Caleb Nance’s Mock Draft and Other NHL News for the Seattle Kraken Hockey Team
Unless you live under a rock or don’t care then you are probably aware the Kraken pick 7th in the 2026 NHL draft. Toronto finished one place above the Kraken in the lottery odds with 8.5% chance (Seattle had a 7.5% chance of winning). You are probably wondering why I am noting this; simply stated… if the Kraken had not beat the Vegas Golden Knights at home in overtime in late April (Kraken were 8 points out of a playoff spot at this point) , they would have finished in Toronto’s Lottery Position; knowing what we now the Kraken would’ve been given a chance to draft first. Ivar Sternberg or Gavin Mckenna, or maybe the highly sought after defenseman that are abundant in this year's draft, as long as you are in the top 5. When looking at the value of picks over the last 25 years, there is a larger gap in value between pick 1 and pick 4, then there is between pick 5 and the last pick in the NHL Draft.
Obviously good players like Brandon Hagel, Goalies who never draft high, or Russian players would be the exception. This is important, because no league gets a guaranteed star out of the number 1 pick. The NHL number one pick since 2012 has been pretty unanimous. Mcdavid, Mckinnion, Bedard, Celebrini.. When you end up with a generational talent as the top prize. 2012 was the last time we had serious debate over the top pick in the Draft. Edmonton took Nail Yakupov. Not until pick 5 did the NHL get a player who stuck. Morgan Rielly to Toronto. Matt Dumba went 7th that year to Minnesota. Filip Forsberg went 11. Jacob Slavin went in the 100’s. In other words none of these scouts know the talent and the personality are telling, but a guy could hit a growth spurt at 20 or 22 and find a way to keep turning it up a level. NHL players don’t just have NHL Level Talent: they have NHL level work ethic and character.
My favorite thing about hockey is that hockey loves hard workers. This isn’t basketball, one guy can’t play 3 quarters of a game and carry a team. The best teams see the smallest disparity between their minute splits. Top heavy teams aren’t made for the playoffs. They are designed to be entertaining. Insert the current Detroit Redwings, they have less than no chance at winning a cup, but they are exciting to watch. The Kraken have to be the most boring team in the NHL. Over the last 5 years the Kraken have made the playoffs just once, and what did they do that year in free agency? The organization let everyone from their playoff run walk for nothing. Donato went to Chicago. Geekie went to Boston. Will Borgen to New York for Lindgren who doesn't come close in skating ability. The Kraken have managed this organization into an NHL Bottom Feeder. They can't even lose to get better draft odds properly, seemingly unaware of standings and winning games that don’t matter late in the season for pride and to try and sell tickets. Kraken Fans want playoff hockey in Seattle, but it will seemingly be a few years.
This team is in a rebuild and unfortunately it comes after not a lot of post season results. The Kraken finished with less than 81 points for a third season in a row. This team is building a great forward prospect pool and has three teams worth of solid goaltending, even with Joey Daccord taking a step back with a higher goals against average (3.03 goals per game) and lower save percentage (.896). Philip Grubauer, who cleared waivers to last year to Coachella Valley, had a bounce back season with a .909 and a 2.65 goals against. Lane Lambert has been a great coach, but his system is made for a bigger and more physical group of players. The Kraken need to stop trying to play playoff hockey all year; We’ve seen Carolina prove that formula does not lead to post season success, as players often get worn down. There is a strategy with starting modest and gradually increasing intensity and risk throughout the season. Kraken are seemingly just trying to go and play every game like a playoff game…
The practices aren’t designed to cater player development, rather addressing strategy and going through the motions similar to how a team does in games. Tampa Bay and Montreal practice individual skills, shooting, faceoffs, passing. Development is an essential part of hockey and especially with a team of 22 and 23 year olds. Maybe Lane Lambert is a good coach, but his system is out of touch for this roster. Lane wants to play defensive hockey and spend heavy amounts of energy to cut down angles in the defensive zone, unfortunately these stunt the creativity and marginalize the offensive abilities of our young forwards. Is Lane Lambert the coach who can develop these young guys or should the Kraken look for a fourth coach in four years? The coach at the University of Denver, David Carle, should be the front runner for the Kraken Bench Boss. He is a proven winner and program builder, looking to build his own program in the NHL. Seattle is so abysmal at hockey that this could be a great starting point for trying to get our youth in a position to win hockey games. This guy is a master of development and that is something the Kraken have never had. As a team who seemingly must build through the draft, this organization could be a great place for a coach who has openly stated “he wants to do NHL hockey his way.”
The results of this audit are momentous to this young Kraken team that has underachieved for the last 5 years; two positives are a deep young forward prospect pool and a well developed goalie prospect pool. The Kraken should be looking to take a defensive prospect with the 7th pick this year. Carels or Verhoeff are my picks, but if the right player falls, management may have to take another forward. The Kraken should avoid centers under 6 feet tall.
Let’s Go KRAKEN!
Very Respectfully,
Caleb N