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Kraken Sign Nathan Villeneuve To Entry-Level Contract

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The Seattle Kraken are formally bringing one of their higher-round selections from the 2024 NHL Draft to the organization. According to a team announcement, the Kraken have signed Nathan Villeneuve to a three-year entry-level contract.

Seattle selected Villeneuve with the 63rd overall pick of last summer’s draft. He had just concluded his sophomore campaign with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, scoring 23 goals and 27 assists in 50 games with a +10 rating.

This year has been a bit more of a mixed bag. He did improve his offensive output, scoring 34 goals and 70 points in 57 games, but he took far more penalties than at any point in his playing career. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with 120 PIMs, the third-highest of any player in the OHL.

Still, that primarily came from Villeneuve’s physicality and high pace of play. He’s an aggressive forechecker and was known as a pest by opponents during his major junior career. He’ll want to clean up many of those penalties should he have a future in the NHL, but he’s starting with an impressively high motor.

Villeneuve will likely finish the 2024-25 campaign playing on an amateur tryout agreement with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. The Firebirds have already clinched a position in the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs and will look to qualify for the Calder Cup Final for a third consecutive year.

West Notes: Vilardi, Pietrangelo, Ceci, Strome

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The Jets will welcome a key forward back to their lineup on Saturday against Ottawa as Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun relays that Gabriel Vilardi has been cleared to return.  The 24-year-old has missed the last 15 games due to an enlarged spleen that was diagnosed while treating another injury.  A key part of the return in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade over the summer, Vilardi has been quite impactful when healthy this season, tallying 16 goals and 14 assists in just 38 games.  With Winnipeg losing their last five games, his return will certainly be a welcome one as they look to get back on track and hold onto the third spot in the Central with Nashville closing in quickly.

More from the Western Conference:

  • The Golden Knights revealed (Twitter link) that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has joined up with the team on their road trip. The 34-year-old has missed the last six games due to illness, a big blow to their back end.  Pietrangelo has 32 points and 155 blocks in 62 appearances so far this season while logging a little over 24 minutes per night to lead Vegas in that department.  His eventual return – which could be as soon as Saturday – would be a significant addition as the Golden Knights continue to battle for seeding in the Pacific Division.
  • Oilers defenseman Cody Ceci is listed as a game-time decision for Saturday’s game against Anaheim due to illness, relays Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 30-year-old has played an important role for Edmonton this season, logging just under 20 minutes a night while chipping in with 21 points in 71 games.  If he can’t play, Troy Stecher will likely return to the lineup.
  • The league announced that Ducks forward Ryan Strome was fined the maximum of $5K for a cross-check on Seattle’s Tye Kartye during yesterday’s game. The incident occurred early in the third period with both players receiving penalties on the play, Strome for the cross-check and Kartye for roughing.

Kraken Notes: Eberle, Kartye, Wright

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Alison Lukan of Root Sports is reporting that Seattle Kraken forward Jordan Eberle will be out of the lineup tonight with a lower-body injury and won’t dress for their matchup tonight with the Los Angeles Kings.This season, it’s been a struggle for the 33-year-old as he has just three goals in 28 games, while also registering 11 assists. Eberle is shooting just 5.2% which is a substantial drop from his career average of 12.7%.

Eberle’s injury means that newly acquired forward Tomas Tatar will draw into the lineup for the Kraken just a day after he was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche for a fifth-round pick. Tatar appears slated to play on the Kraken’s top line alongside Matty Beniers and Jared McCann. Both McCann and Beniers have also struggled this season along with Eberle as all three men have posted offensive numbers well off what put up last year.

In other Kraken notes:

  • The Kraken announced today that they’ve reversed a move from yesterday and have recalled Tye Kartye from their AHL affiliate the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Kartye is having a decent rookie season in Seattle as the 22-year-old has posted six goals and five assists in 30 games. It’s not shocking to see Kartye recalled so quickly as he has been productive recently with two goals and an assist in his last five games. Kartye has been a great story this season for the Kraken as he has emerged as an NHL talent after being undrafted just a few years ago. He spent just a single full season in the AHL and was productive last year with the Firebirds tallying 28 goals and 29 assists in 72 games.
  • With the move to recall Kartye, the Kraken have also reversed the corresponding move that came along with it and sent Shane Wright back to the AHL. Wright was recalled Friday and spent just over 24 hours on the Kraken roster. The move might seem nonsensical on the surface, but this transaction is likely part of the series of moves Seattle Times writer Geoff Baker was referring to yesterday in his tweet. Baker said that the Kraken would make a series of moves that would be for salary cap purposes and with the Kartye and Wright moves it appears that is exactly what they are doing. Wright has been recalled and reassigned quite a few times this year and this probably isn’t the last time he will be involved in that type of transaction.

