> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # NHL Mock Draft: Kraken Address Defensive Pipeline, Swing on Upside - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-kraken-mock-draft-keaton-verhoeff-marcus-nordmark/ - Published: 2026-06-25T23:27:40.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:11:15.000Z - Author: Josh Frojelin - Tags: Analysis, Kraken, Keaton Verhoeff, Marcus Nordmark, 2026 NHL Draft \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1440"\] ![ North Dakota defender Keaton Verhoeff celebrates after a goal during a college hockey game. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/684923463_18071043212663674_8337624733291269923_n-format-original.jpg) North Dakota defender Keaton Verhoeff celebrates after a goal during a college hockey game. \[/caption\] The Seattle Kraken enter the 2026 NHL Draft already boasting a top prospect pool in the NHL. [The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7141414/2026/04/03/seattle-kraken-nhl-prospect-rankings-2026/?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) rated the pool as seventh in the NHL, propped up by young forwards like Berkley Catton, Jake O’Brien, and Jagger Firkus. Plus, the Kraken already receive key NHL contributions from recent top picks like Matty Beniers and Shane Wright. But, those contributions haven’t been enough. After all, the Kraken select seventh overall in Friday’s opening round because they won only three of their final 16 games and finished 27th in the NHL. They enter the draft with seven picks, including picks No. 7, 38, 99, and 102. The Kraken, of course, could use any of their seven picks this draft to trade up-and-down the board as they see fit. Or, they could use the picks to address needs on the current NHL roster. But with four picks in the first four rounds, the Kraken can address a large need at defense and take meaningful swings on high-upside prospects. Interestingly, the Kraken have never selected a defenseman in the first round of the NHL Draft since their inception in 2021\. This year’s class has a consensus of Chase Reid, Carson Carels, Alberts Smits, and Keaton Verhoeff as the top four defenseman, opening the door for at least one of those players to be available when Seattle comes on the clock. Is this the year the Kraken draft a blue chip defensive prospect in the opening round? Or will they go a different direction? On the eve of the festivities, I dish out my final four round mock draft with Seattle adding four new players to the fold: ### Round 1, Pick 7 - Keaton Verhoeff, RHD, University of North Dakota Verhoeff entered the 2025-26 season as the presumed top defenseman in the class. A 6-4, right-handed defenseman is the dream of most NHL general managers. As a 16-year-old in the WHL, Verhoeff notched 21 goals and 45 points in 63 games. He committed to the University of North Dakota for his draft year. As a 17-year-old freshman, Verhoeff struggled to adjust to the speed of NCAA hockey. He put up six goals and 20 assists in 36 games, averaging 18:58 in ice time. Verhoeff joined Team Canada at the World Junior Championships and had four assists. That’s not to say Verhoeff is a bad prospect. He only recently turned 18, played goalie until he was 11, and has the frame and shooting talent of a prototypical top-pairing defenseman. Verhoeff still has room to grow and would instantly become the best defensive prospect in Seattle’s brief franchise history. His shot from the blue line is special, and makes him likely a power play quarterback in the NHL. The [Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis](https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2026-nhl-mock-draft-draft-week-edition-mckenna-leafs-reid-sharks-malhotra-canucks?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) predicted Verhoeff to Seattle in his most recent mock draft. He championed the defenseman as “willing to hit you hard while also making many high-end passes in the offensive zone. Scouts wish he’d add a bit more speed to be a true top-pairing defender, though, but there’s time for him to figure that out. His slow end to the season has dropped his stock, but it could be found money for Seattle if Verhoeff smooths things out. I really like the upside here.” [The Athletic’s Corey Pronman](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7344790/2026/06/10/2026-nhl-draft-ranking-prospects-list/?