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Shane Wright

Pacific Notes: Wright, Ducks, Reimer

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Going into the season, Kraken GM Ron Francis had indicated that the plan was for rookie Shane Wright to spend the full year with Seattle.  However, some early struggles resulted in several healthy scratches, enough in a row to the point where it allowed him to go to AHL Coachella Valley on a conditioning stint.  In an appearance on the Got Yer’ Back podcast (video link), Francis indicated that the original plan might be changing.  Wright will play two more games with the Firebirds and then will be recalled and put into the Kraken’s lineup with a decision on what’s next for him to be made after evaluating his performance post-recall.  However, he can only play in two more games before officially burning the first year of his entry-level deal so that evaluation and decision will have to be made fairly quickly.

More from the Pacific:

  • While things haven’t gone well for the Ducks this season (they enter play tonight dead last in points), don’t expect a coaching change anytime soon. In his latest podcast (audio link), GM Pat Verbeek indicated that his intention is to evaluate the coaching staff only at the end of the season.  With the team clearly still in a rebuild, there’s no immediate need to make a change but if Dallas Eakins is hoping to stick with Anaheim beyond this season, they’ll need to play at least a little better than they have so far.
  • The Sharks could get James Reimer back this weekend, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The veteran is currently on IR with a lower-body injury, his second one from November but he’s eligible to be activated as early as Saturday.  San Jose plays both Saturday and Sunday so there’s a good chance he’ll be able to suit up for one of those.  Reimer has a 3.00 GAA and a .903 SV% in 15 starts so far this season.

Shane Wright Assigned To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The Seattle Kraken have announced that forward Shane Wright has been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, on a conditioning loan. Yesterday, we covered that this move might be coming, and now it’s been made official.

Wright, 18, has been a healthy scratch for five straight Kraken games, which opened up the possibility of this move. Per the NHL-CHL agreement, Wright cannot be outright assigned to the AHL. For prospects like him who were developed in the CHL, the choice is typically between sending the prospect back to the CHL for another season or keeping them in the NHL.

With Wright, those restrictions have placed the Kraken in a bind. The Kraken did not believe simply sending Wright back to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs would be the best option for his development, and opted to keep him on their NHL roster. But with the Kraken off to a hot start, Wright struggled to earn coach Dave Hakstol’s trust and has been sheltered in a highly limited role in the games he’s played in.

Unable to assign him to the AHL outright, the Kraken have elected this highly unorthodox strategy for Wright. He’ll be able to spend up to two weeks in Coachella Valley, a period that will likely lead into Wright being sent to Team Canada’s World Junior Championship camp.

That tournament ends in early January, and at that point, the Kraken will be faced with another choice.

They could elect to put him back on the NHL roster with the hope that he’ll be in a better position to contribute, or he can be sent back to the OHL. Since he has not yet skated in nine NHL games, the Kraken won’t have burned a year off of his entry-level deal.

Perhaps the most important factor determining if Wright heads back to the OHL after the World Juniors is what team holds his rights. Kingston hasn’t been great this season, and they currently stand in the middle of the pack in the OHL Eastern Conference standings.

It’s possible that Wright’s OHL rights are traded early in the new year, which could enhance the likelihood that GM Ron Francis and the Kraken elect the OHL route for the rest of the season.

Either way, the most important aspect of this news is that a clear, concrete plan is starting to come together regarding Wright’s developmental future. Given how chaotic his early tenure in Seattle felt for many fans, this is most definitely a positive development for everyone invested in the success of the Kraken’s top prospect.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Shane Wright

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Just five games into his professional career, it seems as though Shane Wright’s world has been turned upside down. The former exceptional-status OHL star was drafted fourth-overall by the Seattle Kraken at this past summer’s NHL draft, and from the moment he was drafted (and perhaps even before that as well) there had been the expectation that Wright would step immediately into an NHL lineup.

So far, Wright has been a healthy scratch for the majority of the Kraken’s contests, and when he does play he averages just under seven minutes of ice time per game. Wright has taken just a single shot on net in the games he’s played, and there seems to be significant confusion as to what the Kraken’s development plan exactly is with their top prospect.

On tonight’s Insider Trading program, TSN’s Darren Dreger shed some light on what the Kraken are planning to do with Wright this year. Per Dreger, it is “very likely” that Seattle will retain Wright rather than send him back to his OHL team, the Kingston Frontenacs. Due to the transfer agreement between the NHL and CHL, Wright must either be in the NHL or the OHL, and cannot be reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate the way other prospects can be.