Jaycob Megna Assigned To The AHL

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The Seattle Kraken have announced that they are sending defenseman Jaycob Megna to the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL for a conditioning assignment. The 30-year-old has yet to play this season and should have an opportunity to crack the lineup with the Firebirds to try and get back into game shape.

Megna is one of the few NHLers to come from the state of Florida and has been a journeyman throughout most of his career. A seventh-round pick in 2012, Megna has dressed in 368 career AHL games over parts of nine seasons. He signed his first one-way NHL contract with the San Jose Sharks in May of 2022 and is in the final season of that deal making the league minimum of $775K this year.

Seattle traded a fourth-round pick for Megna back in February of this year and he dressed in six games down the stretch, tallying zero points. He didn’t suit up in the playoffs and hasn’t played since the end of last season.

Megna’s likelihood of getting into the Kraken lineup took a hit earlier this week when the team called up prospect Ryker Evans from the Firebirds. Evans has a very different skill set than that of Megna and with the Kraken struggling to generate offense from their defense core it’s no surprise that they opted to give Evans a shot over Megna. Megna has just 89 career AHL points thus far in his career, while Evans has played just 89 AHL games in his short career and has eight goals and 44 assists during that time.

Megna will be back with Seattle in the not-too-distant future, and it will be interesting to see if he can get regular usage at the NHL level. While he is surely happy to be collecting an NHL paycheck, he probably hasn’t enjoyed the lack of playing time this season.

Seattle Kraken Recall Ryker Evans

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The Seattle Kraken have announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Ryker Evans from their AHL affiliate the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The 21-year-old has never dressed in an NHL game but has earned some time with the big club after building an impressive AHL resume in his very young professional career.

Evans was the second draft pick ever by the Kraken, taken in the second round of the 2021 NHL draft, after going undrafted in his first year of draft eligibility. He rewarded Seattle with an impressive first season in the AHL registering six goals and 38 assists in 71 regular season games before helping to lead the Firebirds to the AHL finals with an impressive 26 points in 26 playoff games.

This season the Calgary, Alberta native has fallen into a bit of a sophomore slump as he has started the season slowly with just two goals and six assists in his first 18 games with the Firebirds. Despite the slow start, the Kraken have opted to give him a look in the NHL as they are mired in a five-game losing streak and need a jolt wherever they can find it.

Seattle has lost six of their last seven games and is sitting fifth in the Pacific Division with an 8-12-6 record. They are currently trailing the St. Louis Blues by five points for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference while the Blues hold two games in hand.

Without a true offensive superstar in their lineup, the Kraken have relied upon depth scoring to win games, which is something they haven’t been able to find this season. Outside of Vince Dunn, no Kraken defenseman has cracked ten points on the season as their offensive depth has disappeared. The Kraken may see Ryker as a potential option on the backend who can provide a small offensive boost at a time when they need it most.  

Seattle Kraken Sign Three Players

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The Seattle Kraken have completed contracts with three players. They’ve signed winger Marian Studenic from the Dallas Stars, re-signed Coachella Valley Firebirds defenseman Jimmy Schuldt, and re-signed forward John Hayden. The terms for the players’ contracts are as follows:

Studenic: one-year, two-way, $775K NHL salary, $300K AHL salary, $325K guarantee
Schuldt: one-year, two-way, $775K NHL salary, $250K AHL salary, $275K guarantee
Hayden: one-year, one-way, $775K NHL salary

The 24-year-old Studenic comes over from the Dallas Stars, where he recorded three points in 19 games over the past two seasons. He’ll likely stay in an AHL role next season, where he’s been a marquee scorer: he notched 21 goals and 48 points in 67 games with AHL Texas last season. He’s a solid replacement in the Kraken organization for Jesper Froden, who played a similar role in the minors but departed in free agency for a role overseas in Switzerland.

Schuldt, a rather steady two-way defender in the minors, hasn’t yet appeared in NHL action with the Kraken but is a bonafide top-four AHL defender. The 28-year-old Minnesota product notched eight goals, 32 points, and a +22 rating for Coachella Valley last season in 71 games, all career-highs, while playing for one of the best teams in the league. The organization is happy to have him stick around as a reliable presence in their farm system.

Lastly, there’s Hayden, the player with the most NHL experience on this list at 247 games. After sticking in the NHL full-time for four seasons, Hayden found his way back to the minors for most of 2022-23, where his hard-nosed game translated into a solid amount of offense with 33 points in 47 games. He appeared in just seven games for the Kraken, scoring two goals, and he’s destined for the same role in the organization next season.

