It’s been a wild week in the NHL in the lead-up to the NHL Draft, and the Seattle Kraken played a part in it, trading for Mackie Samoskevich and re-signing prized forward Bobby McMann, who was set to become a free agent. The guys give their reactions to those deals, plus the massive trades made around the league.
Also, lots of crow talk, colonoscopy talk, and segments that include Weekly One-Timers and What’s Good?
When Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke held his end-of-season press conference in April, he raised eyebrows by indicating that the organization would bring in a third party to audit every facet of the team’s hockey operations procedures. It wasn’t intended to draw a ton of attention, but it ended up doing just that. While this type of review isn’t unusual in professional sports, it was (perhaps incorrectly) interpreted by some as a sign that sweeping changes were coming.
Now, the company selected to run the audit—the Sportsology Group, led by former Chelsea Football Club executive Mike Forde—has completed the first phase of its process after spending roughly 80 hours with team leadership and interviewing staff across 14 departments.
“We didn’t want an echo chamber,” Leiweke said in an interview with Kraken Hockey Network’s Ian Furness. “We directed [Sportsology] to turn every stone to ask the hard questions.”
The audit was designed to give the organization a clear, unbiased assessment of what it has done well in its first five years and where it can improve. While some fans may have expected immediate restructuring or a dramatic overhaul, that was never the intent.
At the same time, the Kraken are being careful about how much they reveal. Understandably, they don’t want to tip their hand to other teams around the NHL, but they also recognize the importance of transparency with a fanbase that has grown restless over the lack of on-ice success.
To that end, Leiweke sat down with Furness to share a high-level overview of the findings and also sent a letter to season ticket members on Tuesday.
“We brought in the Sportsology Group, an independent consulting firm that advises professional sports organizations around the world, and asked them to bring fresh eyes to our hockey operations,” Leiweke said in the letter. “They confirmed our strengths and identified areas where we can improve and evolve, including building brain trust, capabilities, and alignment across talent evaluation and player development.”
New hires reflect findings
One thing we have not heard is that jobs are being cut as a result of this process. Sportsology did not come in and recommend sweeping personnel changes. Instead, they identified opportunities where the Kraken could beef up their staffing, including improvements on how the Kraken develop their players.
There are already strong foundations in place. The Coachella Valley Firebirds provide an excellent environment for prospects, and several young players have worked their way into full-time NHL roles. But the question remains: are those players reaching their full potential?
It’s something we’ve wondered about as well. While players like Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, and Berkly Catton project as capable top-six contributors (Beniers already is that), none has clearly emerged on a trajectory toward stardom. And beyond that group, there are others who have flirted with NHL roles but haven’t taken the next step. Is there a way to accelerate that process?
Seattle is attempting to address that question through recent hires. Assistant coach Pascal Vincent arrives after two seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Laval Rocket, where he was AHL coach of the year in 2024-25, bringing a strong development background. Meanwhile, former Kraken defenseman Justin Schultz returns to the organization in a player development role.
The goal, as Leiweke put it, is not just to be good in this area—but to be the best.
More cohesion needed in hockey ops
Details are limited when it comes to how the front office operates, but one clear takeaway from the audit was the need for greater cohesion across hockey operations.
Exactly what that looks like is still intentionally murky, but it aligns with Leiweke’s mention of improving “capabilities and alignment across talent evaluation.” In simpler terms, it’s about ensuring that all departments—scouting, analytics, management, etc.—are working together as efficiently and effectively as possible.
A move that reflects this is the hiring of former Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin as an assistant GM. Allvin brings extensive NHL experience, including a Pacific Division title in 2023-24 and three Stanley Cups in varying roles from his time in Pittsburgh. He’s not being brought in to run the show, but rather to add another experienced voice and help strengthen the overall decision-making process.
Plenty of questions remain
If you were hoping for a detailed, step-by-step roadmap to contention, you won’t find that here. But to their credit, the Kraken followed through on their promise to take a hard look at themselves and identify areas for improvement. That, in itself, carries value.
And while Seattle has already made some notable moves this offseason—re-signing Bobby McMann and acquiring Mackie Samoskevich—there’s still a long way to go to reach the “prolific” offseason Leiweke also promised. Perhaps this audit is just the beginning of what’s to come.
The Kraken will continue to work with Sportsology moving forward, as they continue to implement the suggested changes.
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.
NHL Draft Week continues here at Sound Of Hockey with, arguably, my most anticipated post every year. Today, we have the Sound Of Hockey Big Board. As part of our draft process, we also published a midseason version of the Big Board, which you can check out here.
What is the Big Board? First, it’s a compilation of reputable draft analyst and public scouting service lists. This year, we gathered ranking data from 18 sources. From that list, we then build a “Big Board rank” using a calculation that weights the depth and accuracy of each source. More on that process below.
