Seattle Kraken Roster Breakdown: Offense

Today I will be breaking down the Seattle Kraken roster statistically. I will go through each pick that the Kraken made by their stats. After all of that, I will predict how the Kraken will do just based on what I said about each player. So let’s jump into it.

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

Now before I start, I am going to warn you that I haven’t heard of about half of these guys, as hasn’t most NHL fans.

FORWARDS

Tyler Pitlick - C - Arizona Coyotes

Pitlick honestly doesn’t look like too bad of a player. Now the only problem I see about him is that he has not ever played a full season. His most games in a season were when he was with the Dallas Stars in 2017-18. That season he only got 27 points, but it looks like he has improved over the years. I’m honestly very intrigued on what he could do this season. Now, funny thing, as I was writing this, Pitlick was traded to the Calgary Flames. So he is the first former Kraken player. Congrats on less than 24 hours as a Kraken.

Morgan Geekie - C - Calgary Flames

Looking at Geekie’s stats, it looks like he is more of an AHL player than an NHL player. He has only played 38 NHL games compared to his 130 AHL games. In the AHL, he is actually a good player, averaging 0.72 points per game. But in the NHL he has only averaged 0.34 points per game. I honestly think he could do some damage in a Kraken uniform. 2 years ago Geekie got 4 points in 2 games with the Hurricanes. Put this guy on a line with some good teammates and watch him score some good points.

John Quennville - W - Chicago Blackhawks

Here we are with the second cousin of famous coach, Joel “Q” Quennville. I feel like Quennville will probably be the player to spend most of the time in Charlotte (Seattle’s AHL affiliate until Palm Springs gets announced in 2022). Last year he was assistant captain of the Rockford Icehogs and has gotten a total of 143 points in 190 total AHL games, averaging 0.75 points per game. Now, Quennville has only got 5 points in 42 NHL games. But who knows, maybe he will have a trick up his sleeve and will surprise all of us. Now I will say, he does have a pretty clean NHL record with only 4 penalty minutes to his name, but he has 193 penalty minutes in the AHL so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Joonas Donskoi - W - Colorado Avalanche

Before I say anything, I had this guy on my NHL 21 Franchise Mode and he was pretty good. I say this is Seattle’s first good pick on this list. Donskoi is a great player statistically. Now if you look at his time with the San Jose Sharks, you would probably disagree with me. But if you look at his time with the Avalanche, you can see what I’m talking about. One major thing I saw was his comparison between the 2019-20 season and the 2021 season. He played 65 games in 2019-20 and got only 33 points, this year he played 51 games and got 31 points. The good part is that he averaged a point every 2 games each year, but also he got only 2 fewer points in 14 fewer games. Also if you want a playoff push, this is the guy to come to. He has been tremendous in the playoffs with the Avalanche. He has averaged 0.58 points per game in 2 seasons.

Calle Järnkrok - C - Nashville Predators

Another good player for Seattle’s roster. Yes, Järnkrok has had his ups and downs. But his latest season showed what he could really do, averaging 0.57 points per game which is above his career total for the NHL. I’m honestly surprised to see what this guy can do. I think if you put this guy on a line with Donskoi, then you are in good shape. Did the Detroit Red Wings miss some potential with letting him go to the Predators? Probably. It definitely would’ve helped their offense, but I think this is a good pick by Seattle.

Nathan Bastian - W - New Jersey Devils

Now just like Quennville, Bastian has spent most of his time in the AHL. Spending only 48 games in the NHL and 188 games in the AHL, I think he’s a bit more comfortable in the AHL. Now the good news is, he’s young. Like really young. Like 23 years old, young. He’s just getting started. He got 10 points in 41 games last season, but let’s be honest, the Devils aren’t the best team to start development right now. So maybe all of his potential isn’t showing yet.

Jordan Eberle - W - New York Islanders

This guy is a great veteran in the league. I can already see that Eberle will be the assistant captain of the Kraken. Unless he’s traded away just like Pitlick was. Eberle has a lot of experience, which means he will be a great teammate to all of the young guys on this Kraken roster. He’s also a great point scorer. He’s in his thirties and he’s still getting over 0.60 points per game. I honestly think that he will bring that scoring over to the Kraken.

