Kraken Reassign Oscar Fisker Molgaard, Place Berkly Catton On IR
2/5: As expected, Fisker Molgaard was reassigned on Thursday morning. He played just under seven minutes of ice time in Seattle’s Wednesday night win over the Los Angeles Kings, and did not record any notable stat changes.
2/4: The Seattle Kraken have swapped around the rookies on their active roster. Winger Berkly Catton has been placed on injured reserve with an injury sustained in Seattle’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 29th. The rookie took a hit to the head from Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson but was able to get off the ice under his own power, after a moment. He has missed two games since.
Catton was knocked out of the lineup in the midst of a running cold-streak. He has fallen to a depth role with one goal, two points, and a minus-one over his last nine games. Through what is officially his NHL rookie season, Catton has totaled only 11 points in 40 games. It has been a quiet year after back-to-back 100-point seasons in the WHL. Catton hasn’t yet made his AHL debut – something that could come on the other side of his recovery from this long-term injury. He will have the next three week to heal up before Seattle returns of February 25th.
With the roster spot created by Catton’s designation, the Kraken have called up winger Oscar Fisker Molgaard. He will have a chance to step into the lineup in Seattle’s final game before the three-week break for the Winter Olympics. Fisker-Molgaard will likely be returned to the minors before NHL rosters freeze on Friday, allowing him to stay on the ice while Kraken teammates Kaapo Kakko, Eeli Tolvanen, and Philipp Grubauer represent their countries in Milan.
Fisker Molgaard played the first two games of his NHL career in November. He recorded one assist, one shot on goal, and one hit. He has spent the rest of the season in a prominent role with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds, where his 22 points in 36 games rank fourth in scoring. Fisker Molgaard has served as the team’s second-line center in his rookie season in North American pros. He spent the last three speasons in Sweden’s SHL, where he racked up 47 points in 129 games. It isn’t clear if Fisker Molgaard will step into the NHL lineup before the break. He was briefly recalled, but didn’t play, in January.
West Notes: Thomas, Catton, Necas, Blankenburg
There are no expectations that Robert Thomas will return to the St. Louis Blues before the upcoming Olympic break. The Blues announced that Thomas had minor leg surgery yesterday and would return after the Olympics.
Thomas has missed much of January, having last played on January 10th. So far in the 2025-26 season, the 26-year-old center has scored 11 goals and 33 points in 42 games, managing a -3 rating, while averaging 18:58 of ice time per game.
Although Thomas’s injury recovery won’t impact the Blues’ postseason outlook, it could have ramifications leading up to the trade deadline. While it was always unlikely, there was some speculation that St. Louis was entertaining trade offers on Thomas. Prospective buyers will likely shy away from the high price the Blues have set, given that Thomas would be only a few days removed from fully recovering by the deadline.
Additional notes from the Western Conference:
- The Seattle Kraken will be without one of their up-and-coming prospects through the upcoming Olympic break. Earlier today, the Kraken announced that Berkly Catton will miss Seattle’s next three games due to an upper-body injury. Catton, who missed several weeks in December due to a separate injury, has scored five goals and 11 points in 40 games throughout his rookie campaign.
- Despite the lopside afair, the Colorado Avalanche were without their second-highest scorer against the Detroit Red Wings this afternoon. Before the game, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post shared that Martin Nečas is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Regardless, the Avalanche pulled away with the victory, and there’s no expectation that Nečas will be held out through the Olympic break before he suits up for Team Czechia.
- Tied with the New York Islanders at the time of writing, the Nashville Predators are without one of their most underrated defenseman tonight. The Predators announced that Nick Blankenburg would miss tonight’s contest due to illness. Already setting career-highs across the board, Blankenburg sits eighth on the team in scoring with six goals and 21 points in 43 games.
Kraken Activate Berkly Catton
Ahead of tonight’s game at Los Angeles, the Seattle Kraken have activated Berkly Catton from injured reserve (Twitter Link). The top prospect is back 15 days after his week-to-week diagnosis (upper-body injury), last playing on December 6.
Starting out as an organization, Seattle understandably tried to follow the Vegas business model of sorts, and quickly assemble a win-now team. As a result, they missed out on some needed high-end draft capital after Matty Beniers, who in year five is still trying to put it all together. Therefore, Catton, drafted eighth overall in 2024, is the Kraken’s #1 prospect, and is much needed from the franchise to break through as a young star.
