When the Kraken rookie camp started Thursday, new AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds coach Derek Laxdal delivered a clear, concise message to the 17 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies on hand.
“It was about getting acclimated to your equipment today,” said Laxdal after Thursday’s spirited hour-long practice. “Getting acclimated to your teammates. Then let's just make sure we take a step [forward] every day.”
The stepping will be lively this weekend. After another fast-moving Friday morning practice, the group (minus forwards Shane Wright and Ryan Winterton, who did some mentoring over the last few days but will stay back to skate with veterans in informal workouts) flies to Los Angeles for a rookie tournament. Every player will get at least one game as Seattle faces Colorado Saturday at 3 p.m. and Vegas Sunday at 1 p.m. at the NHL Rookie Faceoff Tournament hosted by the division rival Los Angeles Kings. Both games will be livestreamed on www.nhl.com/kraken.
The traditional rookie tournament, started by then-Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland in 1997 with a four-team tourney at Traverse City (MI), will be a first for the Kraken franchise. With four draft classes and some impressive undrafted free agent signings, the franchise can put deep squads on the ice even with several draftees already playing regular season games in Europe, skating in preseason camps in juniors or not able to join due to NCAA commitments.
“Rookie” is a relative term. Some players traveling to LA have played NHL games, such as center Logan Morrison, while others (defenseman and 2021 fourth-round pick Ville Ottavainen is one example) have turned in solid seasons for AHL Coachella Valley. For the 2024 draft class, led by No. 8 overall pick Berkly Catton, it is indeed a first-time experience with an NHL team. All 25 players traveling to LA are bonafide prospects for Seattle who will get their chance to face Kraken veterans when training camp opens next week.
The rookie tournament concept is not new for Laxdal, who posted a 189-139-52 record from 2014 to 2020 with the American Hockey League Texas Stars and led his team to the 2018 Calder Cup Final. During his Thursday media meet-up, Laxdal recalled Mattias Janmark coming to the Dallas Stars training camp in 2015 toting a two-week supply of clothing with all parties in agreement that he would attend camp and play in the rookie tournament in Traverse City before returning to Sweden for another year of development in Europe. But Janmark’s tourney performance turned heads and forced Dallas to take a deeper look. Janmark made the opening night roster (scoring a goal on his first NHL shift) and finished the year with 14 goals and 15 assists in 73 games.
“These two games are big for these players this weekend down in LA,” said Laxdal. "It's a springboard for these players to go into training camp [competing with the Kraken’s veteran roster players]. It's a great chance for them to show their games.”
Two practices are hardly enough to have all playing systems in place, though Laxdal did introduce forechecking in the neutral zone and defensive-zone tactics Thursday. But the playing field is level with the other rookie tournament teams, who began their own camps this week.
“The most important part of the tournament is that we're getting to see our young players in a pro-environment against their peers,” said Jeff Tambellini, Kraken director of player development. “With the pace of [NHL] training camps today, it's very difficult to get the prospects in a lot of preseason games. This tournament gives us an opportunity to learn these players’ strengths and weaknesses and see how they adapt to a different environment.”
Another bonus is the prospects competing hard against each other in Thursday and Friday drills and scrimmages, getting a chance to be teammates—and maybe serving as a precursor to wearing the Kraken jersey in NHL games during seasons ahead.
“We’re a young organization that now has more prospects in the pipeline,” said Robert Kron, Kraken director of amateur scouting. “For them, it's great to be on one team. Some kids went through development camps [in 2022 and 2023], while others are new. They were drafted in different years. To get them in the same locker room and not competing against each other is valuable. They can measure themselves against the other team's pros. The hope is the prospects will grow together and get to know each other better.”
Tambellini said the Kraken organization wants these young players to know making a monster impression in both this weekend’s games and camp practices can be a path-changer for them.
”It’s a great opportunity to make a statement before the real training camp starts,” said Tambellini. “That's something we talk about to our young group: Look around the league and there's some young players that come into training camp and make a major statement. They have a chance to make a team out of a training camp.
“For a young player, [the NHL camp] goes really quick. But if you can have a big start to training camp and play well in these games, it can put you on a really fast track, just the momentum kids can get in camp. We're not looking to over-evaluate you, but hey, if you come in and you show you're ready, we're going to be watching these games very closely for players to show they're a level above their peers. It's a great chance to play well and show the entire [hockey operations] staff what gains you have made over the summer.”