That being said, though, Dreger notes that per the NHL-CHL agreement Wright would be permitted a one-time AHL reassignment if he is a healthy scratch for five-straight games.

That assignment would last a maximum of fourteen days, though, so it still wouldn’t be a long-term solution. What it would do is allow Wright to at least get some game action under his belt, and he may even be able to play a top-of-the-lineup role if that’s what coach Dan Bylsma would have in mind.

The Firebirds are 4-2 to start their first-ever season and have four players who are so far scoring at above a point-per-game rate. Perhaps the Kraken believe that a short stay in an environment more friendly to Wright’s offensive development could spark him to be more assertive upon his return to the NHL lineup.

Dreger reports that the short-term AHL route is “something the Kraken are considering,” and adds that Seattle is also considering loaning Wright to Team Canada so that he could take on a starring role in the World Junior Championships.

Those games begin in December, though, so in the more immediate term, the Kraken will need to settle on what exactly they plan on doing with Wright, because his current situation is far from ideal for his growth.

The Kraken are looking to have a more competitive season than they had last year, and coach Dave Hakstol could very well be on the hot seat after their disappointing first campaign.

On one hand, if he believes leaving Wright (who, to be fair, has not looked great in his limited NHL action) out of his nightly lineup gives him the best chance to win games, one can certainly respect that decision.

But on the other hand, Wright is one of the Kraken organization’s most important assets. He is a potential long-term solution down the middle, a possible future top-six center to pair with Matty Beniers for the next decade or longer.

His development into that sort of player would be a major step forward for the Kraken, meaning hindering Wright’s growth in order to win in the short term is something that could cost Seattle dearly in the future.

Pictures courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Samuelsson, Bear, Wright

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Buffalo Sabres fans held their breath last night when freshly extended defenseman Mattias Samuelsson went down with an injury in their game against Vancouver. Now, The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that Samuelsson avoided a long-term injury but is still set to miss at least “a few weeks,” joining Henri Jokiharju on the list of injured Sabres top-four defensemen.

An exact timeline won’t be had on Samuelsson until the team returns to Buffalo, head coach Don Granato said today, and the injury will force some depth defenders to shine in order for Buffalo to keep up its strong start. Lawrence Pilut will make his season debut in the team’s next game after two seasons overseas, and free-agent acquisition Ilya Lyubushkin will be tasked with replacing Samuelsson as the defensive anchor on the top pairing alongside the red-hot Rasmus Dahlin.

  • It’s no secret the Canucks are in trouble, winless so far to start the year. With injuries and general positional depth weakness hampering their defense, the team has been looking to add, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that the team has checked in on defenseman Ethan Bear as a potential trade acquisition. Bear, the 25-year-old right-shot defenseman, has been thrust down the depth chart in Carolina and has yet to appear in a game this season. The Hurricanes were shopping him prior to the season’s start, and the Canucks have more than enough room thanks to LTIR to accommodate his $2.2MM cap hit. He still has some upside and could provide some better matchups once Quinn Hughes returns to the lineup.
  • Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala ponders whether the Seattle Kraken may opt to send Shane Wright back to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs after an unimpactful start to the season. Wright hasn’t received many opportunities, he has shown smooth skating and pace, but Bukala points out that Wright’s had some positional issues defensively and may need a bit more development before being able to execute his playstyle properly at the NHL level.

Pacific Notes: Oilers, Benson, Wright

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The presence of Dylan Holloway is what ultimately might be the final push for the Oilers to part ways with Jesse Puljujarvi, suggests Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (subscription link).  However, when that happens remains to be seen.  Nugent-Bowman notes that Edmonton isn’t interested in a futures-based return for Puljujarvi which doesn’t help an already-thin trade market since a lot of teams can’t take on his $3MM AAV.  However, while moving Puljujarvi would free up some needed cap space, they’d be taking a risk with promoting Holloway into a prominent role considering he has basically half a pro season under his belt with their AHL affiliate.  Long-term, they should take comfort that Holloway could fill Puljujarvi’s spot but it might be a case of later rather than sooner that the youngster pushes Puljujarvi out.

