Seattle Kraken; Expansion draft hits and misses
Probable Lineup
Forward Line Combinations
- Donskoi – Gourde – Eberle
- Lind – McCann – Appleton
- Jarnkrok – Blackwell – Tanev
- ? – True – Bastian
Defense Pairs
- Larsson – Dunn
- Oleksiak – Luazon
- Giordano – Cholowski (maybe MacDermid)
Goalies
- Driedger
- Vanecek
Wrap up
The two keywords of the Seattle Kraken expansion draft were size and grit. They added players with considerable size such as Oleksiak, True, McDermid, and Soucy. There should also be no problems with putting hits on opponents. There are a bunch of players who can get after it on the forecheck. Unfortunately, physicality only gets a team so far. This isn’t the 1970s when Philadelphia imposed their will and beat the crap out of other teams. The game has shifted toward speed and skill.
Sure the Kraken have plenty of bottom-six forwards, but there are way too many holes. The first being scoring. Francis drafted zero offensive threats that opponents need to worry about. For those thinking Yanni Gourde is that guy, keep in mind that over the last two seasons, he averaged 0.52 points per game. When he recovers, Gourde joins Eberle and Donskoi on the first line. On almost every team in the league, this trio would be second liners at best.
The next biggest issue is no center depth. Is there any center on this roster who can be counted on to play anything other than a grinder role? Also, none of them have the necessary faceoff skills to win key draws at crucial points of a game.
As the roster currently stands, too many players will be asked to fill roles they haven’t succeeded at before. On the bright side, there are some good prospects like Lind and Appleton who can grow into top line players. We also don’t know about trades and free agency. Francis could go on a spending spree and opening night, Gabriel Landeskog, Jack Eichel, and Vladimir Tarasenko. It’s unlikely, but there is more than enough cap space available to make it happen.
Related Story: The Seattle Kraken Expansion Drafted More Than Just NHL Players
Who were your hits and misses of the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.