Round-Tripping: Fifth Rounder Back in Home State

There are many fun and enlightening facts about Kraken 2026 fifth-round draft choice Hawke Huff, including his making history as the first Seattle prospect born in Washington state. Allow one detour before heading on the road to Mazama and Winthrop.

Marvel this: If Huff was born one day earlier, he would have aged-out of being draft-eligible for a third straight year. Instead, he celebrated his 20th birthday June 30 by taking to Kraken Community Iceplex Rinks 1 and 2 for defensemen drills and speed testing. Getting picked by Seattle was an early and supremely welcome birthday gift. He was passed up in the last two drafts but his breakout 2025-26 year with the USHL Cedar Rapids RoughRiders earned him a nomination for the junior league’s Defenseman of the Year award and a spot on the USHL All-Star First Team.

“I was just kind of taking it day by day,” said Huff when asked how much one last draft chance affected his mindset on and off the ice this past season. “It definitely can be on your mind, but I was just looking to work my hardest and not think about it. Going day by day helped out a lot. The past [two] years I might have been worrying about it, psyching myself out. This season I set it aside, letting my play show itself.”

The Kraken certainly noticed, especially amateur scout Thomas Plante. When Seattle GM Jason Botterill traded the 102nd overall selection to the New York Rangers for two fifth-round picks, Plante was hoping Huff would be available at No. 148. When that magic happened, no one was more demonstratively happy than Plante. That’s saying a lot given the draft-room celebration when higher picks Chase Reid, Case Mutryn and Viktor Federov were officially selected by the Kraken. 

“He's been on a great trajectory,” said Plante during the draft, referring to Huff getting traded to Cedar Rapids mid-season in 2024-25 to emerge this past season as both a shutdown defenseman minutes-eater and a productive offensive contributor. “The character piece behind the scenes checks out and shows his drive. One story we got is he built a wagon to attach to his bike, so he could go to the rink with all of his gear during the offseason. [This summer], the kid's still working at that rink. He's a blue-collar, lunch-pail kid. He oozes positive character. When we pass him on to the player development staff, they're just gonna be excited about his character and more.”

The Washington Way

As promised, here are the geography details for Huff. He was born in Mazama [population under 200 last counted], which is a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Seattle near North Cascades National Park. Huff first skated in Wenatchee, guessing he was three or four years old.

“We went down there for a birthday or something,” said Huff, who looks all of the imposing 6-foot-2, 200-pounds on his fact sheet. “I got on the ice and fell in love with it.”

By then, the Huff family had moved to Winthrop, which many Kraken fans and especially recreational hockey players know hosts “The Great Puckaroo Roundup,” an annual outdoor adult hockey tournament at winterland picture-postcard Winthrop Rink and produced by the Kraken Hockey League. It is considered a bucket-list event for local female and male rec players.

For Huff, the outdoor rink provided access for his skating pursuits, even if the hockey pursuit was in nascent development. Huff remembers renting hockey gear and shooting tennis balls. He didn’t play competitively until he was nearly 10 when the family moved to Arizona.  In place of hockey Huff said his younger years featured a lot of cross-country skiing with the family.

“I remember mostly just playing [dry land] hockey with friends and waiting for winter,” said Huff about anticipating the opening of the outdoor rink.

What’s in a (Middle) Name?

When the aforementioned Botterill stepped out of the draft room for a congratulatory phone call with Huff, the GM asked Plante if he should call the prospect by his given name (listed on the draft log as “Luken” Huff ) or his nickname. Plante assured his boss that “Hawke” was appropriate. 

“It’s my middle name,” said Huff, who clearly likes the nickname – and who can argue with the alliterative effect? “It comes from mom’s side. I believe it was the middle name of my great, great, great grandmother. My parents just went with it.”

Fun fact: Huff’s mom, Tanava, grew up in Tacoma and attended North Seattle Community College, not far from the Iceplex. Huff said, “Seattle is my mom’s spot” and that “she’s been asking about what we’re seeing around town.” The fifth rounder had plenty to report as the Kraken hockey operations group makes sure to introduce the wonders of the city and Pacific Northwest to all prospects, along with the state-of-the-art training center in the Northgate neighborhood.

Iowa Proves the Turning Point

Huff was a standout D-man at the vaunted high school level in Minnesota, where his family had moved for work reasons. His play earned him a roster spot with USHL Sioux City. But it was a rocky transition for Huff, who then benefited from the good– no make that, great – fortune to be traded to Cedar Rapids, where he was mentored by head coach Mark Carlson, the winningest coach in league history. Kraken prospect Zacharya Wisdom (2022 seventh round) also prospered under Carlson.  

For starters, coach and player were on the same wavelength. Plus, Huff saw the situation as a fresh chance, about which he knows plenty.

“We're pretty similar,” said Huff about Carlson, who is duly praised by Kraken amateur scout Eddie Olczyk. “I like the way he coaches. I got there hoping to play a little bit more than I did in Sioux Falls ... I just kept working and doing everything he said. He's super good at developing players. He'll tell you straight-up how it is. He told me straight-up how it was.”

Huff listened, absorbed and made adjustments to a game in which he is now a feared opponent along defensive-zone walls and the net front, along with a reputation as a defender who powers through checks to get an offensive transition started.  

“A big thing for [Carlson] was little details,” said Huff. “If you can follow little details, he says he'll love you. I learned that in the first couple days, the first week ... You do exactly what he says, because he's saying it for a reason. Work on those little details, whether it's stick positioning, body positioning.,Do what he says. Then you go into the games, and it'll make you a better player. He'll trust you more.”

At any level – and Huff’s next step will be playing at NCAA Division I St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN – earning a coach’s trust allows players to be confident that one mistake won’t translate to fewer minutes on ice. 

“You’ve got to gain the coach’s trust and make a lot of good plays,” said Huff. “But there's gonna be bad plays. He would review video with our defensive group. He said, ‘I know you're gonna make mistakes, it's gonna happen. Let's just try to keep them minimal and try to keep them small.’”

For Huff, tending to the many details and skills of his game while reducing mistakes that hurt his team has paid off. Some 10 years after leaving the state, he was back on Washington ice holding his own and then some in Thursday’s scrimmage finale. Consider the round-trip ticket punched.