More from the Pacific:

  • Still with the Oilers, they’ll be without winger Tyler Benson for a little while with the team not sure how much time he’ll miss, notes Daily Faceoff’s Jason Gregor (Twitter link). On its own, a player on the fringes of the roster missing time isn’t typically notable in itself but as PuckPedia points out (Twitter link), Benson was on Edmonton’s roster long enough last season to have his cap hit count in full instead of being prorated through season-opening IR.  With cap space at a premium for Edmonton, having Benson count in full to start the year if he’s only going to miss a couple of weeks certainly won’t help things.
  • While it’s not set in stone just yet, Kraken GM Ron Francis told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that he believes Shane Wright will spend the full season in the NHL. Seattle took the center fourth overall back in July which came as a surprise to many as he was viewed as the projected top selection for most of the season.  With Matthew Beniers, Yanni Gourde, and Jared McCann all ahead of him down the middle on the depth chart, Wright might not get a lot of playing time early on but that will also allow him to be eased in from a development perspective which, in the long run, might be ideal for the 18-year-old.

Shane Wright Signs Entry-Level Contract

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The Seattle Kraken have signed their top draft choice, Shane Wright, to a three-year entry-level contract. The young forward was selected fourth overall earlier this month.

Wright has a lot to prove after falling out of the top three, an unexpected result for not only him but most of the hockey world. He’ll now get a chance to become one of the first franchise icons in Seattle, if he can live up to the expectations that have been on him since he was in minor hockey.

For the Kraken, the idea of slotting in Wright and Matty Beniers down the middle for the next decade is extremely appealing, though there may be a steep learning curve this season with the youngsters in the lineup every night.

That is of course assuming Wright makes the Kraken. As an 18-year-old, he can’t be assigned to the minor leagues, meaning it’s either Seattle or Kingston for the young forward.

Seattle Kraken Select Shane Wright Fourth Overall

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When the Seattle Kraken arrived in Montreal, they probably didn’t think they would be making this pick. Shane Wright is the fourth-overall selection and will join the NHL’s newest franchise.

Captain of the Kingston Frontenacs, Wright is coming off a season in which he scored 32 goals and 94 points in 63 games, an impressive total considering he started slow after missing the entire 2020-21 campaign when the OHL canceled the season because of COVID-19 restrictions.

It was in late 2018 that Wright applied for CHL exceptional status, which would allow him to enter the major junior league a year early. He wouldn’t turn 15 for another month, and wouldn’t be granted the status for another three, but there was already a momentum growing for the young center from Burlington, Ontario.

When he was just 13, top NHL player agents had lined up to advise him through the process, knowing that there was a potential star in the making. By the time he made his OHL debut in the 2019-20 season, he was already the odds-on favorite for the top spot in 2022, and he didn’t disappoint. As a rookie, he not only scored 39 goals in 58 games, snapping the puck past goaltenders from all angles but Wright was also named an alternate captain for Kingston, the youngest in team history.

The scene was set for him to follow in the footsteps of other exceptional players, including Connor McDavid, John Tavares, and Aaron Ekblad, who had all been taken at the top of their respective drafts as well. When he was granted the status, he was still comparing himself to Mathew Barzal, focusing on the offensive abilities of the New York Islanders star. Today, he says he would rather model his game after Patrice Bergeron, with defensive ability and the “details” of the game ranking just as importantly.

Having dropped to Seattle, general manager Ron Francis will happily snap up the top prospect and give him the chance to pair with Matty Beniers down the middle to prove those three teams wrong.

Morning Notes: Slafkovsky, Nemec, Lyon

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There’s a new number one on Bob McKenzie’s 2022 NHL Draft Rankings for TSN. Juraj Slafkovsky has overtaken Shane Wright for the top spot on a list that is developed by polling active scouts around the league. The Slovakian forward is 6’4″, skilled, and has already proven he can dominate at the senior level. Slafkovsky won tournament MVP at the Olympics, scored nine points in eight games at the World Championships, and was a force for TPS in the Liiga playoffs.

With just over a week to go before the draft in Montreal, the Canadiens’ choice is still unclear in the first-overall slot. The first round will be held on July 7 at the Bell Centre, with the official order now set following the completion of the Stanley Cup Final.

  • Slafkovsky, Wright, and Logan Cooley appear to have separated themselves in the top three, though Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports notes that the Arizona Coyotes, slotted to pick third, could also be eyeing Simon Nemec. One of the top-ranked defensemen this year (along with David Jiricek), Nemec has the offensive upside and skating ability that make scouts drool in today’s NHL. Should he climb that high, it would be an incredible achievement for Slovakian hockey, with two picks in the top three selections.
  • He won the Calder Cup over the weekend but Alex Lyon is getting suspended anyway. The Chicago Wolves netminder has been given a two-game AHL ban for his actions following the game, giving the finger to the Springfield crowd multiple times. The 29-year-old netminder will have to serve it whenever he is next on an AHL roster, though it’s not clear where that will be. Lyon is an unrestricted free agent this summer as a one-year, two-way deal with the Carolina Hurricanes expires.

