Morgan Geekie, Seattle Kraken (photo by Dinur Blum, via Flickr).
Of the four pro teams’ Top 5 lists we’ve done, the Seattle Kraken is both the easiest and most difficult at all. It’s easy because there just aren’t many U-25 players expected for a sport that has a formal player development system. There are maybe eight to ten players to seriously consider.
That’s also the reason why this list is difficult to put together. It feels like the list of promising young players on a first-year expansion team should be much more extensive. It’s one thing for a new team to struggle and have a group of young players on the way to provide hope for the future.
Unfortunately, the team Kraken General Manager Ron Francis assembled doesn’t feature much youth, which puts a damper on future expectations. Further, there is no place to develop talent without a minor league affiliate of their own. Any AHL sharing agreements in place Seattle has are used more like a second taxi squad in case of injury.
Still, the overall lack of star power or high ceilings of the players listed ahead is a somewhat damning account of how Francis and the Kraken botched the expansion draft. There are solid NHL players who either fill now or will fill depth roles. That’s fine; every team needs a base.
Ryan Winterton – C (18): The Seattle Kraken drafted the Hamilton Bulldogs forward in Round 3 of the NHL Entry Draft. Based on raw talent, he was a good pick. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been on the ice very much over the last few seasons.
The OHL didn’t play last season (although he had a decent showing at the WJC U-18 tournament) due to COVID, so his development was delayed. Additionally, a shoulder injury prevented him from attending Seattle’s training camp in September and starting the junior season on time.
Winterton rejoined Hamilton mid-season and has 25 points in 15 games. As a prospect, Winterton has good size at 6’2” and 175-pounds. His body should fill out as he matures. The 18-year-old is a good skater and is willing to go to the dirty areas to make plays. By the end of this season, it should be a little easier to get a read on his prospects for advancement.
Who is the real Kole Lind? Is he the player who was a near first-round draft pick in 2017 (second-round 33rd overall? Or is Lind the player left unprotected by Vancouver, who then passed through waivers when the Kraken cut their roster down to 22 players to start the season?
If it’s option A, then Seattle has a crafty playmaker with a high hockey IQ who should be a mainstay of their power play. In addition, Lind added some spark and physicality to his game this year. He has 98 penalty minutes in 47 games at Charlotte.
On the other hand, Lind could top out at what’s known in baseball as a Four-A player. Someone good enough to excel in the minors but can’t seem to produce at the highest levels.
Full disclosure, I strongly disliked this pick off of Montreal’s exposed list in the expansion draft. At least three players from the bleu, blanc, et rouge; I would have taken ahead of him. That’s water under the bridge now.
What the Seattle Kraken have with Cale Fleury is a raw talent that could eventually become a reliable NHL player in a few years. He’s got decent size, skates well through the neutral zone, handles the puck efficiently, and makes smart plays in the defensive zone.
Fleury has to learn to put that full package of skills together consistently. That will come with time and maturity.
The closest thing the Kraken has to a local kid is Alexandre True. The Danish import played two junior seasons for the Seattle Thunderbirds, including 2015-16 when the T-Birds lost in the WHL Finals to Brandon.
He’s certainly a big body at 6’5” and 200-pounds. Using his size is one thing True does quite well. Rarely does he get muscled off a puck or pounded against the boards. True is usually the one doing the hitting.
His game is not all physicality. True is a traditional power forward who likes to go to the net. He sees the ice well and has the ability to not only take a pass and turn it into a shot, but he can also make good passes to open teammates.
Scoreless in eight appearances with Seattle, True has 10 goals and 15 assists in 35 games at Charlotte. The biggest thing he needs to work on is playing with more discipline and cutting down his trips to the penalty box.
This season, Ryker Evans is lighting it up for the Regina Pats. Since Seattle drafted him in the second round last year, Evans kicked his game up a notch. The lefty blueliner has 48 points (11 goals and 37 assists) in 44 games, the third-most among Western Hockey League defensemen.
Evans reminds me a little bit of a penetrating point guard. He’ll skate the puck out of his own end into the neutral zone, draw a defender or two, and dish to the open man. The way he sees and thinks the game and then executes shows a player who can make it to the NHL.
As an overage junior player, it’s hard to get a good read on him. Stepping up in competition, probably in the AHL next year, will show more of how well he stacks up against other prospects. One thing Evans needs to work on is staying out of the penalty box. A little bulk on his 5’11”, 180-pound frame couldn’t hurt either.
As much as I disliked the Seattle Kraken’s selection of Fleury from Montreal, I absolutely loved them drafting Jeremy Lauzon from Boston. He got solid skills and NHL size (6’1”, 205-pounds). More importantly, he plays with an edge. Something that every team needs.
Lauzon has some offensive skills. But people who expect him to be a 25-30 point per season scorer will be disappointed. It’s just not his bread and butter. For those wanting a physical defenseman who isn’t afraid to hit or clear the crease of opponents, this is their guy.
With the Bruins last season, he did well in a role as the stay-at-home counterpart to Boston’s more offensively aggressive defensemen. He and Charlie McAvoy had some decent chemistry.
It’s fair to say the Seattle Kraken struggle in their own zone. Lauzon deserves his share of the blame with his penchant for inopportune penalties.
One of the reasons Francis drafted Morgan Geekie was his familiarity with what the center can do for their time together in Carolina. The 23-year-old is definitely an NHL player. What his role will be is still very much up in the air.
Geekie is just about the only center Seattle has that can win more than half of his faceoffs. He’s got some basic offensive upside and can contribute to the offense. Then again, Geekie is responsible in his own zone and plays solid defense.
Taking the glass-half-full approach, the Seattle Kraken have a useful player they can use on both ends of the ice. Additionally, Geekie is versatile enough for coach Dave Hakstol to use up and down the lineup.
The Seattle Kraken selected Matty Beniers with their first-ever entry draft pick (second overall). It was a wise selection. He is multi-talented, and his strong two-way game should keep him in the NHL for a long time.
Currently, Beniers plays on a stacked Wolverines team. Aside from him, Michigan has last year’s first fourth, and fifth overall picks, Owen Power, Luke Hughes, and Kent Johnson, respectively. They also have Mackie Samoskevich (24th), Johnnie Beacher (30th, 2019), and Brendon Brisson (29th, 2020). Not to mention a few later-round picks on the roster.
One of the best ways to improve is playing alongside the best, and It doesn’t get much better than his college teammates. Even better, Beniers is the team’s leading scorer with 36 points in 28 games. He was thought highly enough of to be one of a handful of college players on the recent United States Olympic hockey team.
Beniers is a multi-talented two-way forward who excels in all three zones. Before the draft, Matthew Zator of the Hockey Writers described the center as follows:
Beniers’ skills go beyond offense, that’s why he’s going to be such a find for whatever team drafts him this year. He does almost everything at a high level, including smart and effective defense. He’s basically the ultimate two-way threat in every sense of the word.
He forechecks like a madman, plays a creative game in all three zones, and has a hockey IQ that rivals the greats. Combine that with his exceptional mobility, playmaking, work ethic, and goal-scoring instincts, and the NHL might just have the next Jonathan Toews on their hands.
This heralded center Matty Beniers is coming to the Emerald City, eventually. It won’t be this year. The beginning of 2022-23 is iffy, but by October 2023, he should be a mainstay of the Seattle Kraken lineup.
Seattle Kraken fans should expect to see this list change drastically a year from now.