Stocking the Cupboards

It's been a busy few months for Ron Francis. He's watched his NHL club seize the league's attention with an impressive playoff push, and his AHL team came within one win of a Calder Cup in its inaugural season. Matty Beniers won NHL rookie of the year honors; head coach Dave Hakstol was a finalist for coach of the year, and over the past four days, Francis' team has added ten players through the Draft and signed four more through free agency.

As the first day of that free agency period came to a close and everyone was able to pause and take a breath, it's more and more evident that Francis' long-term vision of creating solid depth and building sustained success from within is taking shape.

"(The cupboard) is never fully stocked," Francis said. "But we feel (we've) got a lot of good stuff in those cupboards…. the outlook for what we have coming down the road is extremely positive."

Let's take a look at some of the new pieces and what they mean beyond the stat sheet.

With Saturday earmarked as a day to secure talent through new contracts, the Kraken bolstered their talent pipeline by bringing back defender Jimmy Schuldt and winger John Hayden - two players who were both integral to Coachella Valley's success in the AHL this season. Seattle also added forward Marian Studenic who played in the Stars organization and had a career year in points last season (21-27-48, 67 GP).

To further strengthen the defense which saw Carson Soucy leave via free agency, Seattle signed Brian Dumoulin who played all ten years of his NHL career in Pittsburgh. But before that, he was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes…where he worked with then development coach Ron Francis. Now, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, he'll spend his next two seasons in a Kraken jersey.

"He's a terrific person and a very good player," Francis said. "We think he helps us. Overall, his game is really solid, he kills penalties, has a good stick. We're excited to add him to the mix, for sure."

But with pieces fortifying the upper echelons of the organization, the players drafted this past week are just as essential pieces of the puzzle. They not only "stock the cupboards," they provide internal competition to fight for spots that could open in an ever-evolving NHL lineup. And the promise of that coming wave of talent also means management can optimize rosters to be as competitive as possible.

"We've got other pieces that we look at like Tye Kartye, American Hockey League rookie of the year last year, he played well for us," Francis said. "We think he can step in and take an (NHL) spot. Shane Wright is still knocking on the door as well, too.

"We've got some pieces and we think that we've got more to add with our guys...we're still a young team up front, a lot of guys are still developing so (we hope) to get more production there and this camp we're having this week is really important with development because if we're going to be a really good team for year after year, we have to have that internal push."

Perhaps most importantly, as the organization builds success at all levels, they are instilling another important ingredient of winning throughout their depth: culture.

Inside the locker room, accountability and expectations of one another and themselves are the norm. And the Kraken focus on intentionally transferring that culture to all players in the organization. Just as Beniers attended last year's development camp, Wright is slated to attend this year's and demonstrate the standard of what it takes to compete for an NHL spot.

Similar lessons have come for players who joined the long Firebirds playoff run.

'Some of the younger kids, we've got them in (Coachella) and got them a game or two, just to get a taste what it was like," Francis said. "We kept them around so they could practice and see the pace and the intensity and the games. They know how hard they have to work in the off-season to get to that level."

A dividend of that hard work? Outside the locker room, both teams are establishing meaningful connections with their fan bases.

Kraken fans will remember the electric atmosphere inside Climate Pledge Arena during the post season…now just imagine that translating to Acrisure Arena in Coachella Valley as the first-year Firebirds stormed through four rounds of playoffs and played for a championship.

"The great part, (even though the Firebirds) didn't win was the way they ignited a fan base in that valley," Francis said. "For the first time I think Coachella Valley had one team that they could all cheer for. And the fan support was outstanding. I get to go down there for a bunch of the games, the outfits, the signs, the dancing, and it was loud. It was exciting and really went a long way towards defining that brand in that market. So, all those guys get a lot of credit for what they did this season."

There isn't technically an end to free agency. Teams can still make moves right up to before the beginning of the 2023-24 NHL season. Francis won't say his team is done, nor is there a promise more moves will be made, but he does want to step back and see what opportunities might arise. After all, that patience served the Kraken well last year with a mid-summer trade for Oliver Bjorkstrand and in-season moves for players like Eeli Tolvanen.

"We'll sit tight here and see what happens," Francis said. "We are sitting in a good position with cap space and the ability to do things as things happen moving forward… we are in a position we can take advantage of something if it if it shapes up."

Francis did provide updates on a variety of players in the organization:

Tye Kartye, Ryker Evans, Ville Ottavainen, Ville Petman

Four of the Kraken's top prospects will not be at this year's development camp and that is by design. Kartye and Evans played long seasons with the Firebirds and were a little "dinged up" when playoffs continued. Francis wants them to get some rest and recovery. Meanwhile it was decided to allow the two Finns to stay in their home countries and avoid the wear and tear of long travel back to Seattle - especially for Ottavainen who had been with Coachella Valley for some of the post season.

Andre Burakovsky

The two-time Stanley Cup winner missed the second half of the season due to a groin injury but Francis heard from the forward last week who said everything was "great…and feeling strong and stronger every day." Francis expects Burakovsky to be fully ready for training camp in September.

Matty Beniers

The Kraken are interested in beginning conversations to extend the 2023 NHL rookie of the year but wanted to give everyone some down time after an eventful week of celebration after the NHL Awards in Nashville.

Vince Dunn and Will Borgen

As restricted free agents, both blueliners received qualified offers from the Kraken and conversations will continue with the intention to solidify a deal. If the players do choose to go to arbitration - where a neutral third party decides contract terms - Francis says the team will "make adjustments after we find out what the ruling is."

Kole Lind

Lind is another restricted free agent qualified by the Kraken. Francis liked what he's seen from the 24-year-old forward. "We'll try and get a contract done and then we'll see how his training camp goes. Hopefully he's gained a lot of confidence with the regular season (he had) and the run in the playoffs and he's ready to push for a spot when camp goes."