Seattle Kraken: (Daniel) Sprong has sprung in the Emerald City
When the Seattle Kraken traded away Marcus Johansson, getting Daniel Sprong back looked like a throw-in. Six games into his Seattle career, Sprong is proving people wrong.
At the trade deadline, Seattle Kraken acquired forward Daniel Sprong. His NHL resume might not look the most flattering, having played for three different franchises already (he is only 25). But there is much more to his game than what’s strictly on paper. He is the type of player the Kraken needs.
Sprong, the early days
Sprong played his junior hockey days for Charlottetown Islanders of the QMJHL. His Junior career spanned five years with three 30-goal seasons.
The Pittsburgh Penguins selected him in the second round (46th overall) in 2015. He played 18 games with the Pens during his rookie NHL season before being returned to Charlottetown for further development.
With Pittsburgh being so deep at forward, there wasn’t room for Sprong in their top-6, resulting in his demotion to the AHL. In 2018, he began his year in Pittsburgh and was traded to Anaheim for defenseman Marcus Pettersson.
Anaheim and Washington
After the trade, Sprong had his first real opportunity to log some ice time, which resulted in him potting 14 goals (tied for fourth on the team) and 5 assists in the season’s final 47 games.
Sprong was again on the outside looking in as the Ducks entered another rebuild. After 8 games, Anaheim sent him down to their AHL affiliate in San Diego.
Looking for more defense, Anaheim traded him, at the 2020 deadline, to the Capitals in exchange for defenseman Christian Djoos. His time in Washington was similar to Pittsburgh – Washington had their top-6 forwards secured.
With Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Tom Wilson. on the team, prime minutes were scarce. Despite being down on the depth chart, Sprong scored 13 goals and added 7 assists in 42 games.
Sprong got off to a slow start in 2021; the lack of playing time resulted in him scoring only 8 goals and 6 assists.