Kraken the Code: Defense & Goalies

Finally! The first-ever Kraken roster is in place. There's going to be plenty to learn about each of the 30 newest members of the Seattle family, but when it comes to what each player can do on the ice, there's more than just points scored, shots blocked, or number of pucks saved to consider.
Let's push past the traditional box scores and look a little bit deeper at each defenseman's and goaltender's game:

DEFENSE

Gavin Bayreuther Left Defenseman | 27 years old ]**
Bayreuther has spent time in both the NHL and AHL, and while he works at his game to find his spot, there are encouraging signs including his ability to suppress opponents' offense. While his time wasn't expansive in Columbus last season, he ranked third in lowest overall shot count against when on the ice. Limiting quality against is still a work in progress.
**[William Borgen Right Defenseman | 24 years old ]**
Two years into NHL experience, Borgen has had limited minutes but has seen improvement on the defensive side of the ice with HockeyViz showing a progression in his defensive impact year over year. To see a similar impact offensively, watch for an uptick in his shooting rates and shot quality as necessary next steps.
**Dennis Cholowski [ Left Defenseman | 23 years old ]
Cholowski is another player spending time in both the AHL and the NHL. His career started with Detroit, an organization that is in a building process, so it's hard to isolate out what a young player might be. Early comparables for the player from Hockey Prospecting included Jeff Petry and Jaccob Slavin.
Vince Dunn [ Left Defenseman | 24 years old ]
Dunn is young and the kind of defender who brings a wealth of tools to his game. According to Sznajder, he's in the top 5-6-percent in the league in terms of exiting his own zone and then getting shots off towards his opponent's net. And it's not just individual creation, Dunn is in the 86th percentile in both getting the puck to his teammates so they can get a shot off, and also entering the offensive zone creating opportunity for possession.
[Hayden Fleury [ Left Defenseman | 25 years old ]
The first of the Fleury brothers comes to Seattle with the ability to contribute in a few ways. His defensive impact according to HockeyViz.com was a reduction of opponents' efforts by minus-5 percent. And while Fleury is a defenseman first, he also found a way to produce shots at a higher rate (6.29 unblocked shots per 60 minutes of play).
Cale Fleury [ Right Defenseman | 22 years old ]
The other Fleury brother is still working to find his footing in the NHL, and he has time to do just that at just 22 years old. But, Cale's showing signs of being a defensive defenseman early with solid performances in both getting the puck out of his own zone (zone exits) and also defending opponents' entries against.
Mark Giordano [ Left Defenseman | 37 years old ]
Defense is all about limiting chances against your team. What better way to do that than get the puck out of your own zone? Enter Mark Giordano. Sznajder's data tells us that the former Flame is among the top 20 percent of all defensemen in terms of controlled exit percentage - he gets the puck out of harm's way and keeps it on his team's sticks.
Adam Larsson [ Right Defenseman | 28 years old ]
Larsson doesn't just help with defense at even strength, he's effective on the penalty kill. Last season he played the second most PK minutes of any Oiler defender, while also leading his team in preventing opponents' power plays from carrying the puck into the offensive zone (per Sznajder's data).
Jeremy Lauzon [ Left Defenseman | 24 years old ]
Lauzon is another blueliner, defensive in nature, who also brings some solid penalty-killing skill. Among all Boston skaters, Lauzon denied opponents' entries six times for every 60 minutes of play, tying him with Charlie Coyle and the two then only trailing Charlie McAvoy.
Jamie Oleksiak [ Left Defenseman | 28 years old ]
You want defenders to help keep the puck out of the net, but if they can also help move the puck to where you want to score? Bonus! Using Sznajder's data, over the past three years, Oleksiak ranks in the top 86th percentile in the League in terms of controlled entry percentage - getting the puck into the offensive zone and maintaining possession.
Carson Soucy [ Left Defenseman | 26 years old ]
Soucy is another defender who contributes both at even strength and on special teams. Once again using HockeyViz's impact metric, when playing a man down, Soucy reduces his opponent's ability to create by 6-percent - there are few skaters who have a higher impact, maybe 20-30 total per McCurdy.

GOALTENDERS

Joey Daccord [ Catches Left | 24 years old ]
Daccord played eight games last year and performed admirably against one of the most challenging sets of shots sent his way - 15th most demanding in the League. The youngest of the current Kraken goalers, and coming off injury, he has time to mature and can play in both the AHL and NHL.
Chris Driedger [ Catches Left | 27 years old ]
Driedger commanded notice in his 23 games last season. He faced a difficult workload (2.35 xG against / 60) and yet, among goaltenders with 10-plus games played, was the sixth-best goaltender in the league in terms of saving more pucks than expected (based on shot quality).
Vitek Vanecek [ Catches Left | 25 years old ]
Of three goaltenders that played in Washington last season, Vanecek played the most minutes, faced the most difficult shots from his opponents (2.44 xGA / 60), and was off by less than a quarter of a goal saved per game (which was better than league average last year).
All Data via Evolving-Hockey.com, NaturalStatTrick.com, and HockeyViz.com and reflects 5-on-5play unless otherwise stated.