Wright Now: Working and Progressing

The Kraken game scoresheets do not make the proof case – yet – but 20-year-old Shane Wright’s teammates and head coach give him high marks for his game performances so far in the rookie’s first full NHL season.

“He’s doing the little details right,” said Kraken captain Jordan Eberle about his linemate for most of the season before coach Dan Bylsma switched up trios for Thursday’s showdown with Winnipeg. “I see him moving his feet down low [battling for pucks behind the goal line in the offensive zone]. I can tell he's getting a little more confidence.

“He’s underrated defensively. He does a really good job in the D-zone and coming out of the zone. I see him growing as a player every game. He's got all the tools. The biggest thing is just getting reps and more confidence and more experience.”

Taking a Closer Look

Wright scored a goal and added an assist in the 6-4 win over Philadelphia to open the just-completed homestand. Those were his first points of the season. But his strong play in the offensive zone, such as providing screens and holding his net-front presence, has factored into several goals without him earning an official assist.

Even more notably, his forechecking has kept pucks in the offensive zone to afford a teammate’s scoring chance. When Jared McCann scored his 100^th goal for the Kraken on a deft spin move just outside the crease, it started with the work of Wright to prevent a Colorado zone exit near the blue line. The puck doesn’t end up on McCann’s stick otherwise.

“You can go back to the Nashville game, the goal I scored [in the team’s first road win of the season],” said Eberle. He did a good job being F3 [the third forward to enter the zone and is responsible for remaining high in the zone to receive a potential pass and/or keeping the puck down low in the zone]. He's not getting rewarded on the score sheet. But as a linemate, you see that stuff. That's a big part of why goals happen.”

For his part, head coach Dan Bylsma has praised the rookie’s work in all zones and credits him with “generating scoring chances right from our first game this season.” Bylsma has characterized his squad’s five-man units becoming “connected” on the ice as a work-in-progress. We can think of the same work-in-progress concept for a rookie who notched 22 goals (three game-winners) and 25 assists for 47 points in 59 American Hockey League games as a 19-year-old. Then, in the postseason, interrupted by an injury, he added 13 points (4G, 9A) in a dozen playoff games.

Bylsma, of course, watched Wright’s progress increase with each month of the AHL Coachella Valley season, culminating in arguably being CVF’s best all-zones performer in the Calder Cup Final (you could make an argument for Ryan Winterton, too).

Working Off-Ice to Get Better On It

Wright is proactive about evaluating his play, watching and evaluating every one of his shifts. He is a loyal and eager viewer of the faceoff-opponent clips that video coaches Tim Ohashi and Brady Morgan put together for Kraken centers (improving at the faceoff dot is a challenge and a work in progress for young NHL centers). Wright is intentionally thorough with his self-evaluations.

“I look at my overall body of work in each game,” said Wright. “Playing with the puck, making plays, when I hold onto the puck, faceoffs. Defensively, was I in the right spots to take care of my own end? I’m really, really focusing on that area of my game. I’m looking at those little things in the game and how I did ­– what I can be better at. I like watching my shifts, whether a good or bad game.”

When asked if Wright is developing the pro habits that fuel a long NHL career, Eberle politely waved off the question: “He's been dialed from Day 1 with us. He’s been kind of touted as ‘the guy’ since he was 15. He works his butt off in the gym. He takes care of himself off the ice. He's a pro beyond his years.”

No surprise that Wright sticks close to Eberle and McCann even if they are playing on the same line. And there is a pay-it-forward element you have to love as a Kraken fan: McCann has openly talked about learning from Eberle over the last three-plus seasons and still references the Kraken captain as a teammate he learns from.

“I'm just trying to learn from them [Eberle and McCann],” said Wright, “talk with them as much as I can, just to bounce ideas off them.”

When Rest Can Be a ‘Weapon’

As a sought-after player for Team Canada juniors championships and last year’s Western Conference title run with Coachella Valley, Wright is accustomed to a long season and several games weekly. With no postseason for the Kraken last spring, Wright put in more time over the summer with Kraken sports performance consultant Gary Roberts, plus the group of NHLers who train with Roberts each summer. Wright is visibly broader across his chest, shoulders and arms.

One example of why Eberle assesses Wright as a pro beyond his years is the rookie’s steadfast monitoring of his rest and recovery, even if he is routinely one of the last Kraken players to leave the ice after practice.

“Rest is something I've found has helped me out,” said Wright, who talks easily and thoughtfully. “I think it’s really important to focus on recovering and taking that time off, not feeling like I always have to be on the ice or always should be working out. Rest can be a weapon if you are able to recover properly.”

Staying With It: Extra Drills After Practice

Wright’s attention to recovery doesn’t stop him from pursuing additional drills after practice with teammates like Tye Kartye, Matty Beniers, Yanni Gourde, Ryker Evans, Cale Fleury (the current reserve defenseman) and, some days, a few others.

“There’s always work to do, always things you can better at,” said Wright, his love of hockey shining through. “And I like being on the ice, messing around a little bit too. But there are certain skating drills or shooting drills or making wall plays, picking up pucks off the wall. They’re all these little things that come up in games. Working through them and getting continuous reps helps me out.”

This past week, Wright and Kartye took turns on each side of the goal crease, receiving passes and firing one-timers on net with skills consultant Matt Larke feeding the puck from behind the net. The drill lasted 15 minutes and dozens of shots each.

“I am finding myself in that situation a lot in games,” said Wright. “That’s what I think about when I work on those drills [after practice]. Where do I find myself in games consistently? I want to work on those specific areas.”