Colin Blackwell - C - New York Rangers

You’d probably expect a player who jumps up and down from the AHL to NHL to be pretty bad. But not this player. Blackwell is still almost averaging 0.50 points per game and he’s not playing every single game in the season. He even played in the World Championship with the USA this year and scored 4 goals in 10 games. Blackwell also doesn’t get a lot of penalties which is a good thing. Anyone who doesn’t get a lot of penalties is a good sign. I’m intrigued on what Blackwell can do. Do I think he will be the best player on the team? No. But I do think he will be up there.

Carsen Twarynski - W - Philadelphia Flyers

Again, Twarynski is young, the same age as Bastian. But he too spends more time in the AHL. Twarynski has only spent 3 full years in the AHL/NHL. He has only scored 1 goal in 22 games in the NHL and hasn’t done too hot in the AHL either. Do I think there could’ve been a better pick here for the Kraken? Yes, but who knows, I’m not Ron Francis. But it’s also really hard to judge him since he only played 7 games in the NHL and 2 games in the AHL this year with 0 points combined.

Brandon Tanev - W - Pittsburgh Penguins

Tanev is one of those names that you hear, but he’s just there. He’s averaging only around 20-30 points a year and hasn’t been performing much in the playoffs either. He has failed to get over 30 points in a season but I think a new team is just what he needs. A new scenery and hopefully, his full potential can come out. He won the NCAA Championship with Providence in 2015 (beating Miami in the first round - my team that I’m a fan of and I still remember watching that game). So maybe he can do what he did there.

Alexander True - C - San Jose Sharks

True hasn’t played more than 12 games in a season in the NHL and he’s still looking for his first NHL goal with a total 19 games played. Now last year he was the assistant captain of the San Jose Barracuda, and he did get 20 points in 27 games. I can see him being a swing player in the AHL and NHL. A swing player is when you go back and forth between the two leagues. He also got 1 goal and 1 assist for Denmark in the World Championship this year. So maybe he can bring something to the Kraken.

Yanni Gourde - C - Tampa Bay Lightning

See, I knew the cap was gonna get you Tampa. Gourde was probably the best possible selection from the Lightning by the Kraken. Now he isn’t as outstanding as Kucherov or Point, but he still is a good player. He has averaged 0.60 points per game in 7 years and 310 games in the NHL. One thing I didn’t know was that he actually spent a decent amount of time in the AHL and even the ECHL. Something that may hurt the Kraken is that Gourde is getting surgery ahead of the 2021-22 season. It is said that he will miss the start of the season but it is unknown how long he will be out for. We will all be hoping that it isn’t long as we want to see him succeed with his new team.

Jared McCann - C - Toronto Maple Leafs

I had no clue this guy was traded to the Maple Leafs. Well, I guess I have learned a lot of things in this blog. 32 points in 43 games this year by McCann. That is absolutely insane. 0.71 points per game is really good. McCann just looks like he gets better every year. He almost got more points this year than he did playing over 60 games last year. I think this guy can only get better now. He can be a real game-changer for the Kraken.

Kole Lind - W - Vancouver Canucks

I honestly thought the announcer was stumbling trying to say Colin as the first same or something like that. I was surprised when his name was Kole Lind. But maybe that’s just my hearing getting bad. Lind is 22 and has yet to play a full season in the NHL. He has spent 3 years in the AHL with the Utica Comets and has done pretty well. In 2021, Lind got 8 points in 8 games and has a total of 0.56 points per game in the AHL. In the 7 games with the Canucks in 2021, he did not get a single point. If Lind is put on a good line, I can see him putting up some decent points.

Mason Appleton - W - Winnipeg Jets

I had this guy on my fantasy team a few years ago. He was pretty good. Appleton spent his first full year (not jumping up and down from the AHL) in 2021. Appleton got 25 points in 56 games, almost averaging 0.50 points per game. Appleton could really be beneficial to this Kraken team if he keeps getting better and better. And I can see that happening.

This is just part one, part 2 will be the defense and the goalies. There I will also make my prediction of how the Kraken will do.