Stock Watch: Who Shined in Kraken’s Preseason Opener?
The Seattle Kraken defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 to kick off their six-game preseason slate at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday, but far less important than the result was the performance of several key players fighting for roster spots.
While 10 regular NHLers suited up in Seattle’s lineup, a handful of key prospects made a big impact. It’s impossible to make sweeping judgements after just one game, but even in a small sample size, several players managed to raise their stock regarding their chances of making the roster or moving up the organizational depth chart, while others did not do much to help it.
Below I’ll evaluate whose stock went up and whose went down, based on my own observations as well as the comments from Kraken coach Lane Lambert and the players:
Stock Up: Jani Nyman
At the beginning of training camp on Thursday, Kraken general manager Jason Botterill said he observed Nyman as someone who “has come into camp with the goal of, ‘I’m making the team,’” and the 21-year old winger certainly displayed that on Sunday.
Playing on a line with top-six regulars Matty Beniers and Kaapo Kakko on Sunday after practicing together all weekend, Nyman exhibited a good connection with Kakko in particular. The pair of Finns connected on two goals, with Kakko delivering a nice cross-ice pass to Nyman on the left post to give the Kraken a 2-1 lead at 10:54 mark of the second period.
Just over three minutes later, the duo cycled the puck together along the right side of the offensive zone before Nyman had enough space to unleash a shot that helped him lead AHL Coachella Valley in goals last season (28), beating Canucks goalie Ty Young from the right circle to make it 4-1 at 14:25.
“The thing that excites me about that goal was our (defensive zone), it started in the D-zone,” Lambert said. “We killed the play and then it ended up in the back of their net, so from my perspective, that’s what we’re talking about defense and translates into offense.”
Nyman even tried to return the favor to Kakko, setting him up with a tap-in on the right post with a little over five minutes left in regulation, but Kakko sent it wide. Regardless, the chemistry was evident.
“Of course, he’s the Finnish guy, so we both speak the same language,” Nyman said. “But Kaapo and (Beniers) are very good players and I like playing with them.”
As a line, Nyman-Beniers-Kakko out-chanced the Canucks 10-3 in 9:18 of 5-on-5 ice time, according to Natural Stat Trick, including a 4-1 advantage in high-danger chances. If that lasts more than one game, the conversation surrounding Nyman will go from “Will he make the roster?” to “Does he stay with Beniers and Kakko on the first line?”
All that said, it was just one game, and a more veteran-laden Kraken lineup faced an inexperienced Canucks side, but Nyman showed the goal-scoring ability that Seattle’s forward group could sorely use after last season.
“I mean, he’s got a good shot. I think we all know that,” Kakko said. “We saw that last year already. So I mean, nobody (at the) net front, so that was a pretty heavy shot. I mean, hopefully me and Matty can find him a little more.”
Stock Down: Jagger Firkus
On a night where Nyman and Eduard Sale (one goal) got on the score sheet with a couple great shots, and Jake O’Brien and Berkly Catton showed flashes, Firkus got kind of lost in the shuffle. Lambert himself even said as much, citing Seattle’s penalties — 27 total penalty minutes and six power-play opportunities for Vancouver — for limiting his opportunities.
“He’s not a [penalty] killer, and there’s a couple guys that didn’t maybe get the minutes that they potentially needed,” Lambert said. “I didn’t mind his game. I would say he’s a little bit of a victim of circumstance tonight, and we’ll be looking to get another look at him for sure. But when he was out there, I thought he was fine.”
Not exactly a ringing endorsement, especially compared to what he said about some of the other players (see below). Even with the limited opportunities, there weren’t many positives to take away from the 21-year old forward.
Whether it was a turnover on Seattle’s blue line around 5:30 into the game, or putting too much mustard on a centering pass to Shane Wright and blowing a scoring opportunity early in the third period, Firkus’ touch left more to be desired.
As a line, Schwartz-Wright-Firkus struggled the most among Seattle’s forwards. It was the only one that was outshot (6-2) and out-chanced (4-3, 2-0 high-danger) by Vancouver at 5-on-5, and they allowed the Canucks’ only even-strength goal after a miscommunication between Firkus and Jaden Schwartz left Vancouver forward Nils Aman wide-open at the right post for a tap-in to cut it to 5-3 at 7:25 of the third period.
Lambert evidently wants to give Firkus another opportunity down the line, but he certainly didn’t do anything to move his name up the depth chart on Sunday.
Stock Up: The “fourth line”
I use quotes because it was Seattle’s fourth line on Sunday, not the expected fourth line on opening night. But 20-year old Oscar Fisker Molgaard and O’Brien, 18, linked up well with 30-year old depth forward John Hayden, particularly in the third period.
Molgaard set up Hayden with a great centering feed off a faceoff to put the Kraken ahead 5-2 at 3:07 of the third period, and he later delivered an effective forecheck that forced a turnover to O’Brien, eventually leading to a shot on goal around the 6:15 mark. Molgaard also played 3:12 on the penalty kill, the Kraken allowing just one shot on goal while he was on the ice at 4-on-5.
As a unit, Molgaard-O’Brien-Hayden outshot Vancouver 8-2 at 5-on-5, including four high-danger scoring chances while allowing two, according to Natural Stat Trick. Generating chances while remaining defensively sound is as good a way to make an impression as any.
“O’Brien, real cerebral player,” Lambert said. “Really solid defensively. Honestly, he just keeps getting better every day, and he’s had a good training camp. His progression has been very, very good.”
Hayden, meanwhile, was an assist away from a Gordie Howe hat trick. He dropped the gloves with Canucks forward Joseph LaBate at 17:34 of the first period shortly after LaBate knocked down Wright, picking up a cross-checking penalty and instigator penalty to put the Kraken on a four-minute penalty kill.
Despite representing one of the many penalties Seattle committed on Sunday, Lambert was actually pleased with that one.
“I have all kinds of time in the world for that, sticking up for his teammate.” Lambert said. “Outstanding job by him. We’ll try and kill those off all day long.”
No matter how well O’Brien performs in training camp, he’ll likely spend another year in juniors to further develop his game, but Seattle’s management will take any positive signs they can get with him.
As for the other two, Molgaard played just seven games in Coachella Valley last season, scoring two goals and one assist after spending most of 2024-25 in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), where he scored 19 points in 38 games. The most likely scenario is he plays a bigger role in the AHL no matter what happens in camp, but more performances like these could put him into consideration when injuries at the NHL level require an AHL call-up.
Hayden, meanwhile, is trying to solidify a bottom-six role in Seattle, and with the fight and finishing ability he displayed on Sunday, he certainly took a step towards doing that.
