Kraken Development Camp Blog

July 2 | Russian-Born Agafonov Celebrated Draft Day in Florida

When Kraken 2025 fifth-rounder Maxim Agafonov traveled to South Florida to attend the Gold Star Hockey Camp, it afforded the chance for the 18-year-old defenseman and other top Russian-born prospects to showcase their skills and meet with interested NHL teams ahead of last weekend’s NHL Draft. His parents and family joined Agafonov on the trip, only fitting since his father Andrei played the sport professionally and his mother Elena has equally supported their son’s hockey dream with its clear, ultimate goal per the Kraken prospect’s mindset.

“It was like a summer vacation in Miami for my family,” said Agafonov Tuesday inside the team locker room at Kraken Community Iceplex. “For me, it was a work trip. I need to work a lot because I want to play in the NHL. My family went back to Moscow [Agafonov’s hometown] when I flew here to Seattle.”

But not before the Agafonov family could celebrate Maxim’s “great moment that made me so happy” when his named was submitted by the Kraken Saturday afternoon. Draft experts consider the pick a steal of sorts at the 134^th overall pick. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound, sturdily built Agafonov was rated 99^th overall by the respected Elite Prospects scouting group, 78^th overall by former NHL general manager and highly regarded draft evaluator Craig Button and 79^th by Button’s fellow media draftnik and long-time NHL reporter Bob McKenzie. There’s more evidence, such as NHL Central Scouting ranking the personable D-man 33^rd on its list of European skaters eligible for selection last Friday and Saturday.

Agafonov is just the second Russian prospect drafted by Seattle, joining 2021 sixth-rounder and goaltender Semyon Vyazovoi, who is expected to be a No. 1 goalie in the KHL this coming season. The conversation with the personable Agafonov was flawless in his answers to questions, all in English and no explanations needed. Lots of smiling too, especially when acknowledged that the reporter asking the questions couldn’t say one word of Russian.

“It's a nice question,” said Agafonov when asked about how he became proficient in English, not the standard for all Russian prospects. “I learned when I was in school, and right now I have a teacher and practice a lot because I know it's important to my work to play in the NHL.”

The scouting summary on Agafonov is that he reads opposing rushes at an elite level in a career that has blossomed in Russia’s top junior league. He stops developing plays in the neutral zone, using his body and stick to send foes to the less threatening outside areas of the offensive zone. All players, especially prospects, make mistakes, but the evaluators who clock Agafonov consistently comment that the young D-man doesn’t make many, in large part to his hockey IQ, which is a staple of why the Kraken draft a player. He is a force in the defensive zone, consistently fending off forechecking opponents to retrieve the puck and send it up ice to his D-partner and/or forwards. One area of his game for potential improvement is better positioning; he can recover well when a foe does slip by, but that is increasingly difficult in leagues like Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), American Hockey League and NHL. Some scouts refer to the need for better decision-making in the offensive zone, while others allow those attributes to develop with time and coaching.

Not lost in Tuesday’s conversation with Agafonov is his outgoing nature. He pretty much introduced himself before even being asked for time to talk. He said he was grateful to talk in season with the Kraken’s Russia-based scout Alexsandr Plyushev and meet with director of amateur scouting Robert Kron down in South Florida in the week before the draft. While his defensive skills are apparent and have significant upside (more than a few scouts project the young Russian as an NHL regular), most say third-pair minutes are possible for Agafonov with the potential for a higher ceiling if his offense upgrades.

“I can play in the offensive zone and I can help my forwards to score a goal,” said Agafonov, upbeat and smiling when explaining he has always played as a defenseman because he was usually the “so big kid” on his youth teams. “I can assist. But, you know, if the coach said to me to play defense and block shots and give hits, I would do it because I want to win. It’s always first, I want to win, but of course, I like to play on offense. I like to score goals. I think it's a good skill of mine.”

July 1 | Dev Camp Sound: Jake O'Brien & Berkly Catton

July 1 | Third-Rounder Reynolds’ Sticks Missing, But Not His Confidence

Seattle 2025 third-round draft pick Will Reynolds boarded a 6:30 a.m. flight in the Canadian province of New Brunswick on Sunday to join fellow prospects for this week’s Development Camp at Kraken Community Iceplex. Given the distance of some 3,500 miles and layovers in both Montreal and Vancouver, the 17-year-old defenseman (the third youngest player eligible for this Draft) made good time by arriving here in the PNW at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon. With the time-zone adjustment, the travel time was 10 and a half hours. Just one problem: His sticks didn’t make it.

“Thank god it wasn’t my gear,” said Reynolds, talking in the Kraken locker room before heading to lunch on Tuesday and obviously showing his maturity that Seattle scouts noted by, in this case, looking at the bright side of his travel day.

“Will is an excellent skater,” said Robert Kron, Kraken director of amateur scouting. “He’s a tall kid already at 6-foot-3. He’s going to grow physically. He plays a very mature game. For a young kid, he moves the puck up ice extremely well, joins the rush and is always in the right spots.”

Reynolds, the No. 68 overall pick, chose to stay home four time zones away from the Los Angeles-based Draft. His family hosted a watch party and waited maybe an hour to hear his name called.

“I was more excited than nervous,” said Reynolds after his first on-ice workout with defensemen prospects, including three other Kraken D-men chosen in the 2025 Draft (Blake Fiddler, Maxim Agafonov and Karl Annborn), all four looking encouragingly good-sized plus agile during skating drills. “I didn’t know when I would be picked, but Seattle had a lot of interest in me. I talked to them throughout the season [especially Halifax, NS, scout Trevor Steinburg].”

The celebration included his parents, two younger brothers and an older sister “who cried the most, but that was great.” Smiling, Reynolds quipped, “I think my siblings were more excited than I was.”

One reason for Reynolds' measured but enthusiastic reaction “to be drafted into this great organization” is that Reynolds was thinking about the next step once his name was called.

“I was thrilled to get here and get to work,” said Reynolds, who will be a leader for his Acadie-Bathurst team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (the same team as Kraken prospect and member of the 2021 inaugural Kraken draft class, Jacob Melanson). “I need to get stronger and will just keep working on the small details of my game ... I will always be working to improve until the whistle blows. I want to be ready for rookie camp and the main camp this fall.”

As a standout 17-year-old, Reynolds will be expected to step into a leadership role with his team this coming season.

“I plan to be even more open and a louder voice to the team,” said Reynolds. “There will be teammates looking up to me. Working hard on and off the ice will be important, and the same for talking more, to be that louder voice.”

Reynolds, highly regarded as a defenseman who uses his size to great effect (both physical prowess and wingspan), is looking to be more of an offensive contributor on the ice, a trait Steinburg said is there for the igniting in the third-rounder’s game.

“I can play the game both ways,” said Reynolds before heading to lunch and a nutrition learning session to follow. “I’ve just got to be more confident in the offensive zone because I have the skill set and the skating ability. I will be working on making the right plays in the offensive zone.”