Practice Report: Kraken Return to Action

SEATTLE -- The weather outside the Kraken Community Iceplex complemented hockey nicely Sunday evening, while inside the Kraken were back practicing after a holiday break to prepare for their next scheduled home game on Dec. 29 against the Philadelphia Flyers at Climate Pledge Arena.

Seattle was supposed to be travelling to Vancouver Monday to play the Canucks, but the NHL postponed the game as a precaution against further COVID-19 spread. It had been over a week since the Kraken were last on the ice for any action and getting back to skating was a positive for the players who were available Sunday.
"It was just fun to get out there today," Marcus Johansson said. "It kind of felt like a fresh start. Whenever you're out and you're not in the locker room and with the guys, you miss it…I feel like we needed it, I definitely wanted to get out there and skate, it was a lot of fun."
Yanni Gourde was back at practice Monday as well.
The center had missed 10 days for the COVID-19 protocol and took a solo skate prior to the holiday weekend. Today he was a full participant for the Kraken and looked to shake off any rust that gathered.
"I just got to go out there, try to work hard, get my legs under me, get a sweat and feel the puck a little bit," he said. "Once the game starts, I don't try to do much, just the simple things. You can't go from zero to 100."
Gourde is expected to play Wednesday against Philadelphia.

Players missing on Sunday

It was a small group of Kraken on the ice Sunday evening with 15 skaters along with goalies Philipp Grubauer and Chris Driedger. Defensemen Jamie Oleksiak, Carson Soucy, and Adam Larsson remained in COVID-19 protocol and forward Brandon Tanev was placed on the injured reserve after suffering an injury against the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 18.
"I don't think there's a single guy that can replace Tanev," Gourde said. "It's really unfortunate, but injuries happen so we're all going to have to do a little bit more and bring up your energy a little, you bring your emotion up because that guy does it every night."
Defenseman Vince Dunn and forward Ryan Donato were placed on the COVID list and were not at practice.
A couple of Seattle's positive cases are due to come back any day.
Head coach Dave Hakstol cautioned that it was too soon to say for sure when Oleksiak and Soucy would be able to return from COVID protocol. Even if he knew, testing negative is only one part of the puzzle. You also have to assess their overall health and readiness.
Having an extra day this week can help the Kraken but there's almost a certainty a defenseman will have to be recalled from Charlotte of the American Hockey League.
"We haven't made any of those moves yet," Hakstol said. "Over the next 24 hours those are some of the decisions that will be made."

Weather keeps players away

The winter weather that turned Seattle into a snow globe played havoc with incoming and outgoing flights. Jordan Eberle, Will Borgen, and Colin Blackwell were not at practice Sunday because of flight cancellations.
That didn't lessen the intensity on the ice.
"These practices are really important regardless of who's available," Hakstol said. "The practices are important, so we make sure we get our rhythm back going into game action."
The Kraken are scheduled to practice again Monday morning at 10:30.