The Sound Of Hockey Big Board also provides information on each player’s measurements, statistics, and playing experience for the 2025-26 season, mostly drawn from Elite Prospects, NHL Central Scouting, and the NHL Draft Combine.
All told, the Sound Of Hockey Big Board covers more than 13,000 draft-eligible prospects. The version published here covers the top 500. The full version will be shared on the Sound Of Hockey Patreon.
Based on what we have seen, we continue to believe the Sound Of Hockey Big Board is the most comprehensive public source anywhere for draft-prospect information compiled in one place. It is also a pretty strong indicator of what teams across the NHL will do on draft day, particularly early on.
So, study the Big Board, bookmark it, share it, and return to it often throughout this week and as the picks start coming off the board at the 2026 NHL Draft, which begins Friday, June 26, at 4 p.m. PT.
Also, check out our video hub, which we believe is the most comprehensive source of prospect gameplay video available anywhere.
The Sound Of Hockey Big Board
Here is a summary of the top 500, including each player’s key information and 2025-26 scoring data from the highest league in which they appeared in at least 10 games.
And here is a full breakdown of the list-by-list rankings for the top 500.
Draft analyst and public scouting lists consulted
We used the following 18 sources to build the final 2026 Big Board:
We consolidated the various rankings into a single composite ranking using a weighted geometric mean calculation. Why do we use a geometric mean? If you’re curious, you can find an applicable explanation from a different context here. Weights were assigned based on our assessment of the depth of experience, sourced reporting, and scouting insight reflected in the component lists themselves.
For example, TSN‘s list, which is built on conversations with scouts, receives more weight than a single journalist’s list. Likewise, the voluminous work done by independent scouts at Elite Prospects receives more weight, and so forth.
Sound Of Hockey‘s Data Score is utilized at the lowest weight, with the design of giving order to the full version of the list for players unranked by any of the other 17 sources consulted.
Caveats on using the Big Board
At this point, a few more words on the Sound Of Hockey Big Board and its uses are likely in order.
As you scroll through the rankings on the Big Board, you will see that sometimes only the top five ranked prospects are identified. This is because those rankings are behind a paywall. To access Corey Pronman’s full ranking of prospects, for example, a subscription to The Athletic is required. While we utilized all of the individual rankings listed above to develop our composite list, we will not be sharing subscriber-only individual rankings.
As you get to the players’ 2025-26 data, you will note that the Big Board displays only the data from the highest league reached by each player. This is simply for ease of presentation.
The Big Board does not reflect our views on these prospects. We at Sound Of Hockey have read reports, watched some videos, and crunched a few numbers. I’ll be sharing more thoughts of my own before the draft, but that is not what the Big Board exercise is about. The Sound Of Hockey Big Board is a weighted tabulation of public draft rankings, scouting lists and analysis from across the hockey world. A player’s ranking has nothing to do with whether any of us here at Sound Of Hockey “like” the player or not.
If you’re looking for more on our preferences, stay tuned this week. We also published a “data-only” watchlist earlier this spring. And we made a top-10 mock draft after the NHL Draft Lottery.
Finally, it bears emphasis that a composite ranking is not the be-all and end-all. In many ways, finding the “best” public list and trusting it is preferable. A consensus board cannot explain why one prospect is ranked higher than another, and it certainly cannot displace the work of scouts, draft reporters, or even number crunchers.
But a composite ranking can provide some added information. Think of it as the cherry on top of the sundae, not the sundae itself.
In the first year of this Big Board, I used the case of Brad Lambert as an example (coincidentally, the nephew of new Kraken head coach Lane Lambert). This year, Xavier Villeneuve or Ryan Roobroeck could be similarly instructive cases. These players are talented but viewed as risky for various reasons, leading to widely varying rankings on individual public boards. We synthesize that information with a composite approach that can exploit the wisdom of the crowd. Villeneuve’s final ranking, for example, may blend the upside and risk, placing him in a “fair” position.
Final thoughts
It is possible we see more surprises and chaos near the top of the first round than is typical. The top two players in this draft play the sport’s least valuable and easiest-to-obtain position (winger). After that, the draft offers a number of defensemen and two centers, all with clearly contrasting skill sets that could appeal to one team but not another. It will be fascinating to see how it plays out.
The 2026 NHL Draft kicks off with Round 1 on Friday, June 26, at 4:00 p.m. PT. Rounds 2 through 7 begin on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. PT. We will have plenty of coverage here leading up to, during, and after the draft.
What do you think? Any misses or other surprises in the rankings? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on X (@deepseahockey or @sound_hockey) or Bluesky (@deepseahockey or @soundofhockey.com).
