’s never worn a letter in his life and called it a huge honor. “I’ve always looked at myself as a leader, even last year, trying to lead by example. Now there’s just a more visual demand on my chest. I’m very honored to wear it, and I don’t take those things lightly.”
“It doesn’t change anything,” Montour said. “It’s nice to obviously be recognized, and hopefully my teammates feel the same way [about me]. I’ve experienced a lot in this league… I’ll try to share my experience and help out as much as I can.”
The Kraken hired veteran hockey executive Chuck Fletcher as a senior advisor to Jason Botterill earlier this week. Fletcher, Botterill, and Patrik Allvin all worked together in Pittsburgh earlier in their careers. Fletcher previously served as GM of the Minnesota Wild and Philadelphia Flyers and most recently held the same advisory role with the New Jersey Devils. News of the hiring brought a… shall we say… mixed reaction on social media, especially from Wild and Flyers fans.
Botterill implied that the hiring was another result of the internal audit performed in the offseason by Sportsology.
“We’ve talked about different ways we can strengthen our organization. Bringing in both Chuck and Patrik, yes, I have a familiarity with them. But obviously, they’ve had a ton of different experiences since that time. If you look at our group, I think we have a group that does a very good job at evaluating players, but having a couple people come into our organization that have that experience as general managers, have the experience of sitting in the chair, certainly helps me out in different situations.
“With Chuck, it’s a situation where obviously [he’s] been a general manager before. I think, especially with some of the things that we’ve talked about and looked at off the ice on making sure there’s a smoother transition from our player development from Coachella Valley up to Seattle… I think Chuck could help out Troy Bodie and our staff down in Coachella Valley there. Chuck’s experience at evaluating players across so many different leagues can be very helpful there. Patrik Allvin will work closely with me at the team level here.”
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.
