Thursday afternoon, the Seattle Kraken announced the signing of top defensive prospect Lukas Dragicevic to a $950,000 AAV entry-level contract.
“We are excited to have Lukas officially sign with our organization,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said via press release. “Lukas’ WHL career has already reached historic feats, and we are looking forward to seeing him take the next step in his development.”
Selected 57th overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Dragicevic is the second ELC signing made by the team in the past two days. Lleyton Roed, UFA and Hobey Baker nominee from Bemidji State University, was signed to his own Wednesday.
According to the press release, Dragicevic will spend the remainder of the 2023-24 season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds on an amateur tryout contract (ATO) following the Tri-City Americans failure to make the postseason.
At 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, and touting experience as a forward, Dragicevic brings a unique blend of fluidity, skill, and physical presence to the blueline. With 50 points in 66 games this season and 157 points in 202 career games for Tri-City, he’s established himself as an offensive linchpin to his juniors team. In fact, his 75 point campaign in 2022-23 was the “highest-scoring season by an Americans skater since 2018-19,” according to the release.
With defensemen Ryker Evans and Gustav Olofsson currently recalled to the NHL level, Dragicevic should be a welcome addition to the desert’s defensive corps.
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