Center and Roommate of Attention

Kraken head coach Lane Lambert started training camp with his first three forward lines in combinations that remained largely the same through the first two preseason games, in which veterans dominated the lineup. Mid-camp, there was one tweak to Lambert’s lines: 2024 first rounder Berkly Catton switched spots with 2022 first-round pick Shane Wright. After playing on the wing in his first full season, scoring seven goals and adding 10 assists in 66 games, Catton has moved back to his natural center position.

“It’s nice to have the puck in the middle of the ice,” Catton had said after Thursday’s home win in which he scored the decisive goal in a 4-3 shootout. “That’s where I like to have the puck. Defensively, I’ve done it my whole life [at center], so it feels a little easier.”

Then, in Saturday’s preseason finale in Vancouver, Catton appeared to have another game-winner with a go-ahead third period strike in-close before the Canucks scored a pair in the final 10 minutes to hand the Kraken a 4-3 loss. This time, his goal was off a feed from Ryan Winterton, who’d joined Catton and Wright for this night as their usual linemate Kaapo Kakko moved to a different trio to replace an injured Mackie Samoskevich.

For Catton, his positioning and deft handwork on the Saturday scoring play was akin to when he dominated the Western Hockey League for three seasons with the Spokane Chiefs. After the game, he said he continued to feel comfortable in his familiar space.
“I got lots of those chances last year,” said Catton. “And so, I worked on scoring a lot this summer. I’m going to try to implement that into this year.”

Lambert was matter-of-fact about the swap of the eighth overall pick two summers ago with Wright, who was selected at No. 4 in the opening round of the 2022 NHL Draft. It’s evident the coaching staff anticipates both players can flex the biggest strengths in each of their games.
“Shane's a shooter,” said Lambert, when quizzed about the change. “Come down the wing, shoot the puck.  Berkly, he has an ability to make plays. Potentially having the puck on his stick coming through the middle of the ice would be something that we're looking for.”

Lambert added that he and offensively minded assistant coaches Chris Taylor and Pascal Vincent will evaluate how the shakeup shakes out. During the preseason games, there were times Wright went to the faceoff dot instead of Catton in cases where a right-handed center might fare better. One situation for fans to monitor is which of either Catton or Wright takes the most defensive zone faceoffs. 

The two lofty Seattle draft choices happen to be playing mainly with linemate Kakko, picked even higher than them at No. 2 overall by the New York Rangers in 2019. After Thursday’s win, Catton was positive about how the trio performed but confidently said, “We could have created a little more” in the neutral and offensive zones.

Catton’s association with first-round picks continues off the ice this season. He is rooming with a couple of former NCAA Michigan teammates, Matty Beniers (second overall in the Kraken’s inaugural 2021 draft) and Mackie Samoskevich (going at No. 24 overall in 2021). More about that in a moment. 

Summer Travels, Hitting the Wall (Play)

This summer, along with a regular group of pros from his Saskatoon, Saskatchewan hometown, Catton and Beniers trained in Vancouver with young NHLers Conor Bedard (first overall in 2023), Macklin Celebrini (No. 1 in 2024) and Michael Misa (No. 2 in 2025). The elite group worked with Justin Rai, the Kraken’s head of player strategy, who operates Kaivo Hockey during the offseason. After that, Catton bonded a bit more with Beniers, heading to the Seattle alternate captain’s home ground in metro Boston for more summer workouts and no doubt an opportunity to compare East Coast and Pacific Northwest chowders. 

“It was a great two-and-a-half weeks to travel around and skate,” said Catton. “For me, it was about getting a little bit more of an extra step in my game, handling pucks on the wall with heavier guys on the wall playing against you. I worked all around, looking to clean up everything in my game.”

While now playing in between them, Catton noted he and “Wrighter” played together quite a bit last season and “even Kap as well.”  The 20-year-old center said: “It’s been good this week to get at game speed [in preseason games].”

There is every reason to expect a breakout season from Catton and his linemates. Lambert has been vocal about Kakko’s scoring uptick in the final months of 2025-26. Wright is in his third full NHL campaign, entering restricted free agency at season’s end. The coaching staff has been encouraging Catton to play his instinctual offensive game inside of Lambert’s more responsible, defensively structured system, with all involved accepting that hockey is not a mistake-free enterprise. 

“I'm not a rookie anymore,” said Catton. “That whole thing is out the window. It's on me. Let's go out there and make hockey plays, help our team win. I know I can do it and execute my chances. That's the biggest thing. Last year I got lots of chances, didn't quite execute to the level I would want.” 

To that end, Catton sought the advice and counsel of a mental performance coach this summer. 

“It helped me out a lot,” said Catton. “Everything's just about moving forward. When I do lose the puck, which will happen in a hockey game, let's get it back. How can I get it back as fast as possible? I have a good stick. I'm tenacious. That's something that I'm good at. The goal for me this year is to have the puck as much as I can to create as much offense as I can. In our systems, good defense will allow me to do that more. It’s on me to win my puck battles.”

Gaining nine pounds on his now 5-foot-10, 179-pound frame should help the 20-year-old. He will be looking for ways to maintain that weight in-season, with new lead dietician Madison Yerigan supporting the objective. He needs look no further than the aforementioned Beniers, who clearly enters the season significantly more muscular while still lanky and skilled, now up to 183 pounds at age 23. 

Living, Competing, Chilling

What’s more, Catton is inarguably shifting gears in the roommate space. After spending last season living with veteran center Chandler Stephenson and family, he now rolls pre- and post-home games with Beniers and Samoskevich. The three were on the T-Mobile Park pitcher’s mound this past week for the ceremonial first pitch. The fun continues nightly at their shared home with Beniers running point on friendly competitions.

While not here to spoil Kraken Hockey Network personality Piper Shaw’s upcoming work on the depth of those in-house competitions, Catton did happily report during a recent 1-on-1 conversation that he’d roundly defeated his housemates the prior night in a YouTube version of Name That Tune. 

“It was a guess the song game,” said Catton, grinning. “I’d like to say I kind of cleaned up.”

Kraken fans can take heart in Beniers looking to boost his bond with Catton while also welcoming prior college teammate Samoskevich to Seattle. The hope is also that all three might someday look back and spot some added value to their living arrangement in terms of wins and losses during a 2026-27 Kraken season that starts Oct. 1 in Calgary. Consider there could be less brooding after a rough loss, and that the wins should be just that much sweeter. 

“It’s good, a lot of fun,” said Catton. “We're all kind of like-minded young guys. All of us have big goals and want to help our team win. At the rink it's awesome. When we go home, we’re just hanging out, chilling, getting away from hockey. We come back to the rink more fresh. Living with Chandler and his family was great, being in that veteran presence with someone who’s won [Stanley] Cups. It’s good to get a little bit of both. I’m really thankful for last year plus excited for this year.”