Last year, after seeing his pre-season play, I wrote that I didn’t believe Shane Wright was ready for the National Hockey League. A talented player, with good vision, he simply needed more time to adjust to the speed of the pro game before he could be the difference maker the team needs him to be. And while he had some great moments in his time with Seattle last season, he ultimately finished the year back in the Ontario Hockey League. He also added a U-20 World Juniors gold medal to his résumé wearing the C on his jersey.
It was the right decision, and I applaud Kraken management for seeing that there was no need to rush Wright into the big league. We’ll see how Wright performs when camp begins this week. He’s a blue chip prospect, arguably the most important one in the system now that Calder trophy winner Matty Beniers can hardly be defined as a prospect himself. So what should we reasonably expect from Wright in 2023-24?
A Step Forward
Wright’s OHL numbers from last year (37 points in 20 games) translate to about a 50 point season in the NHL. That isn’t elite production, but could certainly serve to replace Daniel Sprong’s scoring. As a rookie, and let’s remember this year is still Wright’s official rookie season, that sort of output would be respectable but probably not enough to put him in the running for the team’s second Calder. There’s another kid entering the league in Chicago who is the frontrunner for the award this year, and comparisons between the two are likely unfair.
What I’d like to see from Wright is a progression from the 4th line centre where most have him slotted, onto the second line, pushing Alex Wennberg down the lineup. Barring that, a move to the wing to get him into the top six, and playing with creative players where he’ll see his offensive production grow. He’ll also have a good shot at some powerplay time, most likely the second unit in the early part of the season, but given the Kraken’s lacklustre special teams in 2022-23, a first unit role is a possibility for someone with Wright’s vision.
We went through this exercise with Beniers last season and the results were very close. Beniers outperformed in terms of goal scoring (24 versus 20), but his assists (33) were right in line with the prediction, and it was enough to capture Rookie of the Year. At no time did Beniers look out of place in the NHL, but they’re different players and people, and Wright is likely to still have some nights where the game gets away from him.
Assuming the Kraken continue their upward trajectory, the team should be looking for a top three finish in the Pacific, and hopefully another, even deeper, playoff run. By season’s end, if Wright hasn’t locked up the second line centre slot, we could still consider his rookie year a success if he’s driving the play and the advanced statistics are in his favour in however many minutes of icetime coach Dave Hakstol assigns him.
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