Snapshots: Point, Mock Draft, Kassian

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As the Stanley Cup Final is set to commence in two days, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche will retake the ice today to practice ahead of their last four to seven games of the season. Of note from Tampa’s side of things is that injured star center Brayden Point continued to take part in practice today and took line rushes for the first time, centering a line between Nick Paul and Ross Colton, per The Athletic’s Joe Smith. However, assistant coach Jeff Halpern said after practice that “he didn’t know if you could read too much” into Point’s status, noting that it was a light session.

Tampa will be waiting anxiously to get an answer on when Point can return. Given the uncertain health of Nazem Kadri on the other side for Colorado, Tampa Bay having their full center depth available to them would give them a much greater chance at winning their third straight Stanley Cup.

  • With the 2022 NHL Draft now within a month, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, one of the top public prospect evaluators, released his 2022 NHL Mock Draft, taking team needs, consensus, and intel into account aside from just his own rankings. Although more and more doubt remains around the status of Kingston Frontenacs center Shane Wright as the Montreal Canadiens’ no. 1 overall pick, Wheeler still has Wright listed in the first spot. Rounding out the top five is winger Juraj Slafkovsky to the New Jersey Devils, center Logan Cooley to the Arizona Coyotes, defenseman Simon Nemec going first off the board among d-men to the Seattle Kraken, and defenseman David Jiricek headed to the Philadelphia Flyers.
  • The first buyout window of the offseason opens July 1, and Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli has Edmonton Oilers winger Zack Kassian at the top of his list of 10 buyout candidates for this summer. Kassian, who carries a cap hit of $3.2MM through 2024, mustered just 19 points in 58 games this season and averaged under nine minutes per game in the playoffs. With the 31-year-old forward only set to continue declining, Edmonton could take the buyout penalty to free up more space to improve their depth scoring. The buyout for Kassian is relatively benign, per CapFriendly, with a cap hit of $666,667 in 2022-23, $1,866,667 in 2023-24, and $966,667 in 2024-25 and 2025-26. It offers $2.5MM in savings upfront in 2022-23, an appealing number for general manager Ken Holland.

Latest On Montreal Canadiens Draft Strategy

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The Montreal Canadiens had a miserable season in 2021-22, a campaign where they finished last in the NHL and saw their longtime general manager lose his job. The main benefit of that poor performance was revealed last month when the Canadiens won the draft lottery and the right to pick first overall. For years now, many have assumed that Ontario native Shane Wright, a center for the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs and one of the rare players to be granted exceptional player status by the Canadian Hockey League, was a lock to be selected first overall regardless of who held the pick.

Apparently, though, that assumption may have been premature. According to Arpon Basu and Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic, (subscription link) it is “not a slam dunk” that the Canadiens will select Wright first overall. Additionally, Basu and Godin state that the rapid rise of Slovakian winger Juraj Slafkovsky has “left the Canadiens quite impressed.” So, despite Wright being the consensus top talent in the draft for several years now, (although that consensus has gotten a bit weaker in recent months) both Basu and Godin believe that it “wouldn’t be very surprising” if the Canadiens passed on Wright in favor of Slafkovsky.

The implications of the Canadiens’ decision are relatively far-reaching. The New Jersey Devils hold the number-two selection in the draft, and have in the past flirted with the idea of trading their pick for more immediate help. The Devils already have previous number-one picks Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes locked in as their top-two centers for a long time, so if a top center like Wright is available with their pick, could we see a bidding war for the pick unlike anything we have seen at drafts in the past?

If the Canadiens pass on Wright, could that heighten any potential desire they may have to trade up with their second first-round pick (acquired from the Calgary Flames for Tyler Toffoli) in order to still come out of the first round having drafted a center? The Canadiens’ front office is led by former New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton, who has in the past shown an eagerness to trade up in the first round to acquire his scouts’ desired player, as he did in 2018 and 2020, in order to draft K’Andre Miller and Braden Schneider, respectively.

With Wright seen as such a clear number-one pick for so long, the Canadiens possibly going in a different direction could lead to one of the more entertaining drafts in recent memory. That idea is perhaps emphasized by the fact that the draft is being held in Montreal. Based on the information gathered by Basu and Godin at the NHL Combine, the potentially chaotic scenario of the Canadiens passing on Wright to take Slafkovsky may be likelier than most people believe it to be.

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