Seattle Kraken return 2022 first round pick Shane Wright to Juniors
After his successful run at the World Junior Championship, the Seattle Kraken returned 2022 first round pick Shane Wright to his OHL team.
Only a day after celebrating his 19th birthday and captaining Team Canada to a Gold Medal in the 2023 World Junior Championship, the Seattle Kraken have officially assigned Shane Wright to the juniors. He will rejoin his former Ontario Hockey League team, the Kingston Frontenacs.
Due to the agreement between the junior leagues and NHL, Wright’s return to junior hockey keeps him off the Kraken roster for the remainder of the season. Now the soonest he can rejoin Seattle is the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
When Wright was with the Seattle Kraken earlier this season, he struggled, often serving as a healthy scratch. In the eight games he played in, Seattle’s 2022 first round pick averaged only 8:29 of ice time for head coach Dave Hakstol, posting a goal and an assist.
For young players to develop, they need to play, and he wasn’t. That’s why the team sent him for a two-week conditioning stint with their AHL affiliate and then loaned Wright to Canada for the WJC.
The Kraken are this year’s surprise team in the NHL. They’ve played well in the first half and are currently in third place in their division.
A big reason for the team’s success is due to their depth scoring. That means there isn’t really a place in the lineup for Wright to slot in.
If anything, this helps the Seattle Kraken long-term because they aren’t burning a year of his entry-level contract. Seattle now has a two-year buffer between when Matty Beniers signs his first RFA contract and Wright gets paid.
At the WJC, Wright had 4 goals and 3 assists in 7 games. His return to junior hockey gives Wright the chance to lead a team to an OHL title and a shot at the Memorial Cup. I project he gets traded to the Ottawa 67s to make that run.