Kraken fans Jen Nordberg and Ashley DeStefano sat with eyes glued to the television screen Monday at 32 Bar & Grill, hoping their favorite team could pull off an upset that never came.
For a while, the Kraken remained alive as ping-pong balls dropped and an original NHL Draft lottery field of 16 teams was pared by half in a bid to land the No. 1 overall pick in next month’s big event in Los Angeles. As the live lottery broadcast feed from NHL Network studios in Secaucus, N.J. cut to commercial ahead of the determining ball drop, Eastside resident Nordberg and Everett-based counterpart DeStefano caught their breath.
“I came in and said, ‘Oh, it’s just like the real lottery -- they’re keeping us in suspense on purpose,” Nordberg said, laughing.
DeStefano quipped: “Yeah, they’re trying to build that drama.”
Their hopes were soon dashed as the broadcast returned and the Kraken – needing the next ball that dropped to bear the number “3” to stun the field and snag the top pick – saw their luck fade. They got only part of the needed number when a “13” ball fell, awarding the top pick to an even more longshot New York Islanders squad.
The Kraken in the next lottery round wound up eventually tumbling two spots to No. 8 from their sixth-best 7.5% odds to start the day.
The Islanders, who’d entered with just the 10th best, 3.5% odds of landing the top pick, rocketed all the way up to No. 1 overall. That gives them first crack at a crop of teenage prospects expected to be headed by Ontario Hockey League defenseman Matthew Schaeffer of the Erie Otters and top-scoring OHL forward Michael Misa of the Saginaw Spirit.
The Kraken will thus pick 8th overall for a second straight year when the decentralized draft opens at LA Live’s Peacock Theater for Round 1 on June 27 before continuing with Rounds 2 through 7 the following day. Last year, they took centerman Berkly Catton of the Spokane Chiefs at No. 8.
The lottery set the order of selection for the first 16 clubs that failed to make the playoffs this past season. Pre-lottery odds were weighted in reverse order to how teams finished the season, meaning San Jose entered with a 25.5% chance at the No. 1 pick based on a league-worst 32nd overall finish.
They wound up picking No. 2 when the lottery ended.
Chicago will pick third, Utah fourth, Nashville fifth, Philadelphia sixth, and Boston seventh ahead of the Kraken.
The Kraken currently holds seven selections in the upcoming draft. In addition to their first-round pick, the club has two selections in the second and fourth rounds, respectively, one in the fifth round, and one in the seventh round.
Despite her disappointment with Monday’s lottery, Kraken fan Nordberg plans on getting season tickets this summer and recently put a deposit on seats for Seattle’s new PWHL women’s team as well.
“My friends have season tickets and I’ve bounced around with various friends over the years,” Nordberg said of the Kraken, whom she’s supported since their 2021 launch. “But this year, I’m getting my own.”
DeStefano just returned from watching the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds win Game 2 of their second-round Calder Cup Playoff series Saturday night in California. She also plans to take in her share of Kraken and PWHL games next season.
“We’re both huge hockey fans,” she said. “We love it.”