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) is higher on Verhoeff than most, ranking him third in the draft. Pronman compares Verhoeff to former first-overall pick Aaron Ekblad, and wrote that Verheoff “projects as a tough-minutes top-pair defenseman in the NHL who could score at a quality clip.” Botterill used four of his first six picks in last year’s draft on defensemen. With this selection, even with Reid, Carels, and Smits off the board, Botterill still has a prime opportunity to address the organization’s remaining need for a blue chip defense prospect. I would expect Verhoeff to return to North Dakota for one or two more seasons before signing an entry-level contract to join the Kraken. ### Round 2, Pick 38 - Marcus Nordmark, LW, Djurgardens IF 6-2 winger Marcus Nordmark is one of the more controversial players in this year’s class. He primarily played with Djurgardens’ under-20 team this season, scoring 14 goals and 38 points in 25 games and adding six goals and 23 points in 11 playoff games. He even earned a call up to Djurgardens’ SHL team and tallied one assist in eight games. “He didn't look out of place in his last couple of games in the SHL team’s lineup after an adjustment period there as well,” [Wheeler wrote](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7301063/2026/06/03/nhl-draft-2026-ranking-gavin-mckenna-ivar-stenberg/?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) upon ranking Nordmark 21st in the class. Nordmark ranges anywhere from the 20s-to-the-50s in rankings because of his high skill but low consistency. Nordmark has some of the best hands in this year’s class. He also has a good release on his wrist shot. That offensive prowess is why he put up jaw-dropping numbers during his under-20 team’s playoff run. On the flip side, [FloHockey’s Chris Peters](https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/15973758-2026-nhl-draft-rankings-top-75-players-ranked-by-chris-peters?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) ranked Nordmark 57th in the class. While he sang Nordmark’s praises offensively, Peters said that the “skill should put him much higher on this list. He has good enough size, too. His decision-making on the ice can be confounding and he puts himself in bad positions. I have concerns about his hockey sense and his ability to battle through adversity on the ice.” But for Seattle, which lacks high-end skill in the NHL now, it makes sense to swing on a highly gifted winger like Nordmark. Next season, Nordmark has the option of returning to Sweden or moving to the London Knights, who own his CHL rights. It would take a number of seasons for the Swedish winger to develop into an NHL player, but he has the talent that’s worth taking a risk on and if he can develop better consistency, he could be a second round steal down the road. ### Round 4, Pick 99 - Tobiáš Tvrzník, G, Wenatchee Wild While Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer remain under contract, I would expect Botterill, who did not select a goalie in his first draft with the Kraken, to take one in the mid-rounds this year with an eye towards the future in the net. Tobiáš Tvrzník is a 6-4 Czech goalie who put up a .913 save-percentage in his first WHL season. Tvrzník is committed to Ohio State University for the 2027-28 season, so he should get another season with the Wild and represent Czechia at the next World Juniors. “Tvrzník is very effective down low, using his pads to kick the puck away when an opponent is in close, no matter what move he tries,” [The Hockey Writers’ Dayton Reimer](https://thehockeywriters.com/2026-nhl-draft-sorting-out-the-goalie-class/?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com#h-tobias-trejbal-youngstown-phantoms-ushl) assessed. “He moves across the crease well and has a good sense of where to place himself to prevent goals off the rebound. It would be nice to see him redirect rebounds a bit better, as he often leaves the puck directly in front of him after the initial save.” Tvrzník especially fits the bill for Botterill, who seems to prioritize size in the goalies he drafts. As general manger of the Buffalo Sabres from 2017-2020, he selected only two goalies: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Erik Portillo. They are 6-5 and 6-6 respectively. The Kraken have never selected a goalie under 6-foot-2 in the franchise’s history, so this would fit with that criteria. ### Round 4, Pick 102 - Tyus Sparks, RW/C, Spokane Chiefs Similar to how Botterill drafted a wealth of defenseman last season, I would expect the general manager to continue adding forward depth later in the draft as well. Sparks is a player who adds, as his name suggests, a spark. He put up just under a point per game in the WHL between the Vancouver Giants and Spokane Chiefs. In the playoffs, Sparks added two goals and three points in five games. “As a WHL rookie, Tyus Sparks impressed with his incredible motor, starting every shift shot out of a cannon and never slowing down,” Elite Prospects said in their [draft guide](https://www.eliteprospects.com/nhl-draft-guide?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com). “He kept that same energy this season, while also emerging as a top-six scorer, and didn’t miss a beat following a mid-season trade to Spokane.” Sparks played both center and win this season, but his 6-0, 181-pound frame and good speed likens him to more of a winger in the NHL. Ideally, Sparks could develop into a middle-six winger who contributes offensively and gives up little defensively. However, Sparks’ high-motor could also earn him a role as a penalty-killing third-or-fourth liner.