Header photo of Daxon Rudolph by Evan Morud courtesy of the Everett Silvertips
Curtis Isacke
Curtis is a Sound Of Hockey contributor and member of the Kraken press corps. Curtis is an attorney by day, and he has read the NHL collective bargaining agreement and bylaws so you don’t have to. He can be found analyzing the Kraken, NHL Draft, and other hockey topics on Twitter and Bluesky @deepseahockey.
It’s officially draft week here at Sound Of Hockey. While the Seattle Kraken made waves over the weekend by trading for Mackie Samoskevich and re-signing Bobby McMann to a five-year, $34.5 million contract, they also must now quickly shift their attention to how they will continue to stockpile young prospects into the organization.
You can expect a wave of information and articles leading up to the draft that kicks off Friday, but before that, I thought it would be a good opportunity to check in on how the Seattle Kraken have drafted to date, class by class.
I’m going to attempt to be as objective as possible, which can be challenging. Evaluating a draft class for an individual team is tricky because there are so many variables at play. I tend to look at games played, points, and goals and compare those metrics with historical averages for similar picks and player positions. To get some sense of expectations for each player, I compare them to numbers for players drafted in the same cohort and look at NHL games played, points, and goals in relation to their draft year.
That only goes so far, though, since most of the prospects haven’t played NHL games. That is where the subjectivity needs to come into play. I’ll share more of this as I go, but to illustrate expectations, here is a look at the average games played by round selected in the draft by season from draft.
There’s significant variability within the first round itself, with top‑five selections historically producing far more impact than picks later in the round. Beyond that, the gaps between rounds narrow considerably. Because first‑rounders carry the highest expectations, their outcomes weigh more heavily in my evaluation of each draft class.
What adds to this complexity is that not all drafts are created equal, and a first‑round pick in one year might not carry the same value as the exact same pick the following year. Bottom line, no evaluation criteria can be perfect.
Also important to note: I will not do revisionist history where I criticize the Kraken for not picking “player X” who was taken immediately after their selection, implying they “missed.” An example is Lane Hutson, who was picked No. 62 in the 2022 NHL Draft, one spot after the Kraken selected David Goyette. It’s obvious the Kraken would rather have Hutson at this point, but as The Athletic pointed out, Hutson would likely be drafted in the top five in a re‑draft, knowing what we know now. That would imply 27 teams missed him, including Montreal twice, since the Canadiens had the 26th and 33rd picks in that draft. That kind of logic doesn’t really tell us anything useful about Seattle’s process, so I won’t be doing it.
I will also not be evaluating goalies. Their path to the NHL is longer, less predictable, and far more variable than that of skaters, which makes early assessments unreliable. The Kraken have drafted four goalies to date, and while each has shown encouraging signs, it will take several more seasons before we can meaningfully evaluate their NHL potential.
2021 Seattle Kraken draft class
The Kraken’s first draft class was also the only one in which they had only their original picks—no more, no less.
They drafted second overall and selected Matty Beniers. Although there has been some narrative that he might not be the true No. 1 center the fanbase was anticipating, he is still a very solid NHL player. Comparing him against top‑drafted first‑rounders between 2005 and 2020, he looks average for his draft cohort, but when you compare him against the top 10 forwards selected in his draft, he looks above average. It’s also worth noting that he looks better when compared to the two other forwards selected in the top five of his draft year: Mason McTavish and Kent Johnson. The disconnect between those two charts implies it wasn’t a great draft class at the very top.
Overall, the team did great in selecting Matty second overall in this draft, but where they really excelled was with their later‑round picks.
Through the 2025 season, the Kraken have the third‑most NHL games played from their 2021 draft class. Ryker Evans, Ryan Winterton, and Jacob Melanson were contributors for the Kraken last season, which is a remarkable hit rate considering they were all selected after the first round. An argument could be made about whether these players would be in the lineup on a stronger team, and that’s debatable. But for now, they are far exceeding expectations based on their draft positions.
As for the other players drafted in 2021, it is not certain if Ville Ottavainen will spend the bulk of his pro career in the NHL. Semyon Vyazovoi had a very good season in the Kontinental Hockey League last year and is expected to play in North America next season. Justin Janicke is unlikely to play in the NHL, but that was always the case for any player selected after the second round.
With the solid performance of Beniers in relation to his draft‑class peer group and the production from their second‑and‑later‑round picks, I give this draft class a B+.
2022 Seattle Kraken draft class
There is probably no Kraken‑drafted player more controversial than Shane Wright, and that’s what makes evaluating this draft class tricky, even before we get to the other players.
