The 32-in-32 Series is an annual event here at DobberProspects and has been condensed from two articles to one. The article will bring you: The highlighted team’s draft; insights into its off-season moves; looking at prospect risers, fallers, and likely prospects to play NHL games; and of course, the writers’ top-20 prospects. Articles may be brought back when an important team update occurs, so check back because we plan to fill your hockey withdrawal needs all off-season! 

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Make sure to check out the Seattle Kraken team page here: https://dobberprospects.com/team/seattle-kraken/

To view past 32s go here: https://dobberprospects.com/category/feature/32-in-32-series/

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I started writing for Dobber Prospects in 2021 as a profile writer, began writing a column- The Century Mark- and now I am proud to have joined the editing team. I started writing because I loved fantasy hockey so much that it just poured out of me, and I needed an outlet.

My father-in-law, Peter, was a lifelong hockey fan. He played, refereed and watched the game for longer than I’ve been alive. He never fully got what fantasy hockey was all about, but he always had time to listen to me gush about the ‘xGF’ of my new favourite prospect that he hadn’t heard of. We’d spend hours talking over games on the tv in front of us- usually with him telling me everything that my beloved Maple Leafs were doing wrong.

When I wrote articles or contributed to the Dobber Fantasy Guides and 32-32 series, I often felt like I was writing to Pete, and in the early days he was probably a good chunk of my readership. He would give me feedback on every column, and when I’d run into his twin brother, or one of his old hockey pals from way back, they’d tell me that Pete forwarded them my latest piece.

Pete lost his battle with Leukemia at 76 years old three weeks to the day this 32-32 article will post. This will be the first thing I have written for Dobber Prospects that I won’t get his insight on. I wanted to take the first few paragraphs of this article to say thanks to Pete for encouraging me, for making me feel like I was good at this, and to thank everyone else who has read what I have written over the years.

My wife, my boys, and I will miss him very much, and I’d like to dedicate this article to him.
Ti Amo Papa Pete.

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The Kraken did not take meaningful steps forward in terms of performance in 2024-25, but as a recent expansion team with a deep prospect pool, and the NHL roster increasingly filling with their draft picks, such tire-spinning can be expected at this stage. The team has found 22 year old Matty Beniers is a legitimate top-six centre already, Shane Wright has silenced the nay-sayers and shown he belongs in an NHL line up, and broke 40 points this season. The team took other teams’ castoffs in Kaapo Kakko and Eeli Tolvanen and gave them the opportunity they had needed to show they are fantasy assets. Jani Nyman gave poolies a taste of what he could be at the NHL level, Joey D’accord proved he is a legit NHL starter, Phillip Grubauer proved he is no longer, and Ryker Evans showed he can hang in a bottom pair role in the NHL. There are many individual and niche story lines to give fans hope, even if their 2024-25 performance – 35-41-6 with 247 goals for vs 265 against – was quite similar to the year prior- 34-35-13 with 217 goals for and 236 against. While the place in the standings didn’t change, the evolution of their organizational depth took meaningful steps forward. 

The Kraken and their fans will hope the addition of Ryan Lindgren can help calm down the goals against we saw increase year over year, and the inexpensive acquisition of gritty scoring winger Mason Marchment can help continue the uptick in offense. All in all, the Kraken remain a team on the slow, consistent rise, and they continue to make smart moves to help build them in a less exciting, but seemingly more sustainable manner than their expansion brethren in Vegas, even if their tenure has been much more exciting to start.

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NHL Draft Recap 

Round 1, 8 overall: Jake O’Brien, C 

