Borgen: Past, Present, Future

At the morning skate this past Tuesday before that night’s impressive 4-0 Kraken win over elite Eastern Conference foe Florida, defenseman Will Borgen was standing at a blue line, razzing assistant coach Jay Leach stationed about 30 feet away on the side boards of the offensive zone. Borgen flashed his easy, mischievous smile and a “what about me?” shrug, then tapped his stick to the ice for a pass while lined up for a puck-touch drill that helps players tune up for the pending game.

It was a brief moment and, no, Leach, didn’t send a puck Borgen’s way, but the smiles on both men’s faces are part of a story that started back in the fall of 2021 over more than a few weeks of one-on-one time for player and coach during the Kraken’s inaugural season. Those post-practice sessions at Kraken Community Iceplex plus dozens more after morning skates, home and away, created both routine and a bond that holds firm today and whatever day the Kraken are on-ice preparing for a game.

“The first half of the [inaugural] season, I was working with him every skate,” said Borgen this week about the Kraken assistant coach who oversees the defensive corps. “He was really good. He still does it with me now before practice and stuff. We're working on some random little detail, whether it's strengthening my top hand [on his stick] or getting pucks around [the boards] and pushing them ahead. Or stick handling and whatever else can cause a lack of time getting out of the [defensive] zone.”

This past week, Leach was doing the same with just called-up rookie defenseman Ryker Evans. One session was working on first passes out of the defensive zone.

Evans, of course, arrived as a touted draft choice developing fast and finished his first six NHL games with four primary assists in the most recent two wins and one shootout loss. Borgen, on the other hand, back in 2021 was the Kraken’s seventh or even eighth defenseman on the depth chart. He didn’t get a start until Thanksgiving Eve. Say what fans might about earning an NHL salary for simply serving as a reserve with no game pressures, Leach made a challenging time way better for Borgen.

“I mean, it's sucks not playing,” said Borgen, a cut-up sort of personality who can be dead serious about the sport he loves and now plays with a $5.4 million, two-year contract. “Because that's what you've been doing your whole life. You play hockey. That's what you're used to. Once you're not [playing games], it's definitely different.

“But [Leach] was always working with me. he was always positive. It wasn’t like ‘Oh, we're just gonna repeat some stuff from practice again. We were doing meaningful things every time we were out there to help me be a better player.”

Two seasons ago, after picking up his first Kraken assist in late November at Buffalo, against the team that made him available in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, Borgen drew into a handful of December games (first missing some time with a lower-body injury from blocking shots in the Buffalo game). He scored his first Seattle goal on New Year’s Day 2022. He then didn’t get another start until mid-month, playing a string of games. Between late January and mid-March, he appeared in one game.

Once the trade deadline resulted in fellow expansion draft picks with defensemen Mark Giordano and Jeremy Lauzon playing for other teams, Borgen became a fixture in the Kraken lineup for the rest of the first season. But not without the usual worry of fringe-roster players about making a mistake that might result in them watching from the media seats the next game.

“Every game you still have to perform,” said Borgen. “You don't want to make mistakes, especially your first couple of games and then it’s just playing more games. I think it does kind of build confidence when you're in the lineup consistently.”

The remaining month of games turned out to be a turning point for Borgen, who along with goalie Joey Daccord this season are proving out the wisdom of GM Ron Francis’ long game in roster-building with expansion picks. The 26-year-old D-man broke out during the 2022-23 season, playing all 82 regular season games along with the thrilling 14 Stanley Cup Playoffs contests. He set career highs in goals (three) and assists (17) and showed his underrated ability to join the offensive rush and especially shoot pucks net-front from this point position at the opposing teams’ blue lines. He added a goal and two assists in the playoffs.

Borgen’s 203 hits last season ranked second only to Adam Larsson, who averaged more than seven minutes of time on ice than his teammate. Borgen's blocked shots (89), were fourth-best on the Kraken. Put those two stats together and you have an elite D-man in the making. He was one of 14 NHLers last season to record more than 200 hits and 80 blocked shots through 14 games of his first Stanley Cup playoff run.

He’s among team and league leaders in those categories this season to date. As for his scoring totals, he’s already at 11 assists on the year, notching five assists on the just-completed homestand, including back-to-back two-assist nights in wins over Florida and Chicago. Noting the stretch pass unleashing Kailer Yamamoto for the first goal in the Florida win, the Kraken forward said Borgen’s offensive instincts “make it easy to get open.”

When Justin Schultz missed some games due to injury last fall, Borgen stepped in to partner with Jamie Oleksiak in the Kraken’s second defensive pair. Hakstol and his coaching staff (including Jay Leach, of course) liked what they saw in the Oleksiak-Borgen duo at both ends of the ice. When Schultz returned, he paired up with the now departed Carson Soucy as what could be considered a second Kraken No. 2 pairing.

The Borgen-Oleksiak partnership has not only stuck together this season, but they are top 12 among NHL defensive pairs for time-on-ice during five-on-five or even-strength play. Adam Larsson and Vince Dunn were leading the league going into Saturday action (all stats per MoneyPuck). Hakstol and Leach have increasingly trusted the duo with top lines around the NHL, which will continue Monday in Dallas when the pair faces Oleksiak’s former Stars squad.

In a recent straw poll among Kraken players, Borgen received the majority of votes as the teammate most likely to fulfill his holiday gift list at the very last minute. But he is undeniably arriving to play “on time” in games this season, stealing a phrase from Kraken colleague and future Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster John Forslund.

“After you play with someone for some time, you build chemistry,” said Borgen. “We know how each other plays. You know if one of us messes up, the other is usually there to cover for him. He's obviously an exceptional player -- his [ability to close] gaps, he’s got a long stick. It's hard to beat him. That's our job, out there to play defense. He’s very good at it. It makes my job really easy.”

The pair finds success on the offensive end too. Oleksiak scored his second goal during the homestand and Borgen’s five assists put on pace to shatter the points record he achieved last season.

“[The coaches] encourage you here if you have an opportunity to join the rush, they want that second wave coming in,” said Borgen, who is that defenseman usually. We pick our spots, but we need our full team depth, to contribute.”