There is something to be said about “early to rise” and ensuing success. For hockey players, let’s maybe amend the axiom to read “early to rise” and/or “stay late on practice days.”
Before Wednesday’s 10 a.m. workouts on two rinks at Kraken Community Iceplex, alternate captain and two-time Stanley Cup winner Yanni Gourde was on the ice some 15 minutes early to work on moving toward the net and shooting on the fly. Gourde, he of 83 playoff games and six stellar NHL seasons, was attentively watching and listening to Kraken skills coach Matt Larke demonstrate a small detail of taking strides to the net. Larke fed Gourde several pucks to reinforce the move and Gourde continued working on it for another five minutes.
When practice ended at about 11:30, it was no surprise young players such as 2022 first-round draft choice Shane Wright and American Hockey League rookie of the year Tye Kartye stayed out on the ice for an extra 20 some minutes working with Larke on one-timer shots in the offensive zone. Both are competing for roster spots on a squad teeming with highly competent NHL-tested forwards. Equally but in a different way, Kraken star Matty Beniers was on the ice late too. He was working on his own for a bit, then skated over to Larke’s group at the other end of the ice to rocket some one-timers. There is no complacency in Beniers’ game, which turned all sorts of hockey heads last season as the NHL’s rookie of the year.
Roster Decisions to Come Late in Camp
When asked Wednesday about whether the NHL roster would be set before the final couple of preseason games (Oct. 4 in Vancouver and Oct. 6 in Calgary), coach Dave Hakstol said definitely not by Oct. 4 and likely not until after the final game up in Alberta. Rosters are due to the NHL league offices by 2 p.m. Pacific time on Oct. 9 or about 24 hours before the Kraken fly to Vegas for an Oct. 10 opening night.
“We've got a pretty short runway between now and [Oct. 9],” said Hakstol. “Nothing is set in stone I'll tell you that right now. We [coaches] have good discussions after each and every day. But to say we would be close to an NHL roster before game five [of the preseason]? That's a little early.”
A goalie competition between Joey Daccord and Chris Driedger is one matter to be decided. Another is who fills out the fourth line. On Wednesday, the aforementioned Wright took turns with veteran summer signees Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Devin Shore during line drills with Monday night road hero Kailer Yamamoto on one wing while Kartye and Brandon Tanev were alternating at left wing. Consider that strictly facts with no conclusions to be made as yet.
Early Returns on Yamamoto Signing
Hakstol said Monday night he liked how his road roster performed in the third period of a 5-3 preseason win at Calgary in which Yamamoto scored two goals and Kartye notched an unassisted shorthanded score on a takeaway with three seconds left in the second period. Hakstol had positive remarks about Wright’s two-way play and Yamamoto handling roles on special teams (both of his goals were on the power play and the newcomer also worked on the penalty kills).
When asked about Yamamoto, the Spokane native who is anticipating family road trips from Eastern Washington this season, Hakstol was expansive: “He's a competitive guy. He's a confident player. He's played a lot in this league. We threw a lot at him the other night in terms of special teams. He was on the PK, he was on the powerplay, and he played a lot of minutes five-on-five. He handles it very well. His intelligence is really apparent. He understands the game and grasped [our] basic systems really quickly.”
The Ryker Stuff
Young defenseman Ryker Evans looked solid in 23 minutes of ice time in Calgary. He told reporters Wednesday he worked hard in summer training on getting “quicker on my first three steps” and “not getting tired” no matter how many shifts he might log this season. Evans is battling to stay with the Kraken, of course, but said in a pre-camp interview he is confident his team’s front office and coaching staff know what’s best for his budding NHL career.
Hakstol said he is impressed with Evans’ ability to execute the Kraken’s systems of play, both Monday in Calgary and throughout camp workouts.
“For me, the biggest area [for Ryker] is he settled down after the first couple of shifts,” said Hakstol during Wednesday’s media scrum. “I was impressed with the things he did on the offensive blue line, his poise, his ability to walk the line, his ability to create some time and space up there. That was pretty apparent throughout the game ... he kind of settled down. The game seemed to slow down for him a little bit.”
For his part, Evans is matter-of-fact about his play: “I think a lot of it came from last year [at AHL Coachella Valley]. Just learning a lot about the game. Dan [Bylsma, Firebirds head coach] really kind of hammered down on the system stuff. That allowed me to realize how we want to play here in Seattle. So when I'm out there, everything comes natural.”
