Kraken Acquire 10 Draft Picks at Deadline -- Now What?

QUICK HITS

That's 12 total opportunities to draft amateur talent. Only Montreal will select more often with 13 picks in 2022.
Why is this important for Seattle?
Three quarters of the inaugural season into their on-ice existence, the Kraken are still not a fully realized roster in terms of number of players. Having started with 30 initial expansion draft picks, plus seven entry draft selections in 2021, the team still has room to grow before they near the limit of 50 professional contracts (NHL, AHL, two-way) for an NHL team.
This matters for a couple reasons. The first factor is organizational depth. Drafting is of course how you build up the talent level on a team, selecting and developing high-level talent as soon as possible within your organization. The 82-game season is a demanding grind. The "next player up" mentality is an oft-demanded requirement of winning hockey games and advancing in the postseason.

Kraken fans have viewed up close the pressing need for depth in the lineup this season. Nineteen Seattle skaters and one goaltender missed games to date this season due to injury or illness. Expanding the pipeline of both NHL-tested veteran players and NHL-ready younger players is an important part of building a contending roster.
Not one to use injuries or illness as an excuse, GM Ron Francis has accurately pointed out the 18-skater lineup the Kraken front office envisioned to play regularly during the inaugural season was on the ice for exactly two periods of hockey.
The second factor in building organizational depth with multiple draft choices is providing young players with an incubator to grow and develop that aligns with the big club. In the NHL, that lives within each teams' American Hockey League affiliate organization (plus some ECHL agreements too).
This season, per the need to build an arena and training facilities in the Coachella Valley, Seattle has shared an AHL home with the Florida Panthers.

For the 2022-23, the Kraken talent pipeline will go through Coachella Valley and the Firebirds as the AHL's 32nd franchise. Filling out that roster with talent that fits with Seattle's overall strategy and vision will no doubt bolster how each player evolves their game and fits into the Kraken systems of play.
For an organization looking to take the next step in terms of growing the volume and talent level of its roster, Seattle gained a lot of the kind of currency that matters through 2022 transactions.
Next step, the NHL Draft in July is when Ron Francis and his team of scouts and analysts will bring in the next wave of Kraken prospects. One important note: The Kraken could be active bundling their draft currency to move up for draft position or as part of off-season moves to bring in talent via trade.
Data via Cap Friendly