Sophomore Season Success in Seattle
When Vegas had its spectacular inaugural season in 2018, the hopes in Seattle were high when the NHL announced they would have the next expansion team.
Those hopes quickly dissipated as the team's performance clearly was nowhere close to that of Vegas. The team finished its inaugural season with a record of 27-49-6 which placed them third worst in the entire league.
In the offseason, the Kraken had the No. 4 overall draft pick in the NHL Draft where Shane Wright fell surprisingly into the hull of the sunken Kraken ship.
Even with this new addition, many talking heads in the NHL world thought more of the same failures would come in season two.
Things seemed to continue down a negative road in the Emerald City when the Kraken announced its mascot, Buoy.
Buoy gives off early 90’s Seattle grunge vibes and is not the best looking creature in comparison to his fellow mascots.
Nonetheless, his lack of beauty is masked by the beautiful Climate Pledge Arena that is now being used for the second straight season in Seattle. It was one of the bright parts of last season and continues to be this year.
However, at 8-4-2 early in this sophomore season it may be safe to say that Seattle might be legit. The Kraken have earned a couple wheels on the wagon but are not convincing quite yet.
Martin Jones has turned into the team's brick wall and is the first reliable netminder the squad has seen in its short two-year existence. A one-two punch of Jones and Philipp Grubauer could help the Kraken secure a playoff spot this season when Grubauer returns from injured reserve.
Matty Beniers has started his rookie campaign hot, leading all rookies with nine points, five goals and four assists. His contributions to the team have earned him plenty of playing time at pivotal points in games.
Beniers fellow rookie Shane Wright has not lived up to the same standard at all. Wright has just one point in seven games and has been a healthy scratch recently for Dave Hakstol’s team.
Wright will most likely be sent down to the minors or OHL soon so he can participate in the World Juniors tournament over Christmas and the New Year.
Jaden Schwartz and Andre Burakovsky have been the other leaders offensively for the Kraken. Both have 10 points this season and are playing important two-way hockey for the team.
Vince Dunn has produced the most offense in the backend for the Kraken due to his quarterbacking of the teams powerplay. But the team is fueled defensively by Justin Schultz and Adam Larsson who also have major leadership roles on the team.
Last season the team had no identity offensively or defensively, but this year they are starting to find themselves. Players like Beniers, Schultz and Larsson are major factors to the identity being formed.
The Kraken are not the prettiest team to watch, but their structure fits like a glove and is helping them win some of these early season contests.
At the start of the season, the Kraken could’ve been placed in the same boat as Arizona - both in the race for Connor Bedard. But now, the Kraken could continue to surprise the NHL for the foreseeable future.
If you want to watch gritty hard nosed hockey, tune into the Seattle Kraken whenever you get a chance because this team plays with heart and desire, bringing sophomore season success in Seattle.
Hayden Lewis is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email lewis1818hayden@gmail.com.
