Flames vs. Kraken | 6:40 p.m.

One: Line by Line by Line by Line

Head coach Lane Lambert has been consistent in the first week of camp in putting his lines together. Fans expect the same for Thursday’s preseason rematch with Calgary, though few veterans (Freddy Gaudreau, Ryan Lindgren) played in Alberta in last Sunday’s 4-2 win. Alternate captain Matty Beniers has been centering newcomer and former NCAA Michigan teammate Mackie Samoskevich and Jared McCann. The trio looks fast, and McCann is benefiting from being pain-free as the season beckons.

The second line figures to be Chandler Stephenson between captain Jordan Eberle, with both of the vets highly capable of feeding winger Bobby McMann and his shoot-first mentality. The third line will be one to watch as young Berkly Catton will now play in the middle, with Shane Wright moving to right wing and Kaapo Kakko on the opposite side.

“Shane, he's a shooter,” said Lambert after Wednesday’s practice. “With Berkly playing in the middle now instead of Shane, we'll see how that progresses and goes along. Shane can use a speed down the right side, and he can use his shot down the right side. We feel Berkly has the ability to make plays, not that Shane wasn’t doing that from the middle. Kaapo is a guy who's a big body for those guys. He can make plays. Kaapo had a really good finish to last season, scoring a good chunk of the end. We're looking forward to that line using their speed, and then Kaapo using his abilities.”

Two: Captain Talks Up Youth

At Tuesday’s media scrum positioned at his locker, the aforementioned Eberle was gushing about trade acquisition Mackie Samoskevich.

“I mean, you see the skill,” said Eberle. “You see the vision and his shot, everything. He's got all the tools. We've obviously lacked in depth scoring and scoring throughout our lineup in general [last season]. He's going to add to that and be a huge addition for us.”

Eberle was enthusiastic about other prospects in camp, including Oscar Fisker Molgaard, who is still with the team and, guessing only here, might get a game between Winterton and Melanson. 

“As a as an older guy, you're always in awe of just every kid's skill now,” said Eberle, who was no slouch last season. “You know the skill and the speed that everyone has now. It's it's just gone up and up and up and up ... Berk looks great. Matty Bernier is taking a step, and Ryker [Evans] looks good.”

Three: Bring on the Game Action

Eberle and other NHL veterans who have played 100 games or more in the league are only on the ice for a maximum of two games per the league's new collective bargaining agreement. That said, Eberle and pretty much the entire Seattle squad is ready to face the Flames Thursday instead of themselves. 

“So far I've liked it,” said Eberle about the energy and battle level of teammates in this camp. “These days, guys come into camp ready to go.  They're in shape, they've done a lot of off-season training and skating. ... Last year for us, we had some injury problems we went through in camp. As much as we've had practice time, you're trying to get things down; it's hard to simulate real game action.” 

Projected Lineup (Not official)

Check back Thursday morning for projected lines, defense pairs, and starting goaltender.