After a slow start, Wright appeared to be on the right path in his third season since his draft year. After starting the season a little cold, he showed a lot of promise over the 2024‑25 NHL season, posting 19 goals and 25 assists. That put him slightly above average in his peer group and among the top 10 drafted forwards from his draft class.
The problem was last season. His production not only failed to keep pace with his expected trajectory based on his draft position, it dropped. There are plenty of examples of players bouncing back from a dip in production at this point in their development cycle, but as of now, Wright has fallen short of expectations.
As for the rest of the draft class, there are some promising chips on the roulette table, but we still don’t know how any of these players will fare in the NHL. Jani Nyman showcased extremely well at the tail end of the 2024‑25 season but looked overwhelmed when he started the 2025‑26 season with the Kraken. He was reassigned to Coachella Valley in December and only got four more games with the Kraken after the Olympic break.
The narrative about Nyman when he was drafted was that he has a booming shot but isn’t a great skater, and that still holds based on last season’s views. The jury is still out on whether he can be an everyday NHLer.
Jagger Firkus had an excellent season for the Coachella Valley Firebirds, but an injury late in the season prevented him from getting NHL games toward the end of the Kraken season to see if his game can translate to the top level. I expect him to play some games in the NHL next season, but we still don’t know if he will make it as a regular.
As for the rest of the class, Tyson Jugnauth and Ty Nelson are the next best bets to make the NHL. Based on their draft positions, they were longshots to make it, but both have improved their odds based on their play last season. It’s important to note that defensemen tend to be a little bit older compared to forwards when they break into the NHL, so even if they don’t stick next season, that should not be cause for alarm.
As promising as this draft class seemed a year ago, I have no choice but to give it a C based on the production and trajectory we saw last season.
2023 Seattle Kraken draft class
Three years really isn’t enough of a runway for this kind of assessment, but we’re going to do it anyway.
Late‑ish first‑round picks are not guaranteed to be regular NHLers, but it is impossible to ignore that Eduard Šalé’s trajectory has been very disappointing. Šalé is still likely to play in the NHL someday, but except for the occasional streak of games here and there, his performance has been underwhelming for a first‑round draft pick. He had 13 goals and 14 assists in his second AHL season last year, which is not bad, but you would expect more out of a first‑round pick in his third season since the draft.
Of the second‑round picks from this draft class, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard is ahead of schedule. Mølgaard’s strength is his two‑way game, which should translate to the NHL a bit quicker and allow coaches to trust him more. He was called up for 13 games with the Kraken this season and seemed to gain confidence with each game.
The rest of the picks seem to be tracking fine based on their draft positions, with several of them having only one season of North American pro hockey under their belts. In short, it is much too early to draw any firm conclusions on them.
I give this draft class a generous B‑, but it is more realistically an incomplete, since we don’t have enough information to give a true grade.
2024 Seattle Kraken draft class
Like the 2023 draft class, it is too early to give a final grade here, but Berkly Catton spending the full season in the NHL and showing progression inside the season is very encouraging for Kraken fans. He didn’t put up big numbers, but there were signs of the elite talent you want and hope for out of a top‑10 draft pick.
Both Julius Miettinen and Nathan Villeneuve had monster years for their respective junior teams. That is no guarantee of success in the NHL, but you want to see progression from season to season regardless of the league, and they delivered.
Meanwhile, Oliver Josephson, Clarke Caswell, and Jakub Fibigr had good years for their respective teams. Josephson and Caswell made the jump to the NCAA last season and adjusted well to the structured and often heavier game of college hockey. Fibigr, who has always been a longshot to make the NHL, is taking another step in his career this coming season and will be headed to Ohio State, which should help his development.
I am giving this draft class a B+ because most of the players have taken a step in the right direction, and that’s all you can hope for at this point in their development cycle.
2025 Seattle Kraken draft class
Way, way too early on this one.
Jake O’Brien had a very good season in the OHL and is likely headed to Coachella Valley next season. Blake Fiddler is another Kraken prospect headed to the NCAA next season, where he will play for the University of Denver.
After already giving “incompletes” to the 2023 and 2024 draft classes, I have to give this one an incomplete as well.
Overall
Like all teams’ draft classes, there will be hits and there will be misses, and it is hard to say definitively yet whether the Kraken have true hits or misses. The strength of the Kraken prospect pool is really the volume of prospects in it. Will they find gold with one of their non‑first‑round picks popping off to become a high‑end NHL player? We don’t know, but the more swings you have, the better your odds of really connecting on one and hitting it out of the park.
My overall grade for their draft classes through five years is a solid B, with some potential to upgrade to an A… or even slip into the C category.
