Kraken Shane Wright's Big Story - Seattle Hockey Insider

Kraken center Shane Wright’s progress is a big story. We’ve written as much, if not more so, about him as we have about anyone else in Seattle.

Why? Because his progress is intriguing. The story line is truly unique.

Here’s a kid, overwhelmingly projected to go 1st-overall at the 2022 NHL Draft, who dropped to number-4. From there the questions changed from “can this top prospect succeed,” a pretty common query for anyone outside of the Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews of the world, to “what’s wrong with him?”

Of course he’s not 97 or 34, but number-51 has made considerable strides since overcoming the expectations and shock of that day in a now distant July at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Wright was one of six players in history to earn “exceptional status” as a teenager, allowed to enter the Ontario Hockey League as an underage player. McDavid and John Tavares are examples of two of the others. Thus the expectations.

Unfortunately for Wright and almost all of the top prospects in his peer group, the Covid epidemic knocked a full year of OHL hockey off the development calendar. For those who didn’t flee to Europe to find ice, it was tough luck, wait it out and train on your own.

That came ahead of the 2022 draft. Since then, aside from the Kraken, Wright has bounced around two different OHL teams, the American Hockey League Coachella Valley Firebirds, and the Canadian National Junior Team that won Gold in 2023. He was the victorious captain.

This past season was the 21-year-old’s first full campaign with just one team since he played for the Kingston (Ontario) Frontenacs in 2021-’22.

“It was nice for sure, it was nice to have a little bit of stability, knowing where I’m going to be, where I’m going to play,” he said Wednesday in his bye bye Kraken media availability. “The coaching staff and the group of guys that I’m around every day, it’s definitely nice to have a little more stability this year.”

Wright’s a bonafide NHLer, coming off a 19-goal, 44-point season, one that saw him improve his overall game.

“Shane has made outstanding progress over the past three seasons,” Kraken Director of Player Development Jeff Tambellini told Seattle Hockey Insider. “His production has always been a strength and has remained consistent across the OHL, AHL, and NHL. His largest area of growth has been his evolution into a two-way center.”

A number-one center who’s conscientious defensively, or a legitimate, meant-to-be, two-way center? Does it matter? He’s 21. Based on his progress, his upside remains a bit of a mystery. To win championships, all of your centers need to be responsible.

Wright actually believes he needs to be a bit more selfish. In a good way.

“Big one is just handling the puck and transporting the puck through the neutral zone and just having the puck on my stick a little more,” he said. “Playing with confidence, playing with a bit of that swagger, just holding on to it a bit more, try not to defer to someone else, try not to give it up so fast.”

Tambellini thinks Wright’s on the right track.

“We’re seeing Shane transport the puck at a higher volume and now play a possession game in the offensive zone,” ‘Tambo’ added. “Defensively, we’ve seen improvements in his faceoffs and checking ability, which has led to more responsibility.”

Concern from hockey folks regarding Wright’s development and eventual upside during previous off-seasons has suddenly been replaced by anticipation for this coming summer. The kid is growing up fast, and seeing where he’s at come October or November 2025 is truly an exciting proposition.

We’ll keep you posted for sure.