Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. As we go through the summer of 2024, each day our LWOS Prospects Writers will bring you a look at one NHL team’s top prospects or other topical article. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow Ben Kerr and Frederik Frandson on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! You can find all the articles here as well as our extensive NHL Draft preview. Today, we look at the 2024 Seattle Kraken Top Prospects.
For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn’t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played (including playoff games) or is 25 years old. These are not hard or fast rules though, and we may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.
2024 Seattle Kraken Top Prospects
1.) Top of the Kraken Prospects: Shane Wright
Wright can do it all offensively. He is a pure goal scorer with an excellent array of shots and a lightning-quick release. His wrist and snapshots are very heavy and the quick release can fool goaltenders. He also has a good one-timer. Wright has a knack for getting open and finding space to get his shot off. He also has the quick stickhandling to toe-drag the puck and opens up shooting lanes. Wright can use those quick hands to score goals in tight to the net as well. He can pounce on a rebound and put it in a tight spot. He also has the hand-eye coordination to get tip-ins on teammates’ shots or to bury a quick one-timer on a pass. Wright can also deke a goalie in tight.
He also can play the role of playmaker. Wright controls the puck and speeds up the game or slows it down as necessary. His soft hands combined with his skating make him an excellent playmaker. He can make plays with the puck while moving at top speed. He also has the ability to control the puck on the cycle, giving his linemates time to get open. When they do, he can throw a tape-to-tape pass through tight passing lanes. Wright seems to see the play developing quicker than his opponents and his hockey IQ and vision are elite. He even does well to win battles on the boards and in front of the net.
2.) Berkly Catton
Second on our Kraken prospects list, Catton is an undersized forward but makes up for it with dynamic offensive skills. He is lightning quick, one of the best skaters in the 2024 NHL draft class. He combines this with the ability to make plays while moving at top speed. This makes him deadly off the rush. Defenders have to back off, respecting his ability to take them wide and go to the net. This opens shooting and passing lanes. Catton can also carry the puck through the neutral zone and create effective zone entries. Add in a tremendous shot and quick release and he terrifies WHL goalies.
Catton is also an effective playmaker. A brilliant player with high-end hockey IQ, Catton shows incredible awareness and vision. He can find teammates and get them the puck for high-danger scoring chances. Overall, he plays a complete game, defending well and not shying away from the physical side of the game, despite his smaller size.
3.) Jagger Firkus
Firkus is an absolute sniper. He has a tremendous array of shots. Firkus shows excellent power and accuracy with his wrist shot and snapshot. He also has very good hands. He can toe-drag and change the angle of his release just before letting the shot go. This creates issues for goalies as they have trouble picking up the shot off his stick and setting up to make the save. He also has a very good one-timer. Firkus has a knack for finding soft spots in the defence and positioning himself to take a pass from a teammate and fire it on the net. With his soft hands, he can also make a quick move to create a shooting lane and get off his own shot. He can even score with his backhand. Firkus also scores in tight to the net, with his soft hands and ability to beat goalies.
4.) Jani Nyman
You can never have too much goal scoring and that’s evident in our list of the top Kraken prospects. Nyman is a pure sniper. He has an outstanding array of shots and loves to use them. Nyman gets great power and accuracy on his shots. He can score with his powerful wrist shot, snap shot, slap shot, and one-timer. His release is also lightning quick and he can vary the release point to fool goaltenders. Nyman loves to shoot the puck and will do so from anywhere on the ice. He has a knack for finding the soft spots in the defence and getting open for a pass from a teammate. Nyman is particularly lethal when taking a shot from the right face-off circle. He can also score in tight to the net, with his soft hands helping him to elevate the puck while close to the goalie.
