Shane Wright (photo by Dinur Blum, via Flickr).
According to hockey-reference.com, Shane Wright is an 18-year-old who averages just 7:06 of ice time a game. Likely, the Seattle Kraken coaching staff is limiting his ice time because he doesn’t have the experience to play in more situations.
However, he can only gain experience with more playing time. So far, Wright is only one of two players from his draft class to see any action in the NHL. The other is first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky, who averages 11:07 minutes a night with the Montreal Canadiens.
If you were to Google Seattle Kraken forward Shane Wright, there is a lot of negative press centered around his ice time minutes and development, just a few games into his NHL career. Whether this criticism is warranted, we must take a step back and figure out how Wright stacks up to other players who were selected fourth overall in their respective draft classes for the past ten seasons.
In 2021, the New Jersey Devils held the fourth-overall pick and selected Luke Hughes, brother of Quinn Hughes and Jack Hughes.
Quinn plays in Vancouver, and Jack is one of the young stars assisting the Devils’ rebuild. Luke has yet to play a game in the NHL, opting to continue his career at the University of Michigan.
The Detroit Red Wings landed the fourth-overall pick in 2020 and used it on Lucas Raymond. He made his debut at the start of the 2021-22 season, playing in all 82 games and netting 57 points. Additionally, Raymond earned All-Rookie honors at the season’s end as a 19-year-old, playing 18:09 a night.
Bowen Byram was the Colorado Avalanche’s first pick (fourth overall) in the 2019 Entry Draft. As a rookie in 2020-21, he appeared in 19 games averaging 17:31 minutes.
Byram bumped up to 30 games and 18:48 minutes during the 2021-22 season. During the Avs Stanley Cup run, he played in 20 games averaging 19:22.
The Ottawa Senators are one of the league’s early success stories in 2022-23, and it all starts with captain Brady Tkachuk, their pick (4th overall) in the 2018 Entry Draft.
After leaving Boston University, he jumped to the NHL as a 19-year-old, appearing in 71 games and averaging 16:01 minutes a night. After 282 games, he’s already collected 200 points.
The Edmonton Oilers selected Jesse Puljujarvi with the fourth-overall pick in the 2016 Entry Draft. He broke into the league as an 18-year-old and suited up for 28 games, averaging 11:15 a game. He’s struggled early in his career. But several seasons later, Puljujarvi reached a personal best of 16:14 in 2021-22 when he played 65 games.
Only die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs’ fans remember that Mitch Marner was the fourth-overall pick in the 2015 Entry Draft. In 2016-17 he joined the Leafs, where he’s been a mainstay, scoring 139 goals in 433 games. During his first season, 77 games, Marner averaged 16:49 minutes a night and rewarded his team with 61 points.
The Calgary Flames selected Samuel Bennett with the fourth-overall pick in the 2014 Entry Draft. He played one game in 2014-15 before cracking the lineup the following season. In 77 games, he scored 36 points and averaged 15:09 a game as a 19-year-old.
Seth Jones is another defenceman who went fourth overall, this time to the Nashville Predators in the 2013 Entry Draft. As a 19-year-old in the 2013-14 season, he made his NHL debut and tallied 25 points in 77 games, averaging 19:37 minutes a game.
Finally, the New York Islanders selected Griffin Reinhart as the fourth-overall pick in the 2012 Entry Draft. He has played only 37 games between the Islanders and Edmonton Oilers. Despite his lack of playing time, he did average 17:14 minutes a night when he did suit up.
The Seattle Kraken management and coaching staff must look deep into its development plans for Wright. They assumed he was NHL-ready right out of the gate.
However, he doesn’t play the number of minutes other former fourth-overall picks do. That suggests he isn’t ready.
They need to act sooner rather than later regarding his development. If Wright needs to continue his journey in the minors or even juniors, it would be better to pull the trigger now than damage his development for future seasons.
The numbers show that most players picked in his position were given more opportunities to prove themselves, so why are the Seattle Kraken holding Wright back?
General manager Ron Francis should have the final say about who calls the shots regarding Wright’s progression. He’s a Hall of Famer who averaged nearly 20 minutes a night during his 23-year career.
If anyone understands the importance of development, it’s the two-time Stanley Cup champion. Francis could be waiting out Wright’s ten-game stint before making a move; however, Wright’s attitude toward the team and their handling of the situation could turn sour.
There is a long track record of NHL prospects who never cut it in the NHL, either because the team mishandled their development or they were never skilled enough to play at the highest level. It is way too early to tell what Wright’s future looks like.
Until the Seattle Kraken does what is best for him, the question will continue: why is he in his current situation, and how does it get fixed?
What do you think the Seattle Kraken should do about getting Shane Wright more ice time? Let us know in the comments section.