Kraken Draft Well; EXCITING Stucky Cup Makes Diehard Fans Very Optimistic For the Future of Hockey in Seattle

Taking some time to reflect and noting the external audit coming to an end which somehow magically turned the same management into a competitive organization, but what have we the fan base actually learned about this Kraken team that was not known prior. We know the team is moving in a new direction and looks to prioritize the development of their young players and draft picks, as has been shown by allowing Jaden Schwartz to move on to Colorado, Jamie Oleksiak to Vancouver, and Shane Wright has been confirmed to be moving on to a new location before the summer is over: we just do not know what that will be or what the Kraken will seemingly be looking to get back in return as thankfully right doesn't have a No Movement Clause. Eeli Tolvanen also probably won’t be on the team this upcoming season, but would fit in well with the Dallas Stars, Ottawa Senators, or Anaheim Ducks.

Let’s start with the 2026 NHL Draft and what the media outlets are all saying… Kraken earned an A+from most media outlets due to drafting the 2nd Best Player in this year's draft after he fell in their lap at pick 7. It's one thing to add to an amazing young prospect or get a great draft pool in general, The Kraken have to develop those players and prioritize putting those picks in positions to be successful and continue to grow as hockey players.  These guys can’t keep getting buried in the third and fourth lines and expected to develop into a first line player. Leo Carlsson grew into the 1C role and now they want to make him the highest paid player in the league.

As someone who was at Development Camp and Attended the Stucky Cup with my friend Kevin Skraban, to us as the critical and skeptical eyes of a cautious fan; The Kraken added to a Top 5 Prospect Pool, but diving deeper than that Chase Reid owns the ice when he’s on and just looks elite with room to improve, Casey Mutryn with clear high Hockey IQ and was the most impressive skater, William Tomko sees the ice well and had 2G and an Apple for team blue in the Stucky Cup, Zaccharya Wisdom has sick hands, and Jake O’ Brien controls play and the puck really well, and playing against all these guys Blake Fiddler really stood out and was the best player on the white team and was a really physical presence. Will Reynolds was also a standout and helped drive play for the white team. Ola Palme scored the only goal for the white team. Maks Corovic,  an 18 year old Invited Goaltender that went undrafted was the only goalie that wasn’t scored against in his Twenty minutes, he made a couple really good saves as he had a stacked blue team playing well in front of him.

As for the Kraken as a Franchise they were publicly stated to be parting ways with Shane Wright this summer after the Fourth Overall Pick has had a rough 4 years in Seattle after lighting it up for the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Wright has 78 points (36 goals and 42 assists) in 169 games with Kraken. Last season was the Worst of Wright’s Career stat wise posting 27 points(12 goals and 15 assist) n 74 Games and while it may turn around, it’s clear he does not fit the system or identity of this Seattle Kraken Hockey Team and the way, Coach Lane Lambert, wants this club to play a certain style of hockey. Unfortunately the Kraken were never going to hit on every single draft pick and it's unfortunate Wright didn’t work out in Seattle. It however doesn’t take a genius to understand 51 Goals for a guy under 6 feet tall who doesn’t have an elite shot isn’t a good reason to draft that person and it's a lesson learned for the Kraken.

Moving on to the topic of  Forward Jake O’Brien, when he was asked about playing in Coachella next year he was very clear “He didn’t get drafted to Coachella, He’s looking to be on the Kraken opening night line up” and I look forward to seeing in Preseason Camp. He’s added 15 pounds and very clearly put some serious work into his skating since being drafted to the Kraken. You love seeing getting drafted being the motivation to make a player clearly prioritize their development. Seeing 18 year olds take the game that seriously and be professionals is a great sign for the Kraken Future. We as a fan base want to win and the Kraken as an organization have collected young guys who WANT to win.

We have to embrace the suck together, and support these young guys as there is going to be a serious learning curve for a team packed with 18, 19, and 20 something year olds.  Management wants to develop these players and then continue to prioritize resigning these players and other young guys looking to get drafted see that and while it may not be a dream destination for a Veteran like Jason Robertson who is looking to jump ship or stay in Dallas on his terms; for a players first team I think the fan base in Seattle is the kind of thing that can make a player want to develop into a star here. The Climate Pledge Arena is electric and it FEELS like Seattle in there, and the Pacific Northwest genuinely loves Hockey. I’ve already experienced that first hand having worked with locals in the area in an attempt to play hockey at the University of Washington. This is a place that will be more forgiving than a Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadians, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, or  New York Rangers type of market. Seattle loves to win, but their love for the team is deeper than what’s on the scoreboard. This city is waiting for Hockey Player to fall in love with, and the first one will get a Marshawn Lynch type of love, because he will be the first and they never forget the first. Asked Ryan Donato, he scored the first goal in franchise history and fans will never forget that.

Joey Daccord has been beloved by this city, but goals don’t get scored by goalies, as hard as Joey has tried, and notably the problem for the Kraken largely has not been in goal; they have developed goaltenders to an NHL level well. The team will be looking to ice Mackie Samoskevich, Matty Beniers, Berkley Catton,  Jared McCann, Bobby McMann, Jordan Eberle, Chandler Stephenson, Freddy Gaudreau, Ryan Winterton, Curtis Douglas, Ben Meyers, Jagger Firkus, Jake O’Brien, and Kappo Kakko. I am sure Oskar Fisker Molgaard, Logan Morrison,  and Jani Nyman will always be amongst those eyeing a spot on the Kraken Starting Lineup as well. As we shift to the topic of defenseman, that is what the Kraken should be looking to trade Shane Wright for unless they can get premium shooting talent like Connor Bedard, Podkulzin from Edmonton, or Emil Heinamen from the Isalnders. The defensive core is where the Kraken are packed with vets and you’d love to see them try to obtain Cole Hutson from Montreal or another young talented defenseman to add some youth and talented skaters to help out on the back end. Right now the Kraken have 18.4M in Cap Space, and their defensive core will probably be comprised from a selection including Vince Dunn, Brandon Montour, Adam Larsson, Ryen Lindgren, Ryker Evans, Tyson Jugnauth, Josh Mahura, Cale Fleury, Ville Ottavinen, Valtteri Piironen, Ty Nelson,  and Kaden Hamell. Although I am sure Will Reynolds, Lukas Dragicevic and Caden Price will also try and do everything possible to try and crack the Kraken starting line up for the season.

There is a lot to be excited about in Seattle and If management can follow through on prioritizing signing these guys  after they develop then this could be the beginning of better hockey in Seattle. Seattle isn’t just a hockey town, it’s THE SPORTS CITY. With the return of the NBA, it will be the only city in the country with every major professional sport. Everyone in the city loves the Seahawks because they win, but you have to look for a Kraken fan. The organization seems to be headed in the right direction for now and we will all be patiently waiting to see what happens with Shane Wright and the last 18.4 Million in cap space….

LETS GO KRAKEN!

Very Respectfully,

Caleb N.