5.) Carson Rehpkof
Rehkopf is your prototypical power-forward type. When he is at his best, he loves to get in on the forecheck and create turnovers. He also plays well down low, cycling the puck and waiting for an opportunity to get to the front of the net. Once he gets there, Rehkopf has the soft hands to beat a goalie in tight. He can also bang in rebounds, one-timer a quick pass from a teammate, and get deflections. Rehkopf also has a heavy shot that he can use from further out. His wrist shot is accurate and features a quick release. Rehkopf does a good job of changing his blade angle at the last second, which makes his shot more deceptive to goalies. He also has a good one-timer. He protects the puck well down low, helping him to set up teammates.
6.) Eduard Sale
Sale is an excellent playmaker off the wing. He pairs excellent skating with very good hands and stickhandling ability. Sale is able to carry the puck through the neutral zone and create effective zone entries. He also has the vision and the passing skills to set up teammates. Sale is a creative player who will try things that other attackers will only dream of. His shot has decent power and is accurate but he can stand to use it more often.
Sale will need to get stronger to handle the rigours of playing on smaller ice. He will also need to improve his defensive game. These things can be taught though, while Sale’s offensive skill is something that is a natural talent.
7.) Oscar Fisker Molgaard
Fisker-Molgaard uses his excellent skating ability to allow him to play a 200-foot game. Despite the fact that he is undersized, he gets in quickly on the forecheck and creates pressure on opposing defenders, forcing them to make mistakes. He also marries his skating with excellent stickhandling ability, allowing Fisker-Molgaard to make plays at top speed. He is excellent in transition, creating space in the neutral zone and generating effective zone entries. Fisker-Molgaard also has the vision and passing skills to set up teammates. A responsible player, he gets back to his own end quickly and plays a strong defensive game. He needs to work on adding power to his shot to really excel at the next level.
8.) David Goyette
Goyette is an elite skater. His stride is long and powerful. He has an excellent first step and outstanding acceleration. Goyette is amongst the fastest prospects out there. Goyette has outstanding stickhandling ability. He can make plays with the puck while moving at top speed. When this is combined with his excellent skating ability, he is absolutely deadly off the rush. He is excellent in transition, carrying the puck through the neutral zone and creating openings for himself and his teammates. He has very good vision and often makes the smart play with the puck. However, when the play slows down in the zone, his offence is not quite as dynamic. His lack of size and strength sometimes leads to him losing the puck and not creating a play. He needs to be a bit quicker at keeping things moving and finding the open man.
9.) Ryker Evans
Evans, the first defenceman in the Kraken Top Prospects, is very good in transition. He combines his skating with good puckhandling ability to avoid forecheckers and skate the puck out of the defensive zone. He can continue to carry the puck through the neutral zone and make efficient zone entries. Evans also has excellent vision and passing skills. He makes a strong first pass out of the zone, hitting a teammate in motion and allowing them to transition into an offensive chance. Evans can also make a long breakaway pass to a teammate if they get behind the opponent. His passing skills and poise with the puck extend to quarterback the play from the blue line. He finds open teammates and can set them up for scoring chances. He can use some work on his shot.
10.) Niklas Kokko
At 6-foot-4, Kokko has excellent size for a goalie. He takes advantage of that size and gives shooters little to look at by getting out high in his crease and cutting down angles. Strong skating ability allows him to get back quickly and avoid being beaten with a deke. His strong legs and good puck-tracking ability allow him to get side to side if a pass is made across the ice. Kokko gets up and down out of his butterfly quickly and takes away the bottom of the net. Like many young goalies, he could work on his rebound control. When he does give up a rebound, he’s quick to get back in position for a save.
Honourable Mention (Fourth Round Pick or Later, Not Necessarily #11 Kraken Prospect): Jacob Melanson
The sleeper pick of the Kraken prospects is a strong talent. Melanson may only come in at 5-foot. 11-inches, but plays much bigger. He is a punishing checker, able to cause havoc on the forecheck as well as lay the body in his own end and the neutral zone. He is willing to mix it up with opponents and play in the tougher areas of the ice. In the offensive zone, Melanson loves to get in tight to the net. That is often where he is found, screening goalies, looking for loose pucks and creating issues for opposing defences. He can continue to work on his skating in order to take his game to the next level at the pro level.
Main photo by: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
