Botterill ‘Excited’ By Kraken Start, Room To Grow

It was rather refreshing to listen to a live check-in interview given by Kraken general manager Jason Botterill to the team’s broadcast network ahead of Wednesday night’s game against the Dallas Stars.

Botterill spent nine minutes on-air pregame with Kraken Hockey Network studio host Ian Furness and analyst Alison Lukan and what made it compelling was the GM going beyond just the obvious offensive areas of concern and saying there’s room still to grow on the defensive side. That latter part might come as news to many Kraken fans who’ve seen the team put a playoff-positioned 11-6-6 record together thanks almost entirely to the NHL’s second-best defensive numbers of allowing just 2.57 goals per game.

But Botterill, sticking with the underlying theory behind head coach Lane Lambert’s systems, insisted there’s still room to roam defensively when it comes to helping an offense scoring just 2.57 goals per contest as the league’s fourth-least productive unit.

“Between our defense and our goaltending, we’ve had an opportunity to get points and now, it’s continuing to develop things from an offensive standpoint,” Botterill said of the defensive side. “I think we’ve done a good job of keeping shots to the outside of the zone, but we still spend a little too much time in our D zone. We’re working too hard in that area. The more we can get into the offensive zone and just have a little bit more creativity there, I think it’s certainly something we’re looking at.”

Bolstering that somewhat overlooked component on the defensive side could be critical to the Kraken maintaining the delicate mathematical balancing act between goals for and against. They’re where they’re at in the standings mostly because they’ve scored goals at a slightly higher rate than they’ve been allowing them most nights.

For his part, Botterill is pleased to see the team where it’s at despite the work lying immediately ahead. And he’s thrilled his players seem to understand the team’s 100-point pace is only a start and will need improvements to maintain.

“I’m happy, but also what I’m very excited about is where this team is,” Botterill said. “It’s in the locker room after a game. Say we lose in a shootout in New York. We’re proud of the effort, but you’re wishing to get the extra point. When we win a game, we’re proud of it. But then it’s, ‘OK, let’s recover and let’s get on to the next game.’

“I like just the mentality of our group here right now and staying sort of even keel. Understanding that they’re proud of the record. But understanding as I’ve said before, we’re a work in progress and we’ve got to continue to build off that.”

You can’t get more “even keel” than the Kraken’s goals for and against per game, which, as mentioned, is now dead even at 2.57 each way. The Kraken have still managed more wins than regulation losses largely because there have been more outlier defensive games – they gave up 16 of their 62 goals allowed in just three contests -- than offensive ones and that’s kept the otherwise statistically even math slightly in their favor.

But the Kraken know they’ll need to start scoring more than the goal or two per game in regulation they’ve managed the past week to maintain this standings pace.

Botterill pointed to the return of winger Jared McCann after a 17-game injury absence as one obvious potential offensive boost, though goal-scoring leader Jaden Schwartz got hurt Wednesday night and is expected to be out six weeks. Otherwise, Kaapo Kakko is also back skating with the team again and Botterill added that there is quiet work going on behind the scenes to continue developing the offensive output of younger players.

“It’s a scenario where we understand we have to find the matchups in that third or fourth line to certainly help our group,” Botterill said. “I think when Frederick (Gaudreau) was out, that hurt our group a lot. Now, they’re getting a guy like McCann back into the mix. When we get Kakko back into the mix, that just helps out that much more. I think it puts our young players in the proper situations where they’re not in over their head. They can then sort of add to our group here.”

When it comes to the ongoing development of younger players, Botterill singled out the progress by 19-year-old Berkly Catton. Rather than returning last year’s No. 8 overall draft pick to the Spokane Chiefs after a maximum nine-game NHL trial period, the Kraken instead used Catton’s first season of his three-year entry level contract by playing him in 18 matchups and counting thus far.

“We’ve loved how he’s worked so far,” Botterill said of Catton, who has six assists. “Just his knowledge of the game. He’s such a student of the game. And you talked about what he learned last year, working with his (Spokane) coaching staff, working with our development staff. Just improving his speed -- he’s always been a great skater but utilizing that on every shift out there.

“What I’ve really loved is he’s grasped our defensive system so quickly. Is he going to win every one-on-one battle out there? No. But there’s no fear in his game. He attacks in there. He’s been in battles out there. And I think you saw especially in that Chicago game (last week) just little plays that he can make that just creates offense from that standpoint.”

And Botterill added that those are things he’s looking for from all younger players.

“You look at our team continue to grow from an offensive standpoint, whether it’s Jani Newman or whether it’s Berkly Catton, whether it’s Ryan Winterton, we still believe these players have development from an offensive standpoint.”

As do centermen Matty Beniers and Shane Wright.

“You just like all aspects of his game,” Botterill said of Beniers. “Every game you come away with a work ethic and him creating opportunities. We continue to be blown away by his development.”

As for Wright: “He’s showing glimpses of what he can do. I love now that I’m seeing his speed more and more in each game. And I think that’s eventually going to translate. We know he’s got the hands. But him showing that speed on every shift out there? That gets us excited.”

As does the team’s room for improvement after its strong start.

“I think Lane (Lambert) has delivered on what he’s wanted to bring,” Botterill said. “He wanted to bring a work ethic – a consistency to our group. I think that’s happened so far during the season.”

Botterill mentioned the team’s comeback ability, on display last week in consecutive road wins over Chicago and Pittsburgh, as proof of that work ethic.

“We obviously feel our group is still a work in progress,” Botterill said. “But we’re very proud of our (overall) record right now and let’s continue it.”

And building on that record, he said, will ultimately come back to bolstering the defensive structure just a little bit more to start generating increased offensive production out of the back end. Botterill expected the team’s goal scoring to come by committee and hasn’t been surprised on that front. He just wants a few more goals to supplement the above average defense and goaltending.

“We don’t have that top end line to really lean into it,” Botterill said. “From the offensive standpoint, we have to win games from our defensive structure…I give our players a lot of credit for believing in the system, trusting in the system and it’s been fun to watch so far.”