Final Buzzer: The Halves of It

On a night when nearly half the Kraken camp roster was up in Calgary playing a split-squad road game, another healthy fraction was busy peppering Flames goaltender Dan Vladar in the first 40 minutes of the night's split-squad double feature. Nobody is recording Grade-A scoring chances in the preseason but it’s fair to say Vladar turned away at least 10 premium shots while surrendering two goals on 24 shots.

The Kraken’s opening goal here at a boisterous Climate Pledge Arena was notched by 2022 fourth-round draft pick Tucker Robertson, who scored 90 points (36 goals, 54 assists) during his junior regular season last year and then another 22 points in 23 playoff games. Robertson benefitted from a gorgeous feed from linemate-for-the-night David Goyette (same 2022 draft class, second-round) and an offensive-zone dig by the third member of the line Luke Henman (the first player ever to sign a professional contract with the Kraken). The line turned in a strong game and Henman was especially active on both ends of the ice.

“They did a lot of great things,” said Coachella Valley assistant coach Jessica Campbell, who was behind the Kraken bench Monday. “That young line was fast, fearless. They were going after the puck all night long."

“To see them get that one early, I think it was their first shift, just simple play but a skilled play. To see them finish and execute … I think they maybe surprised themselves, but they're great players and they earned it.”

The other scorer to solve a midseason-form Vladar was reigning NHL rookie of the year Matty Beniers, who took a heads-up pass from AHL star Andrew Polturalski and leveraged a Jordan Eberle screen to finally beat the Flames goalie after a handful of misses for Beniers, Eberle, and linemate Jared McCann.

No surprise, the Beniers tally generated the biggest noise of the night. The second period ended at 2-2. Vladar finished with 35 saves. His valiant work was rewarded when the Flames scored twice on Joey Daccord for a shootout victory while Vladar stopped veterans Jordan Eberle and Jared McCann.

Newcomers Alert

While NHL veterans Brian Dumoulin and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare were getting their first shifts as Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena, another free-agent signee Kailer Yamamoto was impressing his new head coach Dave Hakstol with a net-front goal in Calgary with a primary assist from 2023 second-round draft choice Carson Rehkopf and the secondary helper logged by forward Eeli Tolvanen.

Yamamoto prides himself on getting net front (even at 5-foot-8 and 153 pounds) and projects as a potential 20-goal scorer to replace production from departed forward Daniel Sprong. He scored a second goal later (with another assist from Tolvanen) to fuel a 5-3 Seattle victory in the front end of the night’s split spree.

Fleury Opens Scoring – An Hour Before Puck Drop?

Even before Kraken teammates skated out for warmups at Climate Pledge Arena for a home matchup with division rival Calgary, defenseman Cale Fleury was scoring Seattle’s first goal of the 2023 preseason. How so? Fleury was part of a Kraken split-squad group that flew up north mid-Monday to play Calgary in the first of two split-squad games on the night.

Fleury, who appeared in 12 games for Seattle last season and spent the year with the team as a reserve, paired with Jaycob Megna in Calgary. Megna played 48 games with San Jose before joining the Kraken ahead of the trade deadline. He notched six appearances with his new teammates.

Fleury was joined in D-man scoring Monday in Alberta by Will Borgen, who notched his goal with help from NHL-tested free agent Devin Shore and 2021 third-rounder Ryan Winterton. Borgen’s defensive partner, AHL all-star Ryker Evans, earned a primary assist on Yamamoto’s second goal.

Undrafted, Undeterred

Fleury jumped into the offensive rush and roofed a shot upper corner, cashing in a pass from undrafted free agent forward Logan Morrison. The 21-year-old Morrison scored 40 goals for two teams in juniors last season, then bagged 10 more in 11 playoff games.

Speaking of undrafted Kraken players, Tye Kartye scored an unassisted goal in Calgary with just three seconds left in the second period. Fans are no doubt enamored by Kartye’s call-up during last spring’s Stanley Cup Playoffs when leading regular-season Kraken scorer Jared McCann was injured. Kartye supplied clutch goals and physical play, coming after he was passed over in the NHL draft and signed with the Kraken as a free agent last spring.

No doubt Morrison knows the storyline and Seattle's openness to players from all points of arrival. Morrison also was teammates in juniors with 2021 third-round choice Ryan Winterton, hearing good things from his sometimes linemate and power play colleague.

Listen Up: Former WHL Everett Analyst Kinisky Joins Radio Team

With former 950 AM KJR color analyst Dave Tomlinson opted for a new gig in his hometown Vancouver, the open spot next to play-by-play man Everett Fitzhugh will be filled by a familiar name and voice to Everett Silvertips fans. KJR and the Kraken announced Al Kinisky as the new radio analyst for the 2023-24 schedule.

“Hockey games can be a real rollercoaster of emotions,” said Kinisky. “I hope we can bring them inside the booth with us every game.”

Kinisky has lived in the Seattle area for more than three decades, where he and his wife have raised two sons. Kinisky played for the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds from 1989 to 1991. For the Thunderbirds he totaled 83 points (27 goals, 56 assists) in 149 regular-season games. Kinisky was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1990 (third round, 52nd overall) but a knee injury ended his dream of playing in the NHL.