Two exhibition games and three rounds of cuts are in the books, and the Kraken’s training camp roster approaches regular season form right on time.
Dan Bylsma hasn’t doled out preseason action lightly. Of the first ten skaters sent home on Sept. 23, only Lukas Dragicevic set a blade to NHL ice. Defensemen Kaden Hammell, Tyson Jugnauth, Jakub Fibigr, Caden Price, Alexis Bernier, and forwards Julius Miettinen, Clarke Caswell, and Andrei Loshko were not so fortunate.
Nikolas Brouillard, Luke Henman, Victor Ostman, Jack LaFontaine, Ty Nelson, Tucker Robertson, Ian McKinnon, Jagger Firkus, David Goyette, and Logan Morrison were all reassigned to Coachella Valley Friday morning. Only Firkus, Goyette, Morrison, Robertson, and Nelson played.
Forwards Carson Rehkopf and Nathan Villeneuve– the latter one of two Kraken goal-scorers so far this preseason– survived the longest of the juniors attendees, dismissed two days after initial cuts. Despite leaving the organization raving in his wake, even 2024 first-round pick Berkly Catton saw his time in the tarp of his future come to a premature end.
“We were thrilled with his camp,” Bylsma gushed.
Catton’s slippery presence and sticky-fingered hold on possession makes him a piece they’re eager to build around, and his send-off that much harder.
“Hell, I’ve been in that seat,” the head coach empathized. “You don’t hear much else other than ‘you’re getting returned to your junior team,’ or ‘you’re getting sent down.’”
“Hopefully with the conversations we’ve had as a development staff… that message comes over time, not just in that meeting, about where they’re improved, where they’re growing as a player, [and] what they need to improve on.”
Of course, there’s a limit to how many skaters can suit up a night and so many are already guaranteed regular season roles. Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev, despite their low standing during training camp, will be formally introduced ahead of puck drop opening night like they have the last three seasons. Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer’s returns leave no room for an up-and-comer.
So Bylsma’s hands are tied. All the more reason for the third-time NHL coach to use the preseason wisely in his performance evaluations, which prioritize the individual over the collective in search of cohesiveness, a habitual adherence to systems, and a “pack mentality.”
At this point in the preseason– according to Bylsma– most of the 37 players still in Seattle could make the team, or at the very least establish their seniority in the depth chart for call-ups. The odds are best for anybody skating in either game of the weekend’s preseason back-to-back.
Daccord will play the entirety of Friday night’s game versus the Vancouver Canucks, set to start behind several of his usual teammates in Jaden Schwartz, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Eeli Tolvanen, Jordan Eberle, Adam Larsson, and Jamie Oleksiak.
Chandler Stephenson is set for his preseason debut. “I just want to be better than I ever have been in the league,” he told reporters.
Of intriguing addition to the lineup? Finnish power forward Jani Nyman and speed demon Lleyton Roed, neither of which have skated in an exhibition game.
Nyman spent the last two years of his development in Finland’s top professional league, where his cannon of a shot dominated scoresheets. As a 19-year-old last season, Nyman came second among Liiga forwards in goals (26) and 23rd in total scoring (43 points), all in 48 games.
“He’s got an NHL shot, he’s got an NHL body, and can be effective when he gets in the offensive zone and uses his size and strength and gets that shot off,” Bylsma said. “He just needs to get more comfortable being able to do it in North America, being able to do it at the NHL level.”
Ruthlessness is in tow with Roed, symbolized by the bubble he’s worn the majority of training camp that’s suspected of hiding a black eye. Over the last two seasons with Bemidji State’s team, he’s totaled 61 points in 74 games.
“He’s a factor with speed. He’s a factor with his hunting down on the puck,” Bylsma observed. “And he’ll get a chance to do it tonight.”