Top Prospects: The NHL System Rankings

#7: Seattle Kraken

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Number of Ranked Prospects: 30

Number of Forwards in the Top 50: 3

Number of Defensemen in the Top 50: 3

Average Rank of Top 10 Prospects in Pool: 47th

Top Forward Prospect in The System: Berkley Catton (8th)

Top Defenseman Prospect in The System: Lukas Dragicevic (19th)

System Score: 4.75

Now in its fourth season of existence, the Seattle Kraken look like a team on the border of true respectability, both as an NHL team and as a prospect system. General Manager Ron Francis started building the club from scratch by quickly collecting and sprinkling young NHL talent among NHL veterans, and has since been adding more prospects and supplemental pieces to the structure of the team through the draft and waiver wire. Seattle's inaugural draft in 2021 yielded not only Rookie of the Year Matt Beniers, but also a full-time NHL defenseman selected 35th overall that year, Ryker Evans, and the team has used its twelve top-two-round draft picks in the last three seasons well. The Kraken made the playoffs in their second season (losing in the second round) and are currently a .500 team after the first third of the 2024-2025. They are a team on the rise with a lot of young talent developing and preparing to take the most recent expansion franchise to the next level.

The Top of The Pool:

The Kraken have a top-ten forward prospect in Berkly Catton, the 5'10, 174-pound center that they drafted eighth overall (Hockey Prophets ranked him sixth) in last summer's NHL draft. Catton is the current captain of the Spokane Chiefs, and leadership on the ice is obvious in every shift. He helps gets players lined up on faceoffs, calls out assignments in the defensive end, leads the powerplay, and does all of the little fundamentals so well that not only is he a vocal leader, but also an exemplar of a team hockey player. He plays a highly intelligent and effort-filled game in all three zones. In the defensive end, Catton makes excellent positional decisions and rarely gets caught chasing or puck watching. He reads opposing tactics and reacts to passes often before they are made, making him a clever interceptor and lane disruptor. Catton excels in transition and gaining the offensive zone, using his skating ability to change speeds and catch defenders off guard then driving past them to get into open spaces. 

Catton's scoring speaks for itself. His 54 WHL goals in 2023-2024 led all draft-year players in the WHL, as did his 62 assists (only 2026 likely first overall pick Gavin McKenna had more with 63 as a U18), and he currently has 47 points in the first 28 games of his post-draft season. His passing is sharp and creative, and he has a remarkable ability to hide his intentions until the moment he makes the play. With his variety of shots and crafty stickwork, he can regularly catch goaltenders and opposing players off guard, creating better shooting angles or passing lanes. Little doubt remains about his overall talent, which is top-line NHL level.

Shane Wright is another top forward prospect, one who was thought of by many (including Hockey Prospects) as the top player available in the 2022 draft but who was still available for Seattle when they were up at pick number four. Despite falling short of the heavy expectations to perform like an NHL star straight away, Wright has been steadily developing into a powerful two-way forward. His hockey intelligence has always been apparent, and his passing and shooting skills are All-Star level. What has been lacking has been the adjustment to higher-level game pace and the ability to take over games at will. Seattle has been willing to take their time with Wright, sending him back to the OHL for most of his post-draft season, then bumping him up to play mostly in the AHL last year (where he scored 47 points in 59 games). So far this year, Wright has been playing solely in the NHL, averaging about 13 minutes of ice time per game, and getting a majority of his starts in the offensive zone. Wright may never reach the expectations placed on him as teenager, but he is already scoring at a 35-point-per-year pace and he will almost certainly improve on that as he moves into his peak years. [Note that with 42 NHL games played at the time of this writing, Wright will graduate from the prospect list at the spring publication.]

The top defenseman prospect in the Kraken system is the Prince Albert Raiders' dynamic offensive blueliner Lukas Dragicevic. The Kraken drafted Dragicevic late in the second round (57th overall, but note that as a Hockey Prophets favorite, he was ranked 18th in the 2023 draft rankings). Simply stated, Dragicevic is one of the top offensive defensemen in the hockey prospect world. His skills with the puck and his ability to transition, gain the offensive zone, and generate scoring chances is all-world level. Dragicevic is currently second among WHL defensemen in productivity at 1.29 points per game (3 goals and 28 assists in just 24 games). His straight line speed is above average, and his lateral movement and first-step quickness is great. He can easily step into position and handles net front and lane protection well. Dragicevic at times can overextend his aggressive play and get himself out of position, but he has improved on that a lot over the past season or two, and his smart, quick play covers for the defensive mistakes he might make. He has NHL size at 6'2, 196 pounds, and with his elite offensive skills, he has the look of a top four blueliner and a powerplay quarterback.

The Kraken have another top-50 forward prospect, their 40th-overall draft pick in 2024, Finnish winger Julius Miettinen. The shifty 6'3, 207-pound Miettinen plays an intelligent two-way game in which he uses his size and skating to control play and tempo at both ends of the ice. His ability to get inside the tough areas, gaining and keeping position on the right side of the puck in both zones makes him a valuable contributor in any game situation. He has a crisp shot from middle distance, but he will absolutely make his name in the high danger areas. 

Jagger Firkus is playing his rookie year of professional hockey in Coachella Valley this season, and so far he as 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in his first 22 games for the Calder Cup challenger. Firkus is always on the attack, driving the net, finding gaps in the defense and exploiting them with slashing skating or snappy passes, and when he gets a scoring chance he often capitalizes. Firkus gets to the heart of the game on every shift, always on the move, fast and alert off the puck, and working hard to get the puck into an attacking position. Last season in Moose Jaw, Firkus put up 126 points in 63 games to lead the WHL in scoring. His ability to put points on the board is well established, and there is no reason to believe that he would be unable to translate that potential into NHL points. 

Beyond the top five prospects in the Kraken system are plenty of high-quality young players working their up the ranks. Defenseman Ty Nelson is a smaller blueliner at 5'10, but solid muscle (he weighs 198 pounds) and desire. After three OHL seasons in North Bay at nearly a point per game (49 goals, 130 assists for 179 points in187 total games), Nelson has moved into the AHL where he currently has 7 points in his first 23 professional games. Nelson is an intense player who will throw his body into crashing checks, use his excellent skating to force attacking players away from dangerous spots, and rip through transition. He will need some time, but he is a player to keep an eye on.

Carson Rehkopf is a 6'2, 201-pound forward playing in the OHL for the Brampton Steelheads. Rehkopf is a prolific scorer (he has 47 points in 27 games so far in the 2024-2025 season) and has experience for Team Canada at the international level. He has some issues in the defensive end that will need to get corrected as he develops, but he could work himself into a quality middle six forward at the NHL level. 

David Goyette, Eduard Sale, Caden Price, Jani Nyman and more add to a great prospect pipeline for the Kraken, and Seattle should be a young, exciting to team to watch for the next several years. 

Return to the Team System Rankings

Below is the full list of the Seattle Kraken's ranked prospects.

Top Forwards 

Top Defensemen