Monday Musings: The return of Seattle Kraken hockey

Monday Musings: The return of Seattle Kraken hockey


The preseason is done, and we’re just days away from the season opener at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday night, when the Seattle Kraken take on the Anaheim Ducks.

Every season starts with a sense of optimism, and this one is no different. With seemingly every media outlet down on the Kraken’s playoff chances, Seattle should come into the year with a chip on its shoulder and a “prove them wrong” mindset.

I’m not saying this is a no-doubt playoff team, but I do think they’ll be more competitive than pundits are giving them credit for. One of the biggest challenges last season was defensive structure, and the arrival of new head coach Lane Lambert should help tighten that up. The Kraken also made some subtle but strategic moves this offseason, acquiring Mason Marchment and Frederick Gaudreau, along with free-agent signings of defenseman Ryan Lindgren and goaltender Matt Murray. None of these moves are flashy, but each one addresses a specific need.

The return to depth scoring?

One of the keys to success for the Kraken this season will be rediscovering the depth scoring they had in 2022–23. That season, Seattle was one of just six teams with six or more players scoring 20-plus goals. During 2024–25, four teams hit that mark—and all four made the playoffs. There’s nothing magical about the 20-goal threshold, but it’s a solid indicator of depth scoring.

In fact, the Kraken’s 2022–23 success went deeper than just their top scorers. Beyond their 20-goal players, another seven skaters had 13-plus goals that year.

To see how Seattle’s current depth stacks up against the Pacific Division, I did a quick analysis. I looked at each team’s current roster, summed total goals over the past three seasons, and divided by total games played to get an average goals-per-game rate. I filtered out anyone with fewer than 50 games over that stretch, then isolated the top 12 forwards and top six defensemen for each team to visualize potential depth scoring.

The chart below gives a quick snapshot of where each Pacific team’s goals are likely coming from by using the players’ historical scoring rates as a proxy:

This is a simple analysis, but it highlights how the Kraken are light on elite goal scoring (the “dark red” tier) yet well stocked in the middle tiers. Collectively, their roster averaged the fourth-most goals per game (3.201) in the division over the last three seasons. The blank cells indicate players with fewer than 50 NHL games during that span—guys like Berkly Catton, Jani Nyman, and Ryan Winterton.

Berkly Catton has made the team… for now

One of the biggest preseason questions was whether Berkly Catton would make the roster and play more than nine games, the threshold for burning a year off his entry-level contract. Step 1 was simply being on the roster at the NHL’s deadline, and as one of 23 players who made that cut, he’s cleared that first hurdle.

Catton has shown flashes that he can play at the NHL level. He looked terrific in the preseason game against Calgary, but also had a rough outing against Edmonton, taking three penalties in the first period and committing a couple of turnovers. The talent is clearly there, but the jump from junior to the NHL is huge, and he’ll need time to adjust to the pace and physicality. He’s still learning, but every shift he plays this season is another step toward becoming a cornerstone piece for Seattle’s future.

It’s worth noting how rare it is for a 19-year-old rookie to play a full NHL season. Last year, only two did: Matvei Michkov (26 goals, 37 assists) and Will Smith (18 goals, 27 assists). If Catton sticks and produces at Smith’s level, that would be a massive success.

Other Musings

  • The Kraken trimmed the roster to the NHL-required 23 players on Monday, meaning Catton, Nyman, and Winterton have made it, for now. The team isn’t required to stay at 23, though.
  • The real intrigue will be how those three slot into the lineup. At least one should dress on Thursday.
  • Fun fact: Ryan Winterton has played the most NHL games of any third-round pick from the 2021 Draft.
  • Frederick Gaudreau scored in the shootout last Monday. He’s a shootout dynamo, converting 52.6 percent of his career attempts, the best on the Kraken and fifth-highest in the NHL.
  • Seattle’s 2025 first-round pick, Jake O’Brien, was injured in the final 20 seconds of Brantford’s game against Windsor on Saturday and needed help off the ice.
  • In case you missed it, Joey Daccord had his jersey retired by Arizona State University. Watch here.
  • The much-anticipated PWHL schedule dropped earlier this week, with PWHL Seattle’s home debut set for November 28 (Black Friday).
  • Only four home games in October! That must mean it’s road trip season.
  • The AHL kicks off this week, and Coachella Valley’s young roster is packed with Kraken prospects. This should be a fun Firebirds season to keep tabs on.

Goal of the week

Let’s see what one of the Geekies has been up to.

Player performances

Julius Miettinen (EVT/SEA) – The newly signed Kraken prospect was on fire this weekend, posting four goals and three assists in three games.

Kim Saarinen (HPK/SEA) – The Finnish netminder and Kraken prospect is off to a strong start in Liiga, going 4-0-3 with a 1.82 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.

Ryan Winterton (SEA) – It’s only preseason, but Winterton impressed with two goals in the finale. He might slot into the fourth line, but don’t expect it to be a “traditional” grinding fourth line. He has also skated on the third line in recent practices, with Jani Nyman on the fourth.

The week ahead

The Kraken open their season at home with two great matchups: the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday and the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

With Joel Quenneville back behind the bench in Anaheim and a promising young core, the Ducks are expected to take a step forward this year. Both teams want to be in the playoff hunt come April, so even though it’s just one game, this matchup matters for early division positioning.

Saturday’s tilt with Vegas will be a real test. The Golden Knights are, in my opinion, the best team in the Pacific and maybe the entire NHL. It’ll be fascinating to see how the Kraken’s depth and Lane Lambert’s system stack up against Vegas’s firepower.

And finally…

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to Sound Of Hockey Fest over the weekend, and to all of our incredible guests. I’m constantly blown away by this community’s passion; it’s what keeps us inspired to do what we do here at Sound Of Hockey.

Let’s have a great season—and as always, Go Kraken!



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