Common D-nominators

Kraken prospects Lukas Dragicevic and Caden Price have a lot in common that goes deeper and more impressively beyond being members of the team’s 2023 NHL Draft class. Dragicevic was selected in the second round at No. 57 overall while Price went in the third round as the Kraken’s next pick, which was No. 84 overall. Both are offensively-skilled defensemen prospects who were on a short list of best-case draft scenarios for Seattle, as per director of amateur scouting director Robert Kron.

The Dragicevic-Price similarities simply start there. To wit: Both are point-producing defensemen for their Western Hockey League teams, logging top-pair minutes in a league that features five WHL forwards who were among the first 16 players selected overall at the 2023 NHL Draft. Plus, they are dishing out assists along with a fistful or two of goals. Dragicevic has notched 11 goals and 21 assists in 38 games for the Tri-City Americans while Price’s line is six goals and 26 assists in 34 games for the Kelowna Rockets. Both are leaders on teams vying for playoff spots where, as Dragicevic said, “anything can happen.”

Perhaps most intriguingly, both prospects were playing forward as recently as their first season of U15 bantam competition. Dragicevic raised his hand at a tournament when coaches realized they were short on defensemen. He quickly convinced himself and his coaches it offered a broader, more dynamic aspect to his play. 

For his part, the newly minted Kraken prospect nicknamed “Drago” said his relative newness to the position is “exciting”: “I take it as a positive,  knowing how much better I can get and how much work I am going to put in every day to get better.”

Funny thing, Price was a forward for much of his youth hockey days too. He said his defenseman days started after his first U15 season. Three seasons later, both learning-on-the-job prospects, Price and Dragicevic, were on Team Canada’s roster as D-men in the U18 World Juniors Championship. Price turned five assists in seven games while Dragicevic pitched in two goals and two assists.

“I kind of got thrown back there in a spring tournament one year,” said Price during a phone conversation this week. “We didn't have enough defensemen and, yeah, my coach just really liked the way I saw the ice from the back end and that I was really good at making passes and outlets up the ice ... I thought about it, played a little bit more and then made the switch. I haven't looked back.”

Price offered another positive about the position switch that clearly applies to both Kraken prospects: “When you play the offensive side of the game for so long, it kind of never leaves you ... We are learning the ins and outs of a new position, but you still have that offensive ability you've always had since you're just a little kid. It never goes away.”

These are insights from a pair of 18-year-olds who are mature beyond their biological ages. Another similarity is their respective radars for the people in their lives they love and appreciate.

When Dragicevic was drafted, like all Kraken selections, he and his family were invited to a suite at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville to share a bite and celebrate a hockey dream. Dragicevic and fellow 2022 second-rounder Carson Rehkopf (who leads the Ontario Hockey League in goals with 37 in 35 games) were gathered in the Kraken suite and thrilled when fellow Team Canada U18 teammate Price was Seattle’s third-round choice. The trio connected when Price and his family headed upstairs.

The prospects smiled and hugged a lot and then Dragicevic asked forgiveness to venture back into the arena seats. The Tri-City defenseman wanted to find Americans' coach and owner, Stu Barnes, plus GM Roy Stasiuk and the entire coaching staff and other executives to say thanks on the day and not later in the emotional rear-view mirror.

“It was really great to be able to see them and spend some time with them,” said Dragicevic. “I know how much they've done for me in this past couple, three years. So to be able to share that moment with them was awesome.”

When talking about the busy schedule of WHL players (typically three games a week and sometimes four) in which rink arrival is early a.m. with practice activities 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., then treatments as needed, Price said days are filled quickly in the pursuit of NHL dreams. But he makes it a point to keep in close touch with his two younger siblings back home in Saskatoon, SK. Brother, Addy, is 15, and sister, Jynaya, is 12.

“Keeping up with my siblings is definitely huge,” said Price, matter-of-fact but as serious about that task at the quicker closing of gaps between him and attacking opponents in the defensive end. “I call them as often as I can.”

The common traits continue, such as both 18-year-olds being 6-foot-1 with Price weighing in at 185 and Dragicevic five pounds heavier. They both have recorded double-digits in power play assists and both are fourth on their teams in scoring and the only defenseman in the top five. They do differ with handedness, Dragicevic is a right shot while Price is a lefty.

One more commonality: When they tune in to an NHL game, they tend to dissect what the defensemen are doing, sometimes clued into an NHLer they greatly admire or emulate or both, other times just checking down the details of a position of which they are climbing the steep learning curve required to play “D” at the pro level.

“When I watch NHL games, I watch closely, especially the defensemen, their footwork and stick control, stuff like that,” said Dragicevic. “Usually when I watch hockey, it's more in the details of what the defensemen do.”

Price admits to occasionally intending to “sit back and watch the game as a fan” but, well, he usually ends up focusing on what the D-men do.

“I pick out some players who I want to key in on when they're out there,” said Price. “I like to see how they defend and then recover from their gap control and if they can get up the ice in a hurry. Also positioning of how they're playing in the defensive zone or something specific such as pinning a guy against the wall. Mostly, I’m looking for little defensive things I can pick up on.”