Analysis: 3 Key Questions as Kraken Prepare to Open Training Camp
As the Seattle Kraken skate back onto the ice this September, the franchise has hit something of a reset button. With rookie camp starting Thursday and full training camp on September 18, the team has quietly retooled with deeper defensive structure, healthier bodies, and an infusion of young, hungry talent. New head coach Lane Lambert has his work cut out for him to get this team turned towards contention.
With hockey just around the corner, what are three questions ahead of this upcoming Kraken season fans hope get answered?
Will Seattle see an instant defensive boost with new head coach Lane Lambert?
Lane Lambert has long been respected across the NHL as a detail-oriented coach with a defensive foundation. After years as an assistant under Barry Trotz with Nashville, Washington, and the New York Islanders, he absorbed a defense-first philosophy built on structure, accountability, and minimizing mistakes in transition. These are things the Kraken struggled mightily with last year. Seattle ranked 24th in goals against per game and 21st in power play kill percentage. Clearly, there is room for improvement in preventing goals. Hopefully, a simple scheme and philosophy change with Lambert in charge yields immediate results that positively impact the win-loss column.
Where do the new guys fit in?
Seattle made a host of under-the-radar moves this summer. None of them created league-wide buzz like Nikolaj Ehlers heading from Winnipeg to Carolina or the sign-and-trade of Mitch Marner from the Maple Leafs to Vegas. That doesn’t mean the team didn’t get better, however, and deeper. Ryan Lindgren was the headliner, getting a four-year, $18 million free agent deal to go from Colorado to Seattle. He instantly provides more credibility to Seattle’s blue line and penalty kill units. Mason Marchment comes over via trade from Dallas as a talented forward. He’ll slide into the lineup as a big, physical offensive presence. Frederick Gaudreau provides more depth and versatility in the back lines after playing all 82 games for the Minnesota Wild last year.
Can the existing young nucleus take that next step?
Matty Beniers was the first “face of the future” for the Kraken as their first ever draft pick going second overall in the 2021 Entry Draft. The hype expanded for No. 10 as he earned the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie during the 2022-2023 season. However, in the two seasons since, he has underwhelmed to a degree. He is yet to match the goal, point, and plus/minus marks of his Calder Trophy-winning season. Last year, he showed signs of that kind of player returning. He played all 82 games and showed improvement from his disappointing 2023-2024 season. However, he experienced long dry spells where the puck just wasn’t finding the back of the net for him. Can he take yet another step into becoming that true difference maker the Kraken expect him to be?
Meanwhile, Shane Wright is turning into the next big thing. After a slow start, he really turned a corner in the back half of last season. He was Seattle’s first rounder in the 2022 draft and is now looking like a franchise staple. He had a 22-game stretch between January and March where he collected 19 points and had five multi-point games. He finished third on the team in points and fourth in plus/minus.
If both Beniers and Wright take another step this season, this could be a playoff team if the defense also improves.
