Seattle Kraken Roster Breakdown: Defense and Goalies

Here is part 2 of the Seattle Kraken Roster Breakdown.

Kraken players posing for a picture. Credit: sports.mynorthwest.com

DEFENSE

Now, for the defense, I’m going to use different stats. The reason for this is that it is really hard to measure how a defenseman is just based on their goals, assists, and points. Especially since defensemen aren’t really known for their scoring. Now, I still will look at their points, but it won’t be the priority. The two stats I will be looking at are Corsi For and Fenwick. Corsi is the combined shots, shot misses, and blocks per team. Fenwick is just the total shots and shot misses. A good Corsi For (CF%) and Fenwick percentage would be around 40-60, but it would be better if you have your percentage above 50 because that means you had more shots and shot misses than the other team.

Haydn Fleury - Anaheim Ducks

Fleury played for 2 teams last year, only playing 47 games. He only did get 4 points, and he had a -12 total. He has spent time in both the NHL and AHL. But he has mostly played in the NHL the past few years. Fleury’s Corsi differed from team to team. With the Hurricanes, he had a CF% of 51.0. But in Anaheim, he had a Corsi of 47.5, so I think Fleury could do well if you put him on the right line.

Jérémy Lauzon - Boston Bruins

Last year was Lauzon’s first full year in the NHL. Before that, he jumped up and down from the NHL. Every single season with the Bruins, he had a less than 50.0 Corsi. So in 3 years and in only 76 games, he has a total CF% of 45.0. His Fenwick has also been under 50.0 every single season. In those 76 games, he has only gotten 11 points. But he has also had a decent number of blocks per year. He jumped up from 23 blocks to 53 blocks this season. I feel like Lauzon could be a good player if he’s put in certain situations. I’m interested to see what he will do.

William Borgen - Buffalo Sabres

Just like Lauzon, last season was Borgen’s first full season in the NHL. But, he only played 10 games. One bad thing that I don’t like about Borgen is that he takes a lot of penalties. He averaged almost a penalty every 2 games in the AHL. He has also yet to get his first NHL point in 14 games. Just like Lauzon, Borgen has gotten a lot of blocked shots in the NHL, which is a good sign. Two seasons ago, when he played 4 games with the Sabres, his CF% was over 50.0, but this season, it was all the way down to 38.8. But it’s hard to tell this player’s full potential, especially since he’s coming from the Sabres. So I think that is just the reason his Corsi was so low.

Mark Giordano - Calgary Flames

Here is your captain of the Kraken. He has been captain of the Flames since 2013-14 and he has gotten over 0.50 points per game every year since 2017-18. I think this veteran of the league will step up and pave the way for the young guys. I think he will retire as a Kraken as he may only have 2-3 more seasons left in him. His CF% has been over 50.0 ever since 2012-13. His total CF% in the NHL is 53.5, and his total Fenwick percentage is 53.6, so both numbers are about equal to each other. I think Giordano will be the first-line defenseman for the Kraken.

Gavin Bayreuther - Columbus Blue Jackets

Oh, there it is, my favorite team. The sad part is we just got him from Dallas and now he’s going away. I don’t think he’s too bad. He got almost a point per game last year in the AHL. He’s only played a total of 28 games in the NHL, but he almost has a CF% of 50.0. His Fenwick percentage is 50.8 though. So I think Bayreuther could be a good defenseman for the Kraken. Now he isn’t on the young side of the league, but he isn’t on the old side. He’s only 27, so he has room to improve.

Jamie Oleksiak - Dallas Stars

Oleksiak is not a bad defenseman. He has got about 10 points per season in a shortened season each year. In the past few years, his CF% has been around 50.0, with getting over it twice in the past 3 years. His Fenwick percentage is around the same. I think Oleksiak can be a good defenseman for the Kraken.

Dennis Cholowski - Detroit Red Wings

Cholowski is only 23 years old and he has jumped up and down from the NHL every season. He has done pretty well in the AHL getting many points every season. He has played fewer games each season with the Red Wings. But over 105 games in the NHL, his CF% is still over 50.0. His Fenwick is over 50 as well. For a player that I have never heard of, he is pretty good. I think people could be surprised by how he does this year.

