The Seattle Kraken will practice Monday on Long Island at the Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow, the practice facility for the New York Islanders. The two teams will hook up at UBS Arena on Tuesday night. The Isles will have a game under their belt coming out of the NHL All-Star break as they play tonight in Philadelphia against the Flyers.
The Kraken will be playing their first NHL game since the 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on December 28th at Climate Pledge Arena. Seattle won’t see another home game until February 16th. After the Islanders tilt, the current five-game road trip includes stops against the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Winnipeg Jets.
Big D
We kidded around on Sunday about Seattle’s acquisition of very large defenseman Jaycob Megna, 6-foot-6, 200-pounds. Not so much about him, just some fun with his name and his family.
The 30-year-old lefty comes over from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 4th-round draft pick in this summer’s 2023 NHL Draft. Since the Kraken have two 4th-rounders, they get to decide by June 15th which one they want to give away in the deal.
Megna has played 135 NHL games in efforts with the Sharks and the Anaheim ducks, tallying four goals and 21 assists. Mostly an American Leaguer since his professional hockey career began, Megna has 97 points in 368 AHL games over time spent with four different clubs.
“Jaycob has shown with his play this season that he is a responsible defenseman that can be relied on in all situations,” Kraken General Manager Ron Francis said in the team’s press release. “He provides welcome depth to our defensive group and we are happy to have him join our organization.”
Injury Bug
Reporters will be anxious to see who steps on to the ice for the Kraken at the 11:30 eastern time practice on Monday. Rookie Matty Beniers has missed two games since suffering an upper body injury against the Vancouver Canucks on January 25th, while fellow forward Jaden Schwartz has missed eight games with a lower body injury.
Defenseman Justin Schultz was week-to-week with an upper body injury heading into the All-Star break and is not expected back.
