Vince Dunn, St. Louis Blues, Seattle Kraken.
Expansion not only brings a new team to an underserved market but also creates opportunities to succeed for players who might not get one with their former teams. The Seattle Kraken drafted some talented young players in the expansion draft. They get their chance to step up in the Emerald City.
Recent history bears this out. Little-known players such as William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, and Reilly Smith made names for themselves during the Vegas Golden Knights’ inaugural 2017-18 season.
Now it’s time for young players drafted by the Seattle Kraken to do the same as those Vegas players did. Ahead is a list of players primed for breakout performances in Seattle’s first season.
There are a few ground rules to qualify. Talent is obviously first. Next, the player had to show signs of hope at his previous stop(s). Finally, he has to be 25 or younger on opening day.
It won’t be easy for him to make the Kraken roster., But if he does, Alex True could become a physical force in the NHL. The former Seattle Thunderbirds star is one of many big bodies GM Ron Francis drafted. He’s got the size (6-5, 205-pounds) and nasty streak to make the league take notice of him.
I’m not sure how much Jeremy Lauzon counts as a breakout player. As a rookie last season, he saw a good amount of time on Boston’s top defense pair with Charlie McAvoy.
Lauzon was the stay-at-home defender to offset McAvoy’s exploits in the offensive zone. He might not light up the scoreboard very often, but Lauzon will light up those who skate into the Kraken defensive zone.
Seattle Kraken fans will love this guy. Nathan Bastian is both big (6-4, 205-pounds) and a badass. His 138 hits last season is warning to potential opponents that there are no easy plays when he’s on the ice.
With New Jersey, Bastian played on the fourth line, specializing in defensive zone starts and the penalty kill. Expect him to be a big part of Seattle’s PK as well. But Bastian should also see some time on the second power-play unit. For all his size and grit, he does a nice job with the puck on his stick.
A veteran of 353 NHL games, it’s hard to believe that Jared McCann turned just 25 in May. He’s been with three organizations so far but has rarely had an opportunity to shine as he does in Seattle.
Sometimes being a solid two-way player is a bit of a curse. In McCann’s case, teams he played for chose to take advantage of his skills in a defensive-oriented role, and he exceeded expectations. McCann spent plenty of time defending the opposition’s scorers since he came into the league and is still a career +26.
When he did have opportunities to play top-six minutes, McCann didn’t look out of place. Despite injuries last season, the versatile forward had 32 points (10 power play) for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A broken nose delayed Kole Lind‘s rise to the Vancouver Canucks main roster in 2020-21. Even with the injury, he still showed enough potential to be a late-season callup. The Swift Current, Sask. native went scoreless in seven games but averaged over 13 minutes per night.
Lind can play both with skill and physicality. With Utica in 2019-20, he had 44 points and 64 penalty minutes over 61 games. The rookie will be counted on to use his grit in the dirty areas and nifty puck skills to create scoring opportunities.
By the end of this season, Lind will be recognized as one of the biggest steals of the expansion draft. Vancouver will regret exposing him.
Talk about an opportunity waiting to happen. Mason Appleton fought his way up the Winnipeg Jets depth chart the last two seasons, eventually earning top-six minutes. The Jets felt he was on the cusp of a breakout last year. They put him on a line with scorers Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers.
Now Seattle can get the benefit of Appleton’s growth. While not necessarily a primary scoring threat, the former Michigan State Spartans star native excels at distributing the puck to his teammates for quality scoring chances.
At 6-3, 200-pounds, Appleton fits in with Kraken’s strategy of adding big bodies. However, his size doesn’t come at the expense of either speed or puck passing skills. Appleton will get his shot at Seattle’s top-six and second-unit power-play time.
Anyone who read our mocks leading up to the expansion draft knows how strongly I feel about Vince Dunn. When I read scouting reports on young players, certain buzz words catch my attention, such as dynamic, intelligent, hard-working, and vision. Those are attributes that set some prospects apart from others.
Dunn is dynamic with the puck on his stick. He sees the ice well and makes smart decisions. Just as important, the defenseman isn’t afraid to work hard to take the puck away from opponents. Dunn doesn’t neglect his defensive duties either. Last year was his first negative +/- season in the NHL. Then again, St. Louis goalies struggled with consistency for a good part of 2020-21.
Some might ask why a guy who scored 35 points in 2018-19 can still be a breakout candidate. Even with that good season under his belt, Dunn gets overlooked in the conversation of up-and-coming defensemen. It would be a surprise if he scored over 50 points this year.
In St. Louis, players such as Alex Pietrangelo and Torey Krug took power-play minutes away from him. Dunn is the Seattle Kraken’s top candidate to be the man advantage quarterback. He should more than justify the team’s belief in his abilities.
Who do you think the Seattle Kraken’s breakout players will be this season? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.