The Seattle Kraken have made their first big splash of the offseason, acquiring right wing Mackie Samoskevich in a trade with the Florida Panthers. In return, the Kraken traded the 25th overall pick in this year’s draft, as well as a conditional second-round pick in the 2027 draft. The conditional pick will be either the Columbus Blue Jackets’ or Winnipeg Jets’ second-rounder, whichever ends up being the higher selection.
Samoskevich is a 23-year-old Connecticut native who spent two years at the University of Michigan, including one season with Kraken center Matty Beniers.
“Mackie is a talented young player who we are excited to bring into the fold,” said general manager Jason Botterill. “He has speed, skill and scoring ability. A Stanley Cup champion with the Panthers in 2025, Mackie’s a player who can contribute offensively and add a spark to our lineup.”
Samoskevich is a restricted free agent, so he still needs a new contract, but the Kraken now hold the young winger’s rights. Seattle will need to issue him a qualifying offer by June 30 to retain those rights and eventually sign him to a new deal. Per CapWages.com, his next contract is projected to come in around $3 million per year.
Sound Of Hockey’s own Curtis Isacke has already put together an All Shifts video of Samoskevich:
On a loaded Panthers team, Samoskevich had a bottom-six role. That said, his offensive skill earned him two minutes per game on the power play, including time on the top unit, where he scored 10 points with four goals and six assists.
Overall, Samoskevich has scored 63 points over the past two seasons, including 27 goals. The speedy winger also gets the puck on net, finishing with 161 shots, fourth most on the Panthers, while playing just 14:28 per night.
Listed at 5-foot-11, Samoskevich is not afraid to throw his body around, delivering 136 hits this past season. While that is not quite Jacob Melanson territory, as Melanson recorded 188 hits in 36 games, it ranked third on the Panthers roster and would have been third on the Kraken as well.
Samoskevich was drafted 24th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
The Kraken traded a similar pick, No. 25 overall in 2026, for a promising young forward who is already established at the NHL level. The conditional second-round pick is worth the return, as any player drafted 25th overall would likely need three to four more years of development, with no guarantee of becoming a regular NHL player. Historically, 56.3 percent of 25th overall picks have played 100 or more NHL games. Samoskevich has already played 156.
At 23, Samoskevich already has a Stanley Cup to his name. Although he is still young, bringing that winning experience to the Kraken should be a positive. He has a good shot and is not shy about shooting from the faceoff dots or getting to the dirty areas in front of the net.
We will see where Samoskevich slots into the lineup after training camp, but I would expect him to get a promotion from his role in Florida. My first guess would be that he starts out on the third line with Shane Wright.
This was an excellent trade for the Seattle Kraken and strong work by general manager Jason Botterill. What are your thoughts on the trade? Leave your comments below.
As we have done in years past, our Sound Of Hockey NHL Draft Scouting Video Hub is a compilation of shift-by-shift gameplay videos for hundreds of draft-eligible prospects. With the 2026 NHL Draft just a week away, there is no better time to actually put eyes on the prospects you have heard so much about.
Bookmark this page and come back to it throughout the next week. We will be unveiling 32 additional prospects each day in the countdown to the 2026 NHL Draft, which begins on Friday, June 26, at 4:00 p.m. PT. The videos will be published roughly in the order of the forthcoming 2026 Sound Of Hockey Big Board. (I say “roughly” because final public draft boards are still coming out, so the final Big Board is still being built.) Then come back early and often after the draft results start rolling in to get a look at your team’s new players.
Sound Of Hockey patrons will have immediate access to the full list, including additional videos for top prospects. We have seven games compiled for Gavin McKenna, for example.
If you’d like to track future draft videos as they come out, subscribe to the DeepSeaHockey YouTube channel here.
The Scouting Video Hub
Below you will find shift-by-shift videos for the top five 2026 NHL Draft prospects on the Sound Of Hockey Big Board. For all other prospects, click the video link in the table embedded below.
Gavin McKenna | Left Wing | Penn State Univ. (NCAA)
Ivar Stenberg | Left Wing | Frölunda HC (SHL)
Chase Reid | Right Defense | Soo Greyhounds (OHL)
Caleb Malhotra | Center | Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)
Carsen Carels | Left Defense | Prince George Cougars (WHL)
The full video hub (sorted alphabetically to facilitate searching for specific players):
Concluding thoughts
Looking for more 2026 NHL Draft content? We have you covered here at Sound Of Hockey. Check out our recently published final 2026 NHL Draft Data-Only Watchlist. As explained in that post, we used publicly available, quantifiable measures to identify top players of interest in the draft. We also had a top-10 mock draft shortly after the draft lottery.