Matty Beniers Wins 2023 Calder Memorial Trophy

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Seattle Kraken forward Matty Beniers has been crowned the Calder Memorial Trophy winner as the league’s top rookie. Beniers beat out Edmonton Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power for the award.

Beniers was drafted by the Kraken second overall in 2021 and burst onto the scene this year, finishing the year tied for the rookie lead with 24 goals while he led all rookies with 57 points. The 20-year-old was asked to do a lot for the Kraken and was a big part of why the club reached the playoffs in just their second season of existence.

The native of Hingham, Massachusetts, played over 17 minutes a night in his rookie season and was a solid two-way contributor for the team. Despite being a rookie, Beniers rarely resorted to cheating, as he took just a single minor penalty this season and appeared extremely detail-oriented in the defensive zone.

Beniers continued his good showing in the playoffs helping Seattle knock off the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round. He had three goals and four assists in 14 playoff games and was a big reason Seattle was able to push for their first series win.

The Calder Trophy puts a cap on what has been an incredible rookie season in what is sure to be a long and productive NHL career.

NHL Announces 2023 King Clancy Memorial Trophy Nominees

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In an announcement made Tuesday afternoon, the NHL unveiled the list of nominees for the 2023 King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is presented annually to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities both on and off the ice, as well as making a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to their community.

The list of nominees for this year’s award is an impressive one, featuring some of the league’s most well-respected captains, such as Boston’s Patrice Bergeron and Florida’s Aleksander Barkov.

One notable nominee is one of the youngest captains in the league – Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk. Tkachuk, in a few short years as a Senator, has already implanted himself in the community, especially in recent seasons. Working with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, Tkachuk hosts the ’Tkachuk’s Captains’ program, which works with kids at club locations across Ottawa to help develop leadership skills.

That’s not to diminish the off-ice efforts of anyone else named on the full list of nominees, found below. While an often-overlooked award, it’s a great way to highlight some players who focus on making positive contributions to their communities.

Anaheim: Kevin Shattenkirk
Arizona: Travis Boyd
Boston: Patrice Bergeron
Buffalo: Alex Tuch
Calgary: Mikael Backlund
Carolina: Jordan Staal
Chicago: Connor Murphy
Colorado: Devon Toews
Columbus: Zach Werenski
Dallas: Jason Robertson
Detroit: Dylan Larkin
Edmonton: Darnell Nurse
Florida: Aleksander Barkov
Los Angeles: Mikey Anderson
Minnesota: Matt Dumba
Montreal: Jordan Harris
Nashville: Juuse Saros
New Jersey: Jack Hughes
NY Islanders: Anders Lee
NY Rangers: Jacob Trouba
Ottawa: Brady Tkachuk
Philadelphia: Scott Laughton
Pittsburgh: Evgeni Malkin
San Jose: Luke Kunin
Seattle: Chris Driedger
St. Louis: Brayden Schenn
Tampa Bay: Victor Hedman
Toronto: Morgan Rielly
Vancouver: Elias Pettersson
Vegas: Reilly Smith
Washington: Tom Wilson
Winnipeg: Blake Wheeler

PHR Playoff Primer: Dallas Stars vs. Seattle Kraken

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With the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs now underway, PHR makes its first foray into playoff series analysis with our 2023 Playoff Primers. Where does each team stand in their series, and what storylines could dominate on and off the ice? We begin our second-round coverage with the Western Conference matchup between the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken.

The Seattle fanbase waited a long time for a team to cheer for and the Seattle Kraken have given them something to cheer about in just their second season by knocking off the defending Stanley Cup champions in seven games. The Dallas Stars on the other hand were able to dispatch of the Minnesota Wild in just six games on the back of incredible goaltending from Jake Oettinger. Their second-round matchup will mark the first time the two teams have met in the playoffs.

What a difference a season makes. A year ago, Kraken general manager Ron Francis looked as though he’d butchered the expansion draft as Seattle finished near the bottom of the NHL standings. But, fast forward one year later and the Kraken have their first 100-point season, a playoff series victory, and the opportunity for more.  For Dallas, they are just three years removed from a Stanley Cup finals appearance in which they lost in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. While the Stars do still have several of the core pieces from that 2020 team, they’ve added a lot of elite young talent to mix in with their older core pieces.

It’s hard to get excited for a series in which the two teams have never met in the playoffs before, but Dallas quietly had one of the most exciting series of the first round, and Seattle provided ample fireworks of their own. This series might not have the draw that some other series may have, but there will be plenty of star power on the ice for Dallas, while Seattle has one of the most balanced lineups in the entire NHL and can outwork almost any team.

