Short Shifts: McCann, Tatar, AGM Botterill & More

Let’s welcome back Short Shifts: Please partake in today’s five-course sampling of items plucked from around the Kraken-verse.

Botterill Alberta-Bound?

When Dan Byslma was among the candidates to be the next Seattle head coach, his prior relationship with assistant GM Jason Botterill since their Pittsburgh days didn’t hurt. Now, Botterill – who’s been in the Kraken front office since before their first game – might be in line for a promotion of his own.

A general manager opening was created in Edmonton when Ken Holland stepped down just after the Oilers fell one game short of a Stanley Cup. The Athletic suggests Botterill might be a candidate to replace him. “He was seen as a rising star in management when he was the assistant and later associate GM with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2009 to 2017. The former NHL forward ultimately parlayed the second of back-to-back Stanley Cup titles to a shot in the big chair with the Buffalo Sabres. But Botterill’s three seasons as GM didn’t go particularly well, which goes without saying considering the Sabres haven’t made the playoffs since 2011.”

Tuna Swims Back To NJ

Though Tomas “Tuna” Tatar split the 2023-24 season between the Kraken and Colorado Avalanche, part of his heart never left Newark, New Jersey. Tatar spent two productive seasons with the Devils between 2021-23, scoring a combined 35 goals.

When the Kraken played at Prudential Center last February, according to NJ.com, the 33-year-old winger realized how much he missed his old home rink. Last season, “I was still watching the Devils,” he admitted to NHL.com. Now he can once again watch them up close, having signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract.

An added bonus is that as part of the NHL’s Global Series, the Devils will open the season with games October 4 and 5 against Buffalo in Prague, Czechia. That’s close enough to Tatar’s native Slovakia for friends and extended family to come see him play in person. “I’m so happy,” Tatar says. “Just to get the chance to play an NHL game with the Devils in front of my family and friends, that’s a lifetime opportunity. I’m very excited.”

McCann-Do Attitude

Y’know who thinks Jared McCann has proven to be a prize pickup – I mean besides the former Valerie Vanderkuylen, who married Jared on Thursday? (Photo at right.)

How about everyone connected with the Seattle Kraken, who acquired the talented forward in the 2021 expansion draft. McCann’s numbers speak for themselves: 96 goals, 182 points in 233 games over three Seattle seasons.

THN’s Carol Schram has a wonderful new way of examining just how good the selection was; For reference, McCann was traded from Pittsburgh to Toronto just before the draft, then left unprotected by the Maple Leafs.

Schram: “The only Penguins with more points over the last three years are Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin. The only Maple Leafs are (Auston) Matthews, (Mitch) Marner, (Michael) Nylander and (John) Tavares. On top of that, with McCann off Pittsburgh’s list, the Kraken selected Brandon Tanev. He quickly endeared himself to the new fan base with his ‘I’ve seen a ghost’ headshots and his crash-and-bang style.”

Well Bless Their Hearts

Equipment managers throughout the Seattle Kraken system have an unlikely hometown in common: the directionally-challenged city of North Charleston, South Carolina. That’s where the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays make their home.

Before Jeff Camelio became equipment manager for the Kraken, he held the same job with the Stingrays. Shawn Thorn, once a Stingrays stick boy, now serves as head equipment manager for Seattle’s AHL farm team in Coachella Valley. Thorns told WCIV-TV he runs an NHL-quality department. “Guys come down from Seattle and get the same treatment they get in Seattle, so it’s like they never left.”

The third former member of what’s known as the “Lowcountry” is Anthony Camelio, Jeff’s son. “I’m the assistant, so I will do whatever needs to get done,” Anthony says. “Drive the truck, help with the road team. Whatever my boss asks me to do, I’m there.”

Hello, Neumeier

At Kraken development camp earlier this month, few if any fans packing the KCI stands paid attention to Michael Neumeier. But boy was his presence a big deal back home in western Saskatchewan. “Kerrobert’s Michael Neumeier attends NHL development camp in Seattle” read the giant headline in the sports section of West Central Online.

Kerrobert is a community of fewer than 1,000 residents a four-hour drive east of Edmonton, five hours east of Calgary, 10 hours west of Winnipeg. While the chances of Neumeier reaching the NHL are slim, think about the odds players like him have already overcome to advance from tiny home towns to the Kraken practice facility. And also, the pride that provides to folks back home reading about his exploits.

Neumeier was one of 10 defensemen given the chance to impress Kraken coaches. The 21-year-old undrafted blueliner (6-1, 202) most recently won a USHL championship with the Fargo Force.