The Saskatoon native torched the WHL as a Spokane Chief, concluding his junior career not far from 300 career points. He also earned awards for his sportsmanship. As is usually the case for teenagers entering their professional careers, Catton is still growing, as he has not yet scored a goal in 21 games, but has notched five helpers before the injury.
As was shared two days ago, Seattle chose not to loan him to Team Canada for the upcoming World Junior Championships. Such a decision signals that despite early growing pains at times, the team views Catton as a legitimate key contributor, especially now that Mason Marchment has been shipped out to Columbus. The power forward immediately found his scoring touch as a Jacket, long lost in Seattle, but regardless the focus now is to get the healthy Catton going in a more favorable role.
The Kraken currently rank dead last in goals scored (86), and with their veterans not getting it done, it will be up to the next wave, led by Catton, to create some excitement in 2026 and usher in a new era.
Evening Notes: Dickinson, Catton, O’Reilly, Maple Leafs
The Team Canada World Juniors roster appears set, with two final dominos falling: San Jose will not loan defenseman Sam Dickinson, per Frank Seravalli, and Seattle won’t loan forward Berkly Catton either, also noted by Seravalli.
Dickinson was a real candidate, as he would have brought key experience to Team Canada’s back end, as the only returning defenseman on the team. The 19-year-old has the distinction of being the only d-man under 20 to not be loaned out, other than Matthew Schaefer, which is to no surprise. Dickinson has not made quite the same impact as last summer’s first overall pick, as he has just three points in 27 games. Although helping lead Team Canada in a push for gold for a final time could have been a breath of fresh air for the exciting two-way defender, San Jose opts to hold onto Dickinson and not lose a true lineup contributor who continues to develop.
Similar to Dickinson, Catton has not exactly had a Schaefer-like impact yet either, with five points in 21 games, all assists. However, as emphasized by Seravalli, Catton is set to return from injury soon, and with Mason Marchment traded to Columbus, he will have a larger role on the Kraken once healthy, enough to keep the skilled forward from a Team Canada return.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Despite rumblings, Predators forward Ryan O’Reilly is not open to being moved at this time, as shared by Pierre LeBrun in an article for The Athletic. The respected veteran center is a pending free agent on an affordable ($4.5MM) contract, so naturally the appeal is there. However, although he has no such trade protection, O’Reilly and Nashville have a mutual agreement to treat it as if so, and for now, the 34-year-old will stay put. O’Reilly has 28 points in 34 games, continuing to play at a high level on both ends. However, GM Barry Trotz brought him in prior to 2023-24, when the Predators appeared firmly in a rebuild, before their attempted revival. Therefore, while on paper it would be wise to bring in a haul, O’Reilly’s impact in the locker room was always a major focus. Things could be revisited closer to the Trade Deadline, but O’Reilly simply playing out the deal is a real possibility, especially as the Ontario native has already won a Stanley Cup.
- Ahead of tonight’s game, Maple Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube told reporters, including David Alter of The Hockey News, that Easton Cowan and Calle Jarnkrok would be scratched, while Max Domi and Steven Lorentz entered the lineup in Dallas. Cowan’s designation comes as a bit of a surprise as he was in the starting lineup on the first line last night in Nashville, notching 16:17 of ice time, with an assist. The 20-year-old has 11 points in 26 games, but according to Berube, a reset is needed. Jarnkrok has been a solid third liner for years, but at 34, he has just four goals on the season and his scratching is less of a surprise. Meanwhile, Domi jumps right into Cowan’s slot on the first line, eager to find his game in a bid to extend his Leafs tenure. Finally, Lorentz returns to a fourth line deployment, a role familiar for the 29-year-old.
Kraken Recall Ben Meyers
The Kraken announced last night that they’ve called up forward Ben Meyers from the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. They moved rookie center Berkly Catton to injured reserve in a corresponding move. Catton had already been given a week-to-week designation due to an upper-body injury, so he is still expected to miss more than just the next few days.
