Kraken add three more to hockey operations staff

The Seattle Kraken announced the hiring of three new additions to their hockey operations staff on Thursday afternoon. Doug Wilson Jr. will join the team as an amateur scout while Frans Nielsen and Justin Rai will join the player development team under Jeff Tambellini.

Wilson spent the last decade with the San Jose Sharks organization, working his way up from a scouting analyst all the way to the Director of Hockey Operations and Director of Scouting, where he ran the Sharks’ six most recent Entry Drafts — the highlight of which is now-Senator Josh Norris, who just signed an 8-year, $7.95 million AAV deal with Ottawa.

Wilson left San Jose with a year left on his contract right after the conclusion of the 2022 Entry Draft, and all reports indicate it was an amicable split.

Nielsen will work with Kraken players and prospects overseas, based out of Malmo, Sweden. The Denmark native had a long NHL career, playing in 925 regular season games split between the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings before retiring from the NHL in 2021. The Kraken have a significant Scandinavian representation, both in the NHL and among the prospect group. Adam Larsson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Alex Wennberg, and Joonas Donskoi are all from the region, as well as prospects Jesper Froden, Ville Petman, Alexander True, Gustav Olofsson, and Magnus Hellberg.

Rai will also join the player development staff under Jeff Tambellini. He is the owner and operator of Kaivo Hockey, a player development consulting agency that has worked with NHL players and prospects in the past including Alexander Kerfoot, Adam Gaudette, and Nic Petan. Rai is a British Columbia native and no stranger to the Pacific Northwest. He’s also the cousin of Prab Rai, who spent the better part of four seasons with the local Seattle Thunderbirds in the early 2000’s.