Adam Larsson - Edmonton Oilers

Here we have the next alternate captain. He has gotten a decent amount of points every season, even as a defenseman. Larsson has yet to have a CF% above 50.0 since 2013-14 when he was with the Devils. His Fenwick is the same too. But, I honestly think he could be a good role model for all the young guys on this talented roster. He could do very well if he is partnered up with the right teammates.

Kurtis MacDermid - Los Angeles Kings

MacDermid didn’t start playing NHL full time until 2019-20. Both of the seasons were cut in half, due to injuries I guess. MacDermid gets too many penalties as well, as the past few seasons, he has gotten an average of 1 penalty every 2 games. His Corsi and Fenwick percentage has never been over 50.0, but maybe a new team is just what this young player needs. Now I will admit, he does get a lot of blocks and hits which makes him a good defensive player. So just looking at the stats, I think he is more of a grinder --which is just what this Kraken team needs.

Carson Soucy - Minnesota Wild

Soucy has been more of an NHL player the past 2 seasons. And it looks like he is more of a playmaker than a scorer. He has constantly gotten way more assists than goals and is putting up decent amounts of points. His Corsi nor Fenwick percentage has been above 45.7, but just like MacDermid, he gets a lot of hits and blocks. He also has a decent amount of takeaways. So I think if the Kraken puts him in enough games, he can make a difference.

Cale Fleury - Montreal Canadiens

Kraken you did it. You managed to get both of the Fleury brothers on the same team. This will be fun. Fleury has never spent a full season in the NHL, he has always jumped up and down or he has just stayed in the AHL the whole year. But he is young, like really young. He’s only 22. Which means he has a lot of room for improvement. He does put up decent numbers for a young AHL defenseman. In his one season in the NHL (2019-20, 41 games), both his Corsi and Fenwick percentage were around 48.0, which isn’t bad. I can see this guy being a good player for the Kraken and putting up some decent numbers.

Vince Dunn - St. Louis Blues

Dunn has gotten some good numbers with the Blues. Getting about 20-30 points per season. Both his Corsi and Fenwick percentage has a total of around 57.0, which is really good. He also gets a lot of hits, blocks, and takeaways. Just like Fleury, I can see Dunn being a great player for the Kraken.

GOALIES (In order of how I think the starter role will go)

Chris Driedger - Florida Panthers

Driedger was up and down most of his career until last year. In 2021, he spent the entire year in the NHL, that’s where he proved he belonged. Driedger put up a 14-6-3 with 3 shutouts in 23 games. He also put up a 2.07 GAA and a .927 Save percentage. All of these numbers are great, especially when you think about how he was fighting for a starting job with Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight. Now he didn’t perform the best in the playoffs as his GAA was over 3.00, but if you think about it, they did play the Lightning in the first round.

Vitek Vanecek - Washington Capitals

Vanecek is another young goalie just like Driedger, and he has spent most of his time in the AHL, and even the ECHL. Vanecek didn’t get his shot at the NHL until Braden Holtby left the Capitals to go to the Canucks. And boy what a rookie season it was. Vanecek had a 21-10-4 record with 2 shutouts in 37 games. He had a 2.69 GAA with a .908 Save percentage. Just like Driedger, he didn’t do the best in the playoffs. But I still think he can be a decent goalie for the Kraken and can fight for the starting role.

Joey Daccord - Ottawa Senators

Daccord came from the Arizona State Sundevils and that’s just an accomplishment right there. He did really well at ASU, bringing them to their very first NCAA tournament. Daccord is only 24 and can do well at the NHL level if he puts his head in the game. Over 9 games, Daccord has a 3.50 GAA and a .894 Save percentage. He has a 1-4-1 record and 0 shutouts. I think Charlotte might be the best place for him right now. He still has yet to prove himself in the AHL, and I don’t think he’s ready for the NHL level quite yet. But if one of these other goalies gets hurt, Daccord won’t be the worst goalie to bring up.

And there we have it, every Kraken player broken down by stats. This took me around 2-3 hours to fully research and write so I hope you enjoyed it.

PREDICTION

So I honestly think that the Kraken will come 6th in the Pacific Division, above both the Sharks and the Ducks. Now, the Kraken could come 5th and finish ahead of the Canucks too. But, I don't think they will make the playoffs like Vegas. But who knows, maybe they will surprise all of us.

Stats from: eliteprospects.com and hockey-reference.com