The Kraken preseason wraps up Friday night with Seattle visiting Edmonton to take on the Oilers. Connor McDavid and his boys added an empty netter in their 4-1 victory over the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Monday night.
The slight difference this time out, we should be seeing whole-hearted NHL line-ups from top to bottom for both clubs, maybe with the exception of one or two spots where a competition for a position continues, spots that involve a borderline AHL’er.
It’ll be interesting to see if and how forwards Shane Wright and Tye Kartye and defenseman Ryker Evans fit into this one. Same could be said for the goaltending assignment. It’ll be fun to see how Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol splits up the periods for his two netminders, after seeing who those two netminders will be.
The other big question: Will defenseman and Kraken 2nd-leading scorer last season Vince Dunn dress for the game? He’s been skating, but he missed a practice and hasn’t played in either of the matches earlier this week.
Kraken Vs. Pacific
The Kraken split with the Calgary Flames in the preseason, going 1-0-and-1. That occurred on the same night, a 5-3 split squad victory in Calgary and a 3-2 shoot-out loss at home on Monday, September 25th.
Seattle swept the Vancouver Canucks in the preseason, beating their regional rivals 3-1 at Climate Pledge Arena on September 28th and then defeating them again two nights ago in Abbotsford, BC 2-1.
The Oilers have a chance to take both from the Kraken with a win this evening.
The Pacific Division test continues into the regular season with Seattle opening in Vegas against the champion Golden Knights next Tuesday. The opening three-game road trip continues with contests against Central Division foes, the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues next Thursday and Saturday.
Feeling Ducky
For all of the hand wringing in part of SoCal the last few weeks with contracts needed for young Anaheim Ducks stars Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, everything seems to have worked out just fine, dude.
Star center Zegras signed four days ago for $5.75-million per season for three while Drysdale, the 21-year-old righty D-man, signed Thursday for $2.3-million for each of three years. The latter, the former 6th-overall pick in the 2020 draft, missed most of last season with a shoulder injury.
General Manager Pat Verbeek’s roster isn’t as young as one might think, although the two aforementioned players represent the club’s youthful star power. Zegras had 61 and then 65 points his last two seasons.
Warrior Hockey
I love all of the programs and classifications USA Hockey offers, ones that allow skaters from disabled or compromised groups to play the sport. Today, the 2023 USA Hockey Warrior Classic gets underway.
Here’s the description from the governing body.
The Warrior Classic brings together teams from around the country to participate in a weekend of hockey that is dedicated to U.S. military veterans with a disability who also play ice hockey. To be eligible, all players must be or have been veterans and members of the Armed Forces and meet a minimum disability rating.
Good on ya. The event in Denver runs through Sunday.
