Kraken roster battle: Considering which rookies will make an impact in 2025-26

[Seattle Kraken]

Kraken roster battle: Considering which rookies will make an impact in 2025-26

Looking at what the Seattle Kraken have done this offseason under new general manager Jason Botterill, it’s plain to see that he expects to factor a couple of young players rising through the ranks into his lineup in 2025-26. After trading for Mason Marchment and Frederick Gaudreau and signing Ryan Lindgren to a four-year, $18 million contract, two spots in the forward corps remain open to theoretically be filled by rookies.

There are three young players that we believe—for different reasons—have the strongest chances to make the Opening Night lineup.

Why do we think these players can make the team? What roles will they play for Seattle? How much production can we expect out of them? Let’s dig in.

Why Berkly Catton could make the team​

Saying we think Berkly Catton will make the initial NHL roster is not the boldest prediction we have ever made here on Sound Of Hockey dot com (that’s Sound Of Hockey… dot com). Botterill has said publicly that he doesn’t want to block young players in the pipeline from making the team, and the high-flying captain of the Spokane Chiefs is widely viewed as the best prospect in Seattle’s system.

Surely, the team would prefer to start Catton in Coachella Valley of the AHL, where he could theoretically get used to playing professional hockey against men. But because he is only 19 years old, and because the old CHL/NHL transfer agreement that forbids 19-year-old CHL players from playing in the AHL is in place for one more season, the Firebirds are not an option for Catton. So he can only stick in the NHL or return to the WHL, where he just dominated for the second season in a row, posting 109 points (38 goals, 71 assists) in 57 games, plus an eye-popping 42 points (11-31=42) in 20 playoff games.

Berkly Catton stickhandles during Development Camp. (Photo/Brian Liesse)

The rule barring Catton from the AHL will change in 2026-27, when each team will be allowed to put one 19-year-old CHL player in the AHL. But until then, Catton is beholden to the same restriction that made Shane Wright’s 19-year-old season an absolute whirlwind—taking him to Seattle, briefly to Coachella Valley for a loophole conditioning stint, then to the IIHF World Junior Championship, and then back to the OHL, where he was traded from the Kingston Frontenacs to the Windsor Spitfires.

There is a strong chance Catton’s season will be similarly chaotic if he gets into the NHL and shows he’s not quite ready for a full-time role. Regardless, I am confident he will make the team out of camp, stick around at least until he hits the nine-game contract slide threshold, and then Seattle will decide what to do with him.

In a way, the age rule gives Catton an inside track at making the team out of camp, even if he’s not truly ready; the question is how long he stays.

Why Jani Nyman could make the team​

Jani Nyman, a more seasoned pro at 21 years old, also has a good chance of making the team, and one could imagine him playing more NHL games than Catton, even if he doesn’t break camp with the Kraken. His 12-game stint with the big club last season delivered some electric moments, and he ended up with six points (3-3=6) before returning to the Firebirds for their playoff push.

After two outstanding seasons for Ilves of the Finnish Liiga, Nyman came to North America and immediately produced for the Firebirds, scoring 44 points (28-16=44) and leading all AHL rookies in goals. There is reason to believe his heavy shot makes him a legitimate and immediate threat on an NHL power play.

My question for Nyman is where he could play at 5-on-5. The Kraken have Jaden Schwartz, Kaapo Kakko, Jared McCann, Mason Marchment, Jordan Eberle, and Eeli Tolvanen theoretically filling out their wing roles on the top three lines, not to mention Catton, who I think will also start on wing. Can Nyman pry one of those spots away from a veteran? Or are the Kraken comfortable playing him in a fourth-line role?

I don’t see the latter being a good fit for Nyman, who isn’t being developed by Seattle as a fourth-liner. Assuming good health for the team, I believe this stacks the deck against him. Catton faces a similar role-related conundrum, but the AHL option for Nyman could be enticing for the Kraken if he doesn’t blow them away in training camp.

Why Jacob Melanson could make the team​

While there may not be an ideal roster fit for Nyman, there is one for hard-nosed 22-year-old winger Jacob Melanson, who plays a prototypical fourth-line style. Including Catton and Tye Kartye, who signed a two-year contract worth $2.5 million earlier this summer, the Kraken have 12 forwards who I think are (more or less) locks to be on the roster in October.

But there’s room for another bottom-of-the-lineup-type player, and Melanson—who showed well in his one NHL game last season—fits that mold better than Nyman or Catton.

