The Seattle Kraken, floundering at 5-8-1, drew on their prospect pool to shake things up this week.
Ryan Winterton, a 2021 third-round Kraken draft pick and the last cut in training camp this fall, made his season debut Tuesday in place of healthy scratch Oliver Bjorkstrand on the third line. Another recall from the Coachella Valley Firebirds, John Hayden, subbed in for Tye Kartye on the fourth line.
The new-look third line of Winterton, Shane Wright and Eeli Tolvanen had a rocky debut. It was on the ice for three even-strength Avalanche goals in a 6-3 Colorado victory. One was an empty-netter.
Under new coach Derek Laxdal, top Kraken affiliate Coachella Valley (AHL) is off to a 3-5-0 start. Here’s how some of their top prospects playing for the Firebirds, junior teams and college squads fared in the first month of their respective seasons.
Jagger Firkus
Many eyes are on Firkus, the defending Canadian Hockey League top scorer and player of the year. Firkus, 20, turned pro after his memorable season and has a goal and three assists in seven games with Coachella Valley.
His first pro goal came in his regular-season Firebirds debut on Oct. 11. It was, unsurprisingly, a beauty. He accepted the puck at the blue line, blew past everyone and from a bad angle, roofed a shot. It was in and out in the blink of an eye, and all the goalie could do was twitch.
He hasn’t scored again but chipped in three assists in seven games.
Berkly Catton
This summer’s first-rounder is doing his thing in Spokane, where he was named captain of the Western Hockey League’s Chiefs in September. He has six goals and 26 points in the season’s first 16 games.
Kaden Hammell and Julius Miettinen
The Kraken have more than one prospect wearing the ‘C’ for an in-state WHL team. Hammell (one goal, five assists), a fifth-round pick as a defenseman in 2023, is a co-captain for the Everett Silvertips. Miettinen, a Kraken second-rounder this summer, has 16 points (four goals) in 15 games. Each Silvertips player recorded an assists in the Silvertips 7-2 mauling of Edmonton on Oct. 25.
Another prospect is captaining an out-of-state WHL team and off to a strong start. This year’s fifth-round pick Clarke Caswell is the defending scoring leader of the Swift Current Broncos. He’s on pace to match or surpass last year’s 77 points. The 18-year-old has 24 points (five goals) in 14 games so far.
Eduard Sale
Sale was still eligible to return to junior hockey, specifically the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League. But after his first year living and playing in North America proved difficult, personally and professionally, Sale started the season in Coachella Valley and did well, to the tune of a goal and four assists in his first six games. Those five points tied him with Winterton for second on the team, behind only center Ben Meyers (two goals, four assists), heading into play Wednesday.
Jacob Melanson
He was off to a hot start, but the Firebirds announced Tuesday that bruising forward Melanson is out indefinitely with an unspecified lower-body injury. Melanson had three goals in seven games, tied for the team lead, when the injury occurred.
Nikke Kokko
The AHL has him listed as his favored nickname Nikke, instead of Niklas, which the Kraken have always used for the 2022 second-rounder. So adjust your mental directory accordingly.
Following a strong Kraken rookie camp, Finnish goaltender Kokko made the jump to North America and settled in as the backup in Coachella Valley, behind veteran Ales Stezka.
Coachella Valley won both of goaltender Kokko’s first two professional starts. In his first Oct. 18, he and the Firebirds nearly coughed up a five-goal lead in the third period, but won 6-5 thanks to a Cale Fleury natural hat trick. Kokko’s second outing Nov. 2 was smoother. He made 24 saves and allowed two goals in a 5-2 win against the Bakersfield Condors.
Ben MacDonald
MacDonald has the distinction of scoring the first — and, until Friday at least, only — goal of the season for Harvard, where he’s a sophomore forward. MacDonald, a third-round pick in 2022, scored a power-play goal in the Crimson’s season opener against Dartmouth, which they lost 2-1.
Fellow collegiate forward Zaccharya Wisdom has one goal and three assists in six games, all wins for No. 8 Colorado College. Wisdom, a seventh-rounder in 2023, is also a sophomore.
Carson Rehkopf
The OHL’s Brampton Steelheads traded for him this summer, and alternate captain Rehkopf is rewarding that investment, averaging two points per game through 14 outings — eight goals, 20 assists. He’s second in the league in assists and tied for third in points.
Also on the OHL leaderboard is Rehkopf’s 2023 draft classmate Andrei Loshko (eight goals, 11 assists) of the Niagara IceDogs, who is tied for the lead in game-winning goals with three. The winger from Belarus is playing his first OHL season following three in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
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