Seattle Kraken need attention at center
In the National Hockey League, winning faceoffs is important, and the Seattle Kraken are about to learn that lesson the hard way.
The Seattle Kraken have a big problem, and it’s right in the middle of the ice. There isn’t a center on their roster who can win faceoffs consistently.
Fans tended to take faceoffs for granted. Sure they knew a good faceoff man when they saw one. But it wasn’t until advanced metrics took hold that the importance of winning draws moved to the forefront.
For those newer to the game, advanced analytics put a premium on puck possession. After all, it’s hard for a team to score goals if they don’t have the puck. Taking that a step further, puck possession starts with winning faceoffs.
The top three
Seattle head coach has his work cut out for him this season. Looking over the Kraken roster, only three players won 75 or more faceoffs during the 2020-21 season. Even worse, of those who did win that many, only one beat the 50 percent plateau, and that was by a very slim margin.
After signing Riley Sheahan a little over a month ago, the Kraken was proud to say the ten-year NHL veteran is a center who wins more faceoffs than he loses. While the statement is basically true, they are fudging a bit. Sheahan won 256 of 503 draws (50.9 percent) last season. A number that was slightly higher than the 50.3 career winning percentage.
When the Kraken chose Yanni Gourde in the expansion draft, they saw a potential first-line center. Unfortunately, the diminutive pivot succeeded on 47.1 percent of his career draws so far. That means Gourde is at a disadvantage 52.9 percent of the time. He was slightly better last season at 48.7. But remember, a player can’t score if he doesn’t have the puck.
Things won’t be any better for the second line. Kraken GM Ron Francis saw great potential when he signed Alexander Wennberg as a free agent this summer. He’s another one that struggles in the dot, even more than Gourde. Wennberg is a career 46.1 percent. That’s bad, and it will hurt the team’s scoring chances.
And then
Next is Morgan Geekie, who won 74 of 141 faceoffs last year. The 23-year-old has a total of 38 regular-season games under his belt, which isn’t a large sample size. Hakstol might be forced into playing Geekie in “high-leverage situations” such as the penalty kill, because he doesn’t have anyone better.
The faceoff talent level falls off from there. Jared McCann won 43.4 percent of his draws last year (56-of-129), which was slightly better than his career mark of 41.7. Calle Jarncrok hasn’t been a regular NHL center since 2019. Judging by his career 47.7 winning percentage over eight seasons, that’s not much of a surprise.
Related Story: Which Wennberg will the Kraken get?
Do you think that the lack of quality faceoff men will hurt the Seattle Kraken? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.