What production can we expect out of these players?​

How much Seattle can expect in terms of production from its rookies is a crapshoot. There are so many variables to consider, including which of them ends up with the NHL team and how long they stick around. Plus, there are other forward prospects who have knocked at the door, like Ryan Winterton and Logan Morrison. And what about others who haven’t yet made their NHL debuts, like Eduard Sale, Jagger Firkus, David Goyette, Carson Rehkopf, et al? Could any of them come in and blow the doors off at training camp?

There’s also still a chance Seattle acquires a player or two, which could block a rookie from making the team.

Even so, let’s make some wild predictions about how a Catton, Nyman, and/or Melanson rookie season could look.

Berkly Catton​

Here are some players with comparable profiles to Berkly Catton and how they performed as rookies:

• Matty Beniers (Kraken, 2022-23): 57 points (24-33=57) in 80 GP and won the Calder Trophy in his first full season. Beniers had the advantage, though, of playing 10 NHL games the year before his true “rookie” season and came from NCAA, where he played against older competition than Catton has.
• Cole Perfetti (Jets, 2022-23): That same season, Perfetti—the No. 10 pick in 2020 and similar in size to Catton—posted 30 points in 51 games. He too had an advantage over Catton, as he was allowed to play 32 AHL games for the Manitoba Moose as a 19-year-old due to temporary changes to the CHL/NHL transfer agreement during COVID.
• Clayton Keller (Coyotes, 2017-18): After 65 points (23-42=65) in 82 GP as a rookie, Keller blossomed into a consistent 30-plus goal scorer and touched 90 points this past season. The Kraken would be ecstatic if Catton turns out to be a Keller-esque player.

Those are some big-time players, and although their profiles are similar to Catton’s, I’m not convinced he will have that significant of an impact this season. I’m going to project that he takes a similar wild ride to Wright’s 19-year-old season and only plays nine games spread over two months for the Kraken, posting around three points. I hope I’m wrong about that, but it feels to me like he’s a year away from being a productive, full-time NHLer.

Jani Nyman​

If Nyman does get a significant role this season, I have to think it will be mostly in a depth position with power-play usage. So he probably won’t score a ton at 5-on-5, but he could pump in some one-timers with the manpower advantage.

Here’s how a couple of similarly profiled players performed as rookies:

• Josh Anderson (Blue Jackets, 2016-17): 29 points (17-12=29) in 78 games as a rookie in Columbus.
• Tanner Jeannot (Predators, 2021-22): 41 points (24-17=41) in 81 games. This feels like the highest possible outcome for Nyman, and I only see him playing this many games if there’s an injury out of camp that affords him a chance to play up the lineup right from the start of the season.

Those comparables could be realistic if Nyman can carve out a full-time role and get meaningful minutes, but I’m not convinced that will happen. I’m predicting 50 NHL games for him and something in the range of 20 points. He’ll spend the rest of the season improving his skating, lighting up the AHL, and biding his time to become a key Kraken contributor in 2026-27.

Jacob Melanson​

If Melanson sticks with the team, it will be because of his two-way, gritty play, not because of his offensive production. I’d project 10 points for him in… let’s say 20 games.

With Catton, Nyman, and Melanson factored in, here’s how our depth chart currently looks for the Kraken. I don’t necessarily think Catton is above Eeli Tolvanen, but if Seattle wants to carve out a top-nine role for Catton, Tolvanen feels like the most likely player to slide to the fourth line.

Forwards
Jaden Schwartz // Matty Beniers // Kaapo Kakko
Jared McCann // Chandler Stephenson // Mason Marchment
Berkly Catton // Shane Wright // Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen // Frederick Gaudreau // Tye Kartye
Jani Nyman // Jacob Melanson

Defense
Vince Dunn // Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren // Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans // Jamie Oleksiak
Josh Mahura
Ville Ottavainen
Cale Fleury

Goalies
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer

It goes without saying the Kraken will not make it through the full season without injuries, so even if two of the rookies mentioned in this article are not in the lineup on Opening Night, it is likely that a spot will open up as the season goes on. Even so, it does seem Seattle could benefit from adding a veteran player to its midst, either at the top of the lineup via trade (which is becoming less and less likely the deeper we get into the doldrums of summer) or at the bottom of the lineup with a waiver claim or free-agent signing.

What say you, folks? Will one or more rookie forwards play a key role for the Kraken this season? Or do they sign another depth player or two?

Darren Brown​

Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email [email protected].

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