Camp Kraken in Session

The Kraken finished the earlier days of camp Sunday with spirited practices split into three groups. The coaching staff will collect all impressions and information to decide who plays in the first two preseason games, Monday hosting Edmonton and Tuesday seeing Calgary, both home at Climate Pledge Arena.
Fans on hand or watching on ROOT SPORTS Monday (7 p.m. puck drop) will likely see a mixture of Kraken veterans and young prospects and developing pros in camp. Check the Kraken app for the latest lineups for the two preseason games. Let's delve into the Kraken Training Camp Presented by Starbucks logbook:

• There's been plenty of camp chatter among fans about free agent signee Andre Burakovsky and fellow newcomer/scoring threat Oliver Bjorkstrand. Perhaps less discussed but sure to improve forwards play this season is the return of Jaden Schwartz to the lineup after he missed a significant portion of the season to injury.
  There's a reason Schwartz wears one of the four A's (alternate captain on his jersey). He is respected among his teammates for his net-front presence and willingness to mentor rookies. When Matty Beniers flew into Seattle last spring to start his NHL career after much success in NCAA and international juniors competition, Schwartz hosted the Kraken rookie-of-the-year candidate to dinner.
  Shane Wright arrived in the Pacific Northwest several days ahead of time for last week's Rookie Camp. The Kraken's top 2022 draft choice subsequently worked out with veterans for informal skates but first he was invited to dinner by, you guessed it, Schwartz, with Jared McCann adding another core Kraken player to the welcoming party.
  Fast forward to Friday's Team Blue scrimmage. With seconds left in the contest tied, 1-1, Wright took a perfect feed from Schwartz to release a wicked wrist shot for the scrimmage-winner.
  "Jaden fixes every line he plays on," said coach Dave Hakstol after Friday's practices and scrimmages.
  + Power play work was the focus of both off-ice meetings and video review plus on-ice drills. There were plenty of combinations skating together in the first two group workouts. A standout quintet featured Burakovsky, Beniers, Bjorkstrand, Alex Wennberg and free agent signee/defenseman Justin Schultz quarterbacking from the point position.
  The group was clicking for a good 10 to 12 minutes with different and fresh penalty-kill units subbing in. A highlight play was Burakovsky ripping a shot for a goal after good puck movement and high-quality pass from Wennberg. For what it's worth, four of the five players were not in Kraken uniform last fall for the inaugural training camp.
  Duly noted: Kraken veterans McCann, Schwartz, Jordan Eberle and Yanni Gourde were working in power play drills with Sunday's second group. It was fun to watch 2022 second-rounder Jagger Firkus filling the "bumper" role with four veterans, including D-man Vince Dunn as the quarterback. Firkus has created a lot of buzz among fans and media when people see his offensive skill set.
  + When asked about Burakovsky's early camp effort, Dave Hakstol was effusive about the 2022 Stanley Cup winner's performance to date: "He transports the puck so well, he shoots the puck so well. He found one [goal] on a rebound, which is a key element for us to score more this year."
  + Transporting the puck is not to be underestimated in helping the Kraken improve their record this season. Burakovsky's quickness up the ice is sure to attract attention in pre-scout reports by foes in the Pacific Division and across the league.
  Hakstol also talked about new defenseman Schultz's ability to move the puck out of the defensive zone.
  "Justin has such a calmness with the puck," said Hakstol during a media scrum. "He is really intelligent in open ice and finding the outlet pass, along with creating the offensive rush with his first touch."
  "He's a guy who can really help on the power play," said Kraken GM Ron Francis during a "State of the Franchise" fan question-and-answer session after Sunday's camp workouts. "He moves the puck really well. He fills a void [quarterbacking a power play with former captain Mark Giordano now with Toronto]."
  + Francis was game to talk about roster improvements over the summer, saying he thinks Burakovsky, Bjorkstrand and the return of Jaden Schwartz from injury should help "score more early goals" to gain and protect leads.
  Francis was happy to deem Vince Dunn healthy after late-season injury issues to join Jamie Oleksiak, Adam Larsson, Carson Soucy and Will Borgen as defensemen familiar with Hakstol's systems of preventing offensive rushes and getting pucks out of the D-zone to start Kraken scoring attempts.
  The Kraken GM said the franchise is in good position with "those two young kids at center," referring to Beniers and Wright. When talking about salary cap space, he noted he has to plan for both first-round draft choices to play well enough to earn second contracts with the team. In fact, he said he fully expects to discuss a long-term extension with Beniers next summer.
  On a lighter note, a young fan asked a burning question for many fans: Will there be a mascot. Francis didn't provide a definitive answer but did advise fans to "pay attention to the next few weeks."