Three veteran skaters participated in their first Seattle Kraken training camp. Forwards Freddy Gaudreau (above photo) and Mason Marchment came to Seattle from the Wild and Stars, respectively, via trades for draft picks. Defenseman Ryan Lindgren signed as a free agent after splitting last season between the Rangers and Avalanche.
Versatile Freddy Gaudreau
“I think my role is a versatile player. Sometimes I might be asked to do something different than the night before. I love that challenge, I want it for the team. Honestly, that’s all I care about. So one night they need me on the wings somewhere, I’ll be there. If it’s center, I’ll be there. I just care about the team’s success, that’s all.
“There’s many things that happen in a season, so you’ve got to be ready for that. There’s always guys going down. It just makes you dig deeper. It makes you focus more on different things, makes you force yourself to discover different skills about yourself and becoming more of a complete player.
“Being traded is a shock when you don’t expect it, but it turned into big excitement. I had a good feeling about this group and I heard a lot of good things about the city. I’m a big nature guy, so that was exciting for me. You know, the mountains everywhere, the big trees, the water. It’s beautiful here. We had some family that lived here before. They told us all about it and about all the good people.”
Communicator Mason Marchment
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“The details are basically everything. You know, it makes it so much easier for us out there to rely on each other to be in the right spots. I’m a communicator. I like to let guys know where I’m going to be. I’m a pretty predictable player; I like to sit in kind of the same spots, and I like to share that. So they’ll probably hear it enough from me.
“Chandler Stephenson is a great player. I wish I could skate like him. He sees the ice very well. So for me, that’s easy to step in and play with a guy like that. I like to work in the holes and find spots for guys like him to find me, and the other way around. I like to get pucks back and find guys like him, know where he likes to sit.
“I’ve got to be myself and play my game. Come in and be a good leader, a good teammate, help guys if I can.”
Competitive Ryan Lindgren
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“I look back to my high school years and NTDP (USA Hockey National Team Development Program). That was when my role changed a little bit as far as being more of a stay-at-home defensive defenseman. That comes with a little bit of putting your body on the line, being on the penalty kill, blocking shots.
“That’s just a role I’ve kind of run with. I want to be a guy that does anything to help the team. I think I’m really hard to play against. I’m competitive, physical, hard on the puck. I try to make smart plays on the “D” side of it. Get the puck into the forwards’ hands. When I’m shutting down players and in their face, I think that’s when I’m at my best.
“Every power play you play against is so skilled. Obviously, it’s the most skilled guys on whatever team it is. So as a penalty kill, you want to try to limit their time and space. You don’t want to run around and be out of control, but when you see a chance to jump, I think that’s important for any penalty kill. And just sticking together out there.
“(Fellow ex-Ranger, now Kraken) Kaapo Kakko is one of my really good buddies. In New York, we lived pretty close to each other in the city, so we drove together every day out to the practice rink. One of my favorite teammates I’ve gotten to play with, such a good dude. A really hard working guy. A heck of a player, as you guys saw when he came here last year. I was really excited to sign here and be back with him.”