Regular Season Performance

Dallas Stars: 51-22-9, 111 points, +43 goal differential
Seattle Kraken: 46-28-8, 100 points, +33 goal differential.

Head-To-Head

March 11, 2023: Dallas 4, Seattle 3 (OT)

March 13, 2023: Dallas 5, Seattle 2

March 21, 2023: Seattle 5, Dallas 4 (OT)

Dallas takes the season series 2-0-1

Team Storylines

One might not think these teams would have much in the way of a rivalry, however for ten days in mid-March they saw a lot of each other. The teams played three times and developed a bit of hate in that time. While a lot has happened since then, there could be carryover.

The biggest storyline in this series will be the high-end skill of the Dallas Stars against the workmanlike attitude of the Seattle Kraken. Dallas has the offense and the goaltending to make a deep run in these playoffs and have much higher expectations than the Kraken, however Seattle has shown an incredible amount of heart this season and are playing with house money at this point. Sometimes the pressure can cause a team to wilt, and sometimes no pressure at all can make a team play fast and loose. It’ll be interesting to see it play out.

The Dallas Stars play with a ton of skill and a ton of speed, led by Jason Robertson, they can put the puck in your net in several ways and can push the pace, or slow down the game if they need to grind out a win. They still possess Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and a few other players from the 2020 run to the finals that know how to get the job done in the playoffs. They have the confidence in their group and their goalie to get it done. Seattle on the other can also play with a lot of pace, they come at you in waves, line after line can contribute on the offensive end. Every line can score, but they don’t have the gamebreakers that Dallas has.

On the backend, both teams have strong blue lines that can help generate offense. Seattle has the size advantage with a couple of towering forces that can crash and bang and clear the front of the net, but Dallas may possess the strength advantage with a physically imposing lineup in which every man in the unit is over six foot. Dallas has the most elite puck mover in Miro Heiskanen, but this year’s version of Vince Dunn isn’t far off, and Seattle has a better collection of point producers and a deeper unit of six. While the Stars defense can do it all, Seattle’s defense can all do it. Coach Dave Hakstol has somehow managed to spread his defensive minutes about as evenly as you will ever see for a defensive unit. I would give the advantage to Seattle in this area as they seem to find an extra gear late in games and have a good track record of shutting the door on their opponents.

In goal, Dallas boasts one of the best goaltenders in the world in Jake Oettinger. His playoff resume is short, but it is strong. He was dominant in the first round, and should he play at that level in this series, Dallas will be tough to beat. Regular season numbers would tell us that Oettinger gives Dallas a huge advantage over Seattle in net, but in round one Seattle received elite goaltending as well. Philipp Grubauer finally gave Seattle the goaltending they thought they were getting when they signed the former Avalanche goalie to a six year $35.4MM contract in 2021. The German netminder hasn’t been able to sustain much success over his two years with the Kraken, but if he can build on his impressive stretch of play in round one, Seattle will have a punchers chance to advance.

Prediction

Anytime an elite goaltender is involved in a series it is always difficult to bet against them. Jake Oettinger has proven himself to be one of the best in the world and so far, has shown an ability to rise to the occasion when the games mean the most. If he can steal a game or two in this series, it will give Dallas a sizeable advantage and could be the difference in the series.

The other element that comes into play is experience. Dallas has a ton of players who have been here before, and while Seattle has some veterans with Stanley Cup playoff experience, it isn’t on the same level. This small detail could be the difference maker for the Stars if they can draw on that experience and find that extra push.

The prediction: Dallas win in seven games.

Evening Notes: Nichushkin, Helm, Geekie

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The Colorado Avalanche are getting set for Game 3 of their playoff series with the Seattle Kraken but look to be without the services of a couple of players who suited up in Game 2. When the warmup began, Valeri Nichushkin and Darren Helm were surprisingly not among the players on the ice according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

  • Nichushkin scored 17 goals and 47 points in 53 games this season, proving to be a reliable top six contributor for the Avalanche. He played the first two games of the series and scored one goal.
  • Helm is a depth piece for the Avalanche and has also battled injuries all season. He played just 11 games in the regular season, but returned to the lineup for Game 2. Unfortunately, he won’t be ready to go for the Avalanche in Game 3.
  • Also missing this game will be Morgan Geekie of the Seattle Kraken, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Geekie scored nine goals and 28 points in 69 games for the Kraken this season and already has one goal in this series as well. He was ruled out for a maintenance day at the morning skate, but clearly whatever he is dealing with is more serious than just a maintenance from practice.

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