Seattle Kraken; Expansion draft hits and misses

Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft
Brandon Tanev, Seattle Kraken (photo by Jonathan West).

Wednesday, the Seattle Kraken chose their 30 initial players in the expansion draft. We’ll go over who they scored with and who the misses were.

The Seattle Kraken announced the 30 players they selected in the expansion draft , and it was anticlimactic to say the least. Some of the draftees are solid players, others are far from it. Apparently, there were no side deals cut when it came to choosing players from a particular team. That’s not good because, honestly, some of the selections were horrible.

I’ll go team by team to analyze where GM Ron Francis got it right and where he didn’t. Whether good or bad, I’ll explain why. We have the picks broken into four categories, hits, bigger hits, misses, and meh.

On the Fence

Before taking one side or another on most of these picks, let’s start with the “meh” picks. Generally, I found these to be okay players but also redundant. Also, there were some cases where Francis might have done a little better with another player.

Arizona Coyotes

Tyler Pitlick, LW – Meh

Tyler Pitlick’s time with the Seattle Kraken was extremely brief. Thursday, he was traded to Calgary for a 2022 fourth-round pick. So we won’t know if this was a hit or miss for some time.

Los Angeles Kings

Kurtis MacDermid, D – Meh/hit

Apparently, Francis likes big defensemen. Kurtis MacDermid is 6-5, 233-pounds. He’s no stranger to trading blows, either. MacDermid can drop the gloves and go punch-for-punch with anyone in the league.

I can see why MacDermid was drafted, and I’m okay with it. But I liked Blake Lizotte and Carl Grundstrom, and Kale Clague better.

New Jersey Devils

Nathan Bastian, RW – Meh

Nathan Bastian is what he is, a big (6-4, 207-pounds) fourth line wing. Given enough ice time, the Kitchener, the Ontario native might score 25 points on a season. He’ll give 100% on the ice every night.

San Jose Sharks

Alexander True, C – Meh

An undrafted free agent, Alexander True, played in 19 NHL games over the last two seasons for San Jose. This is his chance to prove himself. True sees the ice well, which leads to opportunities for his teammates.

The Kraken had to take at least one former Seattle Thunderbirds alumni in the expansion draft. He was on the T-Birds 2016–17 that competed for the Memorial Cup. Size matters to Ron Francis, True is another 6-5 giant.

Next: Page 2 – Worthwhile picks

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