Kraken Draft D-Man Chase Reid In 1st Round

BUFFALO, New York -- A draft loaded with top defensive prospects saw the Kraken reach out and grab one of them, nabbing right-handed shot blueliner Chase Reid of the major junior Soo Greyhounds. 

Reid, 18, who hails from Chesterfield, Michigan, is the first defenseman ever taken by the Kraken in the opening round. He had the second-highest point-scoring rate among Ontario Hockey League defensemen last season, notching 18 goals and adding 30 assists in 45 games. 

Once dropped by his USHL junior team and relegated to Tier II level junior hockey in North Dakota, Reid was selected by the Greyhounds in the seventh round of the OHL draft and has fought his way back up the prospect ladder ever since.  

“Obviously, I’ve had a long and hard path but I wouldn’t have had it any other way,” Reid said up on the draft stage after being picked.

The opening two selections at the annual Upper Deck NHL Draft went exactly as almost everyone predicted, with Penn State winger Gavin McKenna going first overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Swedish Hockey League forward Ivar Sternberg taken at No. 2 by the San Jose Sharks.  

Vancouver picked Western Hockey League centerman Caleb Malhotra at No. 3, which surprised some who’d felt the Canucks might shy away from having him on a team where his father, Manny Malhotra, is now the squad’s head coach. After that, Buffalo took defenseman Daxon Rudolph from the WHL Prince Albert Raiders, the New York Rangers snagged Finnish and German pro defenseman Alberts Smits. 

After that, the Calgary Flames selected Western Hockey League defenseman Carson Carels at No. 6. That left the Kraken to deploy their pick, making Reid their highest drafted defenseman ever, besting Ryker Evans, taken in the second round, 35th overall in 2021.