They really couldn’t go wrong. The Kraken had a handful of talented centers and defensemen to choose from high in the NHL Draft on Friday night, and they just happened to go with the first name we listed last week in our quick Seattle Kraken draft preview.
Our logic matched the team’s. Go with the best available player with the 8th-overall pick and bolster one of the most important positions on the ice. Seattle GM Ron Francis decided on the lefty center from the Spokane Chiefs, Berkly Catton.
At 5-foot-11, 170-pounds, the teenager from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan has some growing and strengthening to do, along with developing a greater work ethic defensively, but he brings along some strong raw materials offensively. In fact, he’s uber-talented for his level. He can skate, move laterally, undress defenders with fancy moves and startling passes, and he can shoot in a variety of ways from a number of areas.
He might just be the number-one center the Kraken are needing. It now just comes down to how long it takes him to grow and translate his game to the NHL level. He was the highest scoring draft-eligible player in major junior hockey and the 4th-overall leading goal scorer.
“Whether it’s a well-timed charge into space to present himself as a shooting option off the pass or baiting a defender into a pokecheck before curling the puck around their stick and beating the goaltender cleanly at range – Catton’s always got the tool for the job. He’s blessed with a full arsenal of releases in his toolkit and has the intelligence to use them to their most effective ends,” is how the Elite Prospects draft guide summarized him.
Catton’s skills and those of the other recent Seattle draft picks will be on display this week at development camp at the Kraken Community Iceplex. Returning prospects will also be on hand with something new to prove.
Not every high 1st-rounder pans out of course, but the Kraken did themselves a favor by grabbing this kid playing just across the state.
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