The 27-year-old Meyers rejoins the Kraken roster after spending nearly a month with Seattle earlier this season. He made nine appearances on a recall that stretched between October and November, totaling three assists with a -1 rating. Those were his first points in a Kraken uniform after he went without one in eight games last year. It’s year two for the former University of Minnesota standout in the organization after he initially landed with them as a Group VI unrestricted free agent in 2024, signing a league-minimum extension back in June to extend his stay.
No longer a prospect by any stretch of the word, Meyers is in his fourth professional season and has established himself as a replacement-level role player. The 5’11” pivot is a standout AHL producer and has taken that reputation to new heights this season, racking up nine goals and 13 points in 11 appearances to lead the club in points per game. He’s now up to a 49-64–113 scoring line in 130 career AHL games over the last four years.
Meyers also has 11 points to his name in 84 NHL contests. He first landed with the Avalanche as a free agent following his senior year with the Golden Gophers. He was one of the most sought-after college UFAs of the cycle, having represented the United States at the 2022 Olympics and World Championships. He was limited to four goals and no assists in 39 games with Colorado as a rookie, though, and he’s since bounced around as a first-line minor-leaguer without a clear role on an NHL roster. Between his time in Colorado and Seattle, he had a brief stint with the Ducks down the stretch in 2023-24 after the trade deadline.
With Catton set to miss the next several games and winger Jaden Schwartz already on IR, Meyers gives the Kraken an extra forward if they need one until either of them is ready to return. If he plays one more game or stays on the roster or stays up for four days – both of which are likely – he’ll need waivers to return to Coachella Valley when his recall is over.
Kraken’s Berkly Catton Out Week-To-Week
The Seattle Kraken will be without one of their top prospects for some time. Seattle announced that forward Berkly Catton is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Catton, 19, is the former 8th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. He’s been one of the highest-scoring forwards in the CHL since being selected by the Kraken, registering 92 goals and 225 points in 125 games with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs.
Additionally, Catton was sensational for the Chiefs in the WHL playoffs last year and played a large part in the team being three wins away from the 2025 Memorial Cup tournament. He finished with 11 goals and 42 points in 20 postseason contests before the team was knocked out in the championship by the Medicine Hat Tigers in five games.
Despite some speculation that Catton could have made the Kraken’s roster last year, it was an all but guaranteed scenario this season. Unfortunately, his transition to professional hockey hasn’t been a smooth one.
Catton has already skated in 21 games for the Kraken, averaging 12:25 of ice time per night, but has yet to register his first NHL goal. He does have five assists, though it’s a far cry from the production he showed in Major Junior. It would have been highly unrealistic to expect a similar 100+ point pace from Catton in his rookie season, though it’s likely that Seattle was hoping for more than this.
Meanwhile, Catton’s injury is undoubtedly the reason he was left off Team Canada’s preliminary roster for the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship, which was announced this morning. It was Catton’s last year of eligibility, and the Kraken likely would have loaned him for the tournament given his tepid offensive output this season.
Kraken Sign Berkly Catton To Entry-Level Deal
The Kraken have signed center Berkly Catton to his three-year, entry-level contract, a team announcement states. Catton was the eighth overall selection in the draft one week ago. His deal carries the maximum ELC cap hit of $975K.
He’s the second player from the class to sign his rookie deal, joining Blues defenseman Adam Jiříček, who they took 16th overall. While it’s unlikely Catton will crack the NHL roster in the fall, signing him to his ELC now at least affords him the option. Catton also earns a $97.5K signing bonus with today’s news, per PuckPedia. The deal is also broken down into $877.5K of base salary annually and up to $1MM in Schedule ‘A’ performance bonuses on a yearly basis.
Catton is already used to Washington State, suiting up for the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League for parts of the last three seasons. The 5’11”, 174-lb pivot led all WHL draft-eligibles in scoring last season, finishing fourth in the league with 116 points (54 goals, 62 assists) in 68 games. He’s one of the 2024 class’ fastest players and is an extremely well-rounded offensive talent, although there are some natural concerns about his lack of physicality and strength against larger opponents.
Since his 20th birthday doesn’t fall until January 2026, Catton won’t be eligible for a full-time AHL assignment in 2024-25 or 2025-26 – he needs to be returned to his junior team. If he plays fewer than 10 NHL games in each of those seasons, his contract could slide to as late as 2026-27 before kicking in. His signing bonuses are paid out regardless, though, slightly lowering the cap hit of his deal.