We will soon be publishing our annual Sound Of Hockey Big Board, which compiles the opinions of a score of public analysts and scouting services into a single consensus 2026 NHL Draft ranking. We also plan to have a notebook column and a 2026 Seattle Kraken mock draft posted before the draft clock starts ticking next Friday.
In the meantime, we hope you find this Scouting Video Hub to be a useful resource in preparing for and reviewing the NHL Draft. I explained my desire to increase public access to the draft in the first version of this Scouting Video Hub. If you’re curious to learn more about what started this annual project, check that out here.
* * *
Who stands out to you? Any technical issues with the videos? Do you have a question you’d like to see addressed in our pre-draft notebook?
Leave your comments or questions below, or find us on X (@deepseahockey and @sound_hockey) or Bluesky (@deepseahockey and @soundofhockey.com).
Header photo of Brek Liske taken byEvan Morud, courtesy of the Everett Silvertips.
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.
FYI, we intended to have this one available on YouTube but had some technical difficulties, so audio only this week.
With Curtis out of town, our good buddy Blaiz Grubic joins the show this week to fill in, making his Sound Of Hockey Podcast debut!
Lots of discussion on this episode about what the Kraken can learn from the Hurricanes and what the guys took away from Carolina’s impressive Stanley Cup run.
The Seattle Kraken can learn some major lessons from the Carolina Hurricanes, who completed a historic run through the playoffs and lifted Lord Stanley’s Cup as the NHL’s best team on Sunday.
Led by a forward-thinking scientist/blogger/stathlete-turned-general manager, Eric Tulsky has pulled several rabbits out of his hat over the last two seasons while molding his roster into the perfect blend of players to fit the unique, high-pressure style of hockey that head coach Rod Brind’Amour demands.
What’s interesting about Tulsky’s approach is that every personnel move seems to be made with an eye toward how a player fits into that high-pressure, high-shot-volume system. That clear-eyed vision for a specific—and truly unique—style of play helps Carolina identify the types of talent to target for secondary and tertiary roles. At the same time, Tulsky has done a masterful job of acquiring big-time players who help drive the bus.
Heck, even after taking a massive swing to land Mikko Rantanen last season and seeing negotiations to retain him go belly-up, Tulsky made the best of the situation and somehow came out ahead. Remember, he acquired Taylor Hall as a throw-in as part of that deal, and Hall ended up being a point-per-game player in these playoffs.
Then, recognizing the risk of losing Rantanen for nothing, Tulsky cut his losses and flipped him to Dallas for Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks, and two third-round picks. At 23 years old, Stankoven’s 11 goals in the postseason led the Hurricanes. It’s safe to say Stankoven fit the vision.
The Kraken may never play a style like what we saw from the Hurricanes, but what can general manager Jason Botterill and the rest of the front office take away from Carolina’s run? A lot.
Establish an identity and never waiver from it
What is Kraken hockey? Five years in, we still don’t definitively know the answer to that question. For a brief flash during the team’s second season, Seattle’s style was defined by staunch defense mixed with a balanced, four-line attack that came at opponents in waves and generated scoring from throughout the lineup.
But the organization quickly moved away from that balanced approach, effectively letting the entire high-scoring fourth line go after that season. Morgan Geekie—who scored 39 goals this season for the Boston Bruins—and Ryan Donato—who scored 31 goals in 2024-25 in Chicago were both allowed to leave via free agency, with Seattle even declining to extend a qualifying offer to Geekie. Daniel Sprong also departed before returning for a failed second stint last season.
The point is, it felt like the Kraken were starting to figure out what kind of roster could succeed, as long as they got scoring from all four lines. But after reaching the second round of the playoffs, then-GM Ron Francis quickly changed course, reverting to a more traditional makeup that featured a grinding fourth line rather than one capable of producing offense. The problem is that successful teams with classic grinding fourth lines also tend to have a true first line—something Seattle has never really had.
The good news is the Kraken don’t need to do an about-face to replicate what the Hurricanes built. Based on two of their three coaching hires, there’s no question this organization values tight defensive structure, not the shoot-from-anywhere mentality that defines Carolina’s game. If that’s the long-term vision, winning through defense and a balanced attack, that’s fine. But Seattle needs to commit to that identity with every fiber of its being.
Playing a Carolina-style, high-pressure, high-volume game is not the lesson here. Instead, the lesson is to understand who you are, who you want to be, and ensure that every personnel decision supports that vision. Does a player on your roster help at both ends of the ice? If not, he may not be a fit. Can a potential acquisition contribute in all three zones? If so, pull the trigger. If not, don’t make the deal.
Depth plus top-end talent
As we saw with that second-year Kraken team—and again with this Carolina group—depth matters. Seattle can lean into that defensive identity (if that is truly what it decides to be) by continuing to build a foundation of players who do the right things in all three zones.
