Kraken Still Eyeing Future Over Present In NHL Draft

BUFFALO, New York -- Kraken general manager Jason Botterill got a couple of big moves done ahead of Friday’s opening of this year’s Upper Deck NHL Draft, though his work this week is far from finished.

Even after trading a No. 25 overall draft pick to Florida for winger Mackie Samoskevich last Sunday ahead of re-signing forward Bobby McMann to a six-year extension, The Kraken still have a much higher No. 7 overall selection remaining in Friday’s first round, then five more over the final six rounds of action on Saturday at KeyBank Center arena. And while the Kraken do have plenty of immediate needs they’re working to fill through trades and signings, the draft approach itself will very likely see Botterill, amateur scouting director Robert Kron and others largely looking out for the best available player they feel can help down the road.

“It’s still our situation where we have to do that,” Botterill said of going the best player route as opposed to more immediate need. “Because even with these top players that we’re looking at, for most of them to be ready for the National Hockey League it’s going to be two or three years before they’re even making that contribution.”

And that appears to offer a strong chance of the Kraken taking an opening-round defenseman for the first time in franchise history, even as the team bolsters its more immediate scoring needs through moves such as those involving Samoskevich and McMann. This year’s draft, where Penn State winger Gavin McKenna and Swedish pro forward Ivar Stenberg are widely expected to be selected first and second overall by Toronto and San Jose, respectively, those remaining by the time the Kraken pick could include a plethora of above average defensive prospects.

Some of those touted defensemen come with NCAA and European pro pedigrees, meaning they’re seen as having played against older, more physical opponents closer to a North American pro style game. Those defensive standouts include Keaton Verhoeff from the University of North Dakota and Alberts Smits from Finland’s top pro league, as well as major junior stars Carson Carels, Daxon Rudolph and Chase Reid.

Beyond defensemen, Ontario Hockey League forward Caleb Malhotra – the son of former NHL player and current Vancouver Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra – is also a possibility if he’s still around by the time the Kraken pick. Malhotra, also the nephew of former NBA star Steve Nash, spent last season tearing it up offensively with the Kraken’s No. 8 overall pick from a year ago, Jake O’Brien, as teammates with the Brantford Bulldogs.

Other potential forward picks include Swedish pro Viggo Bjorck, junior prospect Ethan Belchetz from the Windsor Spitfires and Wyatt Cullen from the U.S. National Team Development Program.

The Kraken from their inception have drafted forwards with their first-round picks, including centermen Matty Beniers at No. 2 overll in 2021, Shane Wright at No. 4 in 2022 and Berkly Catton and O’Brien, both at No. 8 in 2024 and 2025. A lone deviation was winger Eduard Sale from Czechia at No. 20 overall in 2023.

But the highest defenseman ever selected by the Kraken remains Ryker Evans, taken rather surprisingly in the second round, 35^th overall in 2021 after he’d been projected to go at least a round or two after that. Evans has since appeared in 176 games for the Kraken, making him the team’s only drafted defenseman to play for them thus far other than Ville Ottavainen, a fourth rounder from 2021 with a lone NHL contest to his credit.

Without a first round blue-liner in the system, the Kraken used free agency to fill some of their defensive needs, including a seven-year deal signed in 2024 with Brandon Montour and a four-year pact last summer with Ryan Lindgren.​

The Kraken have also taken defensemen in either the second or third rounds in each of their opening five drafts, though none except Evans has made the NHL full-time. Blake Fiddler was taken in last year’s second round and Will Reynolds in the third. Alexis Benier, who just signed an entry level pro contract with the Kraken, was a third-round selection in 2024.

As Botterill mentioned, it typically takes at least two or three years for even top drafted players to make an impactful NHL contribution.

Kraken draftees who’ve since become regulars with the team include Beniers, Wright, Evans, Catton, 2021 third rounder Ryan Winterton and fifth rounder Jacob Melanson. Others who’ve seen some Kraken action include 2022 second round forward Jani Nyman, with 40 games under his belt, 2024 second rounder Oscar Fisker Molgaard, second round goalie Nikke Kokko from 2022 and the aforementioned Ottavainen.

This year’s draft class is thought to be stronger in the top 10 than more recent ones, especially once things get beyond the opening few picks. That means some of those taken might be on a quicker route to the NHL, especially if they’ve already played some pro or college hockey.

Still, whoever gets picked will inevitably need some time ahead of any NHL debut. And that means the Kraken, barring a last-minute trade of their top pick, already know that today’s needs might be yesterday’s old news by the time whoever they take on Friday and Saturday reaches the big club.

“A lot can happen on our own team during that time,” Botterill said. “So, I still think taking the best player is something I believe in and that a lot of teams still believe in as a philosophy.”