Catton Leaves A Mark In Quest To Make Kraken

Kraken prospect Berkly Catton admitted after this latest preseason test that he indeed found more of the “comfort level” he’d been striving for his prior three exhibition contests.

Of course, that quest for comfort took a quantum leap forward about two minutes into the second period of Monday night’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames at Climate Pledge Arena when Catton fired a rebound past goaltender Dustin Wolf for his first preseason goal. Catton looked nonchalant afterwards as he accepted congratulations at the bench in his best impersonation of a been there, done that professional, though breaking the scoring ice clearly boosted his comfort and confidence the rest of the way.

“I think when you don’t score for a couple of games, obviously it gets on your mind a bit,” Catton said. “So, it’s nice to get that one. But it was nothing crazy. Just a rebound and I put it in. But it did feel good though, even if I tried to hide it.”

The foundation for Catton’s goal began much earlier, when he appeared to find instant chemistry with new linemate Matty Beniers. The Kraken for the second straight game bumped Catton out to left wing where he had fewer responsibilities than at his typical center spot and more of a chance to show off the creativity that made the Spokane Chiefs junior hockey star their No. 8 overall pick at the NHL Draft two summers ago.

Beniers and Catton both took turns holding on to pucks and making plays and their confidence together seemed to grow accordingly. The duo’s strong play continued well into overtime, even though Catton’s middle frame goal from the left circle off a rebound of an initial Beniers shot would be the only one scored by the Kraken all night.

“I mean, it is the NHL and it’s the best there really is, so it takes a little bit of time to learn and stuff,” Catton said. “And I think as the games go on here, I’m feeling a little bit more comfortable. And it obviously helps to play with a guy like that who’s been around and has accomplished a lot in this league.”

The Kraken headed into the game with several forwards seeking to win jobs, a possibility seemingly heightened in the wake of a broken hand suffered by Kaapo Kakko and the fact Chandler Stephenson and Jared McCann are nursing their own hurts and have yet to play this preseason. The list of injured players continued to grow as defenseman Vince Dunn left this game in the second period and did not return, with the team saying afterwards he is still being evaluated.

The Kraken, of course, face a call on Catton, 19, ahead of their Oct. 9 season opener as he’s still too young to be eligible for AHL play and would need to return to junior hockey with the Spokane Chiefs if he doesn’t make the NHL out of camp.

His goal opened the scoring in this one and the Kraken held the lead for a little under half a period until Matvei Gridin took a stretch pass for a breakaway chance in behind Cale Fleury and fired a shot past netminder Philipp Grubauer. Gridin also beat Grubauer for the shootout winner in the fourth round after Freddy Gaudreau had put the Kraken ahead with his initial try on a brilliant deke of Wolf only to have the Flames even things up right away.

Eeli Tolvanen appeared to have won it for the Kraken in the final minute of overtime with former Everett Silvertips goalie Wolf clearly beaten by his high shot. But the puck rang off the inside of the crossbar and then the inside of the far post as well and somehow managed not to cross the goal line.

As for Catton, he led the Kraken with five shots on net and came up with successive blocked shots as well in the final period that had his teammates up and applauding.

“I loved it,” linemate Beniers said. “I loved every second of it. It’s awesome. It’s awesome when anyone does it but especially a young guy coming in a preseason game and you’re laying down your body for the team. There’s not much more you can say about it. It was awesome. Every guy in here loved it.”

Beniers played perhaps his best game of the preseason, seemingly all over the ice as he and Catton freewheeled at will and helped the Kraken run up a 16-6 shots edge after one period and 22-10 by the time the Flames finally scored midway through the game.

“Yeah, it was fun playing with him,” Beniers said of Catton. “He’s an elite player. He thinks it really well and he can skate really well. So, it was fun. We were buzzing back and forth and playing off of each other.”

Other hopefuls making a late push to land a roster spot also had strong games including surprising young center Oscar Fisker Molgaard. The Denmark native, projected to make his AHL debut this season, played another solid contest at even strength and also defended well on an important second period penalty kill.

Ryan Winterton is another forward the Kraken are taking a longer look at in the wake of all the injuries and he nearly came through with a goal or two.

As for fourth line candidates, veteran John Hayden was all over the place dishing out hits and stirring up trouble, especially when hulking Calgary centerman Martin Pospisil began getting physical with some Kraken players. When not engaging in the rough stuff, Hayden also positioned himself for a great scoring chance down the right side late in the second period but his 26-foot wrist shot was stopped.

As for Catton, his chemistry with Beniers was obvious right away. Beniers fed Catton an early pass to the left circle that was fired directly into goalie Wolf.

Catton, for his part, had set up the initial Beniers shot from the slot in the second period that wound up rebounding out to him for his goal.

“He was making some things happen offensively and he did block some shots at a key moment there in the third period,” Kraken head coach Lane Lambert said. “So, I thought he looked a little more comfortable tonight.”

And felt it too. Something Catton – and his team -- have been waiting for since the preseason began.

“I’m trying to build each and every game and learn,” Catton said. “I think I’ve done a good job of that.”