But if it commits to that approach, it will also need a small collection of game-breaking forwards—the types of players who, when given even a small window, can capitalize on chances and change a game in an instant.
The Kraken haven’t really had those players to date, save for perhaps Jared McCann, who once scored 40 goals but is coming off a lackluster, injury-marred season. Adding a true high-end scorer or two this summer, while continuing to supplement the rest of the roster with reliable two-way players, could move the needle back toward playoff contention.
Players like Dylan Larkin (we don’t believe he would want to come to Seattle) and Robert Thomas would help in both ways, as might—to a lesser extent—a middle-tier player like Jake DeBrusk, guys who can score and also play responsibly in all three zones. The Kraken could also go in a different direction and add a forward who is more offensively minded like Jason Robertson or Jordan Kyrou, but then they may want to supplement such an acquisition with a purely defensive move to balance it.
Regardless of what route they take, there is an obvious need for an injection of high-end talent, and finding such players who still fit the vision (whatever that may be) is a serious challenge for the front office. Even if they land a big fish, will the Kraken become a Stanley Cup contender by next season? Of course not. But with several big names rumored to be available this offseason, there is an opportunity to get meaningfully better.
Enjoy the fruits of draft-and-develop labor
It was fascinating to see two teams with such different roster-building philosophies—Vegas essentially saying “to hell with the draft,” and Carolina building its core through homegrown talent—meet in the Stanley Cup Final.
Seattle has quietly built a strong pipeline of prospects and young players. Matty Beniers is growing into a true leader, Shane Wright is close to establishing himself as a full-time NHL contributor (though he could perhaps benefit from a change of scenery), Berkly Catton and Oscar Fisker Mølgaard appear ahead of schedule, and Jake O’Brien is on the way, along with several others. That pipeline will only deepen at the 2026 NHL Draft in a couple of weeks.
Considering how many players on Seattle’s roster last season were either drafted by the organization or developed within its system, this has been an area of real progress. Those young players will continue to improve as they enter their prime years, meaning this approach should pay increasingly larger dividends.
Drafting and development are long-term plays, and we’re only beginning to see the early returns. But as Carolina has shown, a core of homegrown players can serve as the bedrock of a contender with a sustained window for success.
That window is built through drafting and development, but trades can accelerate it. As a result, it may behoove the Kraken to begin dealing from this position of strength—though only with that identity question firmly in mind. Does a young player fit what this team wants to be? If not, he could be used to acquire someone who does.
No more philosophical resets
Part of the narrative over the past couple of seasons is that the Kraken’s unexpected success in Year 2 threw a wrench into Ron Francis’s long-term plan. Suddenly, the timeline was accelerated, and the organization drifted away from its original slow-build approach.
More recently, much has been made of the team’s ongoing “audit” this offseason—something we at Sound Of Hockey don’t believe was ever intended to draw as much attention as it did. What that process should ultimately deliver, however, is clarity around the question of what this team wants to be.
Seattle has leaned toward a structurally sound identity, and if that’s the path it chooses, it can absolutely work. But then Jason Botterill and his front office must fully commit to that vision—through every draft pick, every personnel decision, and every hire.
The Kraken don’t need to replicate Carolina’s style of play; doing so would essentially mean starting over. Instead, they should learn from the principles that helped the Hurricanes reach the top of the mountain—and apply them in a way that makes sense for Seattle.
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.
Emily Kaplan returns to the Sound Of Hockey Podcast for the first time in… oh, about EIGHT YEARS! It’s a great conversation that ranges from the Kraken’s addition of Melinda French Gates to their ownership group to the current Stanley Cup Final.
Plus, the guys continue their journey through Kraken trade targets with a game of “Stay Away or Make a Play.”
Often compared to collegiate sports, junior hockey fandom is rooted in geography and fueled by a tribal-like passion that connects communities to their teams. It’s a fascinating form of hockey to follow.
A league featuring some of the best 16- to 21-year-old players in the world, the CHL experiences constant roster turnover. Yet for fans, many of whom possess encyclopedia-like knowledge of their teams, players often begin to feel like family members, embodying the way supporters want their community to be represented.
It doesn’t take long for Everett players to realize how special of a community it is to play in. Though it sits within the greater Seattle metro area, it has long maintained an identity of its own. It’s a hard-nosed, blue-collar community that prides itself on its work ethic, a mentality reflected in the teams that represent it.
Calling Angel of the Winds Arena their home for nearly 25 years, Silvertips fans bring the cowbells, noise and passion for their team like no one else. And in 2025-26, their passion was finally rewarded.
Winning 57 games in the regular season, which led them to their second straight Scotty Munro Trophy for the best regular season, then going 16-2 in the postseason en route to the team’s first league championship, it was truly a dream season. There was just one hill left to climb…
Everett falls short at the Memorial Cup
One of the most well-traveled fan bases in the WHL, it was no surprise to see Everett well represented at Prospera Place in Kelowna for each game the Silvertips played at the Memorial Cup.
And it was quite the debut showing for the Silvertips. Everett went 2-1 in round-robin play, beating the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in the semifinal to advance to the championship against the Kitchener Rangers, who did not falter once during round-robin play.
Still, hope was in the air for the Silvertips on Sunday afternoon in Kelowna, but that quickly faded away as Rangers scored four unanswered goals and pulled away in the final. Playing catch-up for what felt like the entire game, the Silvertips ultimately fell to the Rangers 6-2, ending their magic-carpet ride of a season.
Head coach Steve Hamilton expressed the love he had for the team he was able to coach over the last two seasons, giving a lot of praise to his group’s fight to the very end.
“We rode this train as long as we could,” Hamilton said. “It’s been a privilege and an honor. After two amazing years together, and something that we’ve built together, I just value those guys and appreciate them.”
And while the loss will stick with them, these are memories that will be taken with these players for the rest of their lives.
Everett really impressed with its domination all season long. Despite playing a WHL-high 91 games, the team finished the season without losing back-to-back games a single time. They really felt like a group that was bought in to playing for each other.
“I’m just so thankful,” forward Zackary Shantz said. “We do so much together off the ice, and it’s going to be weird not seeing the guys… just the tightest team I’ve been a part of.”
Plenty of Silvertips had great showings during the tournament. Matias Vanhanen, with eight points, was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team, while also winning the George Parsons Sportsmanship Trophy.
Also named to the All-Star Team was phenom defenseman Landon DuPont, who, with six points, became the first Exceptional Status defenseman to score at the Memorial Cup.
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 1, 2026
Despite all of the attention paid to DuPont this tournament, Hamilton felt he boosted his game when they needed him most.
“He was awesome,” Hamilton said. “He’s a special player, and I didn’t think he changed one bit. He did what he does all the time and handles it with class and poise. It was special.”
Kelowna proved to be a worthy host of the Memorial Cup once again. A beautiful oasis-like city in British Columbia, it provided a scenic backdrop for the tournament.
Prospera Place in Kelowna before the final game of the Memorial CupLarge Memorial Cup display in front of the Delta Hotels Grand Okanogan.Everett Silvertips fans decorated their vehicles ahead of traveling to the Memorial Cup.Waterfront Park in KelownaCHL Top 50 players (L-R) Eric Lindros, Denis Savard and Shea Weber being interviewed by TSN.Prospera Place in Kelowna as the Memorial Cup Final gets underway.
What’s left in the cupboard?
Signs are showing there’s not going to be much left from the Silvertips’ player base once next season rolls around. Players like Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen and Detroit Red Wings prospect Carter Bear are all but certainly heading to the professional ranks to join their NHL organizations.
The NCAA is going to have a plethora of Silvertips heading its way, too. Anders Miller, Tarin Smith, Zackary Shantz, Raiden LeGall, and Shea Busch are all committed to collegiate programs for next season, and it has been widely speculated that DuPont will move to the college ranks as well.
Still, as they’ve proven year after year, don’t ever count out the Silvertips. This franchise, which has notably never missed the WHL playoffs, always finds a way to keep the train moving and continue building out its player base. There are still plenty of recent first-round draft picks and exciting pieces in the system, like Reid Nicol and Mirco Dufour, to help supplement the buildup once again.
#WHL 57 wins in the regular season, winning their second consecutive Scotty Munro Trophy, 16-2 in the WHL playoffs ending in their first ever league championship, and a valiant run at the #MemorialCup
Everett forward Jesse Heslop has been with the Silvertips since 2021, playing more than 300 games with the team during the regular season and playoffs. He recognized that while the loss in the final stings, the group will carry the memories they made for the rest of their careers.
“As soon as I set foot in this organization, I knew it was the cream of the crop of the WHL,” Heslop said. “To get here after those four long years, it means everything. I’ve been with a few of those core guys this whole time, so obviously a sad feeling tonight, but we’ll look back and be happy.”
Banners will be raised to the rafters of Angel of the Winds Arena at the beginning of next season, and rightfully so. One game shy of the ultimate goal, Hamilton couldn’t be prouder of his group.
“The sting will fade and with time you’re able to get a perspective,” Hamilton said. “There’s a lifetime of memories enacted here. Right now you can’t see past the sting of losing the final game of the season, but there’s so much to celebrate… this was a special group.”
Header Courtesy of Evan Morud and the Everett Silvertips
