Going into Tuesday nights game against the Florida Panthers, the Seattle Kraken find themselves six points outside of the playoffs. 23 points in 29 games – a .397 points percentage – just isn’t going to cut it. Seven losses in overtime and the shootout leaves a glimmer of hope, and if the Kraken can turn some of those loser points into wins, the team is still in the race.
Since November 9, when Seattle called up Shane Wright and Ryan Winterton, there has been a steady stream of Coachella Valley Firebirds making the trek north to spend time with the NHL club. That first game, a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, showed the prospects at their best. Wright and Winterton were joined on a line by Devin Shore, and in limited minutes, were positive both in shot share and in expected goal percentage. By the eye test, Winterton, and especially Wright, brought energy and skill – exactly what you’d want from prospects seeing their first action of the year.
After that game, things settled down, with Wright and Winterton getting three total games. Others forwards from Coachella Valley have made the trip – Marian Studenic and Andrew Poturalski both twice and Max McCormick once.
Are the Kids alright?
But are any of these prospect callups getting icetime and/or performing at the NHL level? The table below lists each player with # of games, average time on ice, CorsiFor%/Shot Share and Expected Goal %/xGF.
| Devin Shore | 12 | 7:43 min. | 52.20% | 49.96% |
| Shane Wright | 3 | 9:47 min. | 54.35% | 59.77% |
| Ryan Winterton | 3 | 8:11 min. | 38.24% | 32.41% |
| Andrew Poturalski | 2 | 6:52 min. | 45.45% | 26.35% |
| Marian Studenic | 2 | 8:06 min. | 63.33% | 60.43% |
| Max McCormick | 1 | 5:37 min. | 18.18% | 31.83% |
Obviously, with the exception of Shore, these numbers are based on an extremely small sample size. You probably also should take into account linemates – and on the fourth line, the numbers for Kailer Yamamoto and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare have been a bit under 50% in both shot share and expected goal percentage at even strength.
The fourth line has been average at best, but the only callups who have added anything to the mix have been Wright and Studenic. Shore, who is certainly not a prospect, has been exactly what you’d expect as a 13th forward.
Most of the top Coachella Valley forwards have made the trip to Seattle. At some point, Kole Lind deserves to join that list.
A few other items should be mentioned about the Firebirds forwards who may periodically get promoted to the Kraken. First, several are on two way deals, with guaranteed annual payments greater than their AHL salary. Rotating these forwards up to the NHL, at least until that guaranteed payment has been met, is like playing with house money – it doesn’t cost any additional cash, plus it gives a brief look at the player at the NHL level.
Second, giving AHL players an NHL look – even if its a short one – can go a long way in recruiting players in the off-season. Even players nearing 30 have their NHL dreams, and if the team wants to recruit top talent to the Coachella Valley, having a history of players getting a few NHL games in Seattle is a nice selling point.
Ultimately, however, the NHL isn’t a development league. Players in the AHL need to develop skills that translate into an NHL spot – and the goal of any player getting the call is to make it difficult for the organization to send them back down.
Backend Help
Which brings us to Ryker Evans, who since his call-up on December 6 has been both playing well and getting ice time. In three games, Evans has been net positive in both shot share and expecting goal percentage while getting over 17 minutes of ice time per game. He’s even seen time on the power play.
Evans move to Seattle was somewhat surprising. He numbers, to date, with the Firebirds didn’t stand out, plus the Kraken had rolled out the same six on defense the entire season. A day after Evans headed north, Jaycob Megna – who hadn’t seen game action all season – was sent to the Firebirds on a conditioning assignment. Evans has played every game since, and with Justin Schultz out with an upper body injury, Evans seems to have a slot for the foreseeable future.
Currently, the biggest news for Coachella Valley call-ups is the injury to Philipp Grubauer and the subsequent recall of Chris Dreidger to the Kraken. Dreidger has been a rock in net for the Firebirds, and with the recall, Coachella Valley is going with three goalies on the roster.
Ales Stezka has played in six games to date, with a 3-2-0-0 record, but sporting a 4.03 goals against average and a save percentage of 87.9. Those aren’t numbers that point toward long-term success. In addition, the team has brought in Jack LaFontaine and now Cale Morris – both of whom began the season with the ECHL Kansas City Mavericks. Neither has seen game time in the AHL this year, but both have seen limited action in the past. At least, both were having solid seasons with the Mavericks prior to the move to California.
Final Notes
The Firebirds are currently sitting in fifth place in the AHL Pacific Division with a 12-7-1-0 record. That’s a 62.5 points percentage. Even if there are goaltending issues, the team should remain in the middle of the pack for a playoff position.
The turnover within the forward group has been disruptive, and the resulting line shuffling has hurt the teams offensive continuity. Losing Ryker Evans will hurt, but the Firebirds have some depth on the blue line. The concern, especially if Dreidger spends any amount of time in Seattle (or ultimately becomes a trade chip as a soon to be UFA), is that Coachella Valley can’t find a solid AHL option in net from the three goalies currently on the roster.
The Firebirds don’t have the scoring horsepower to overcome weaknesses in net that they did last year. Especially if their top contributors are bouncing between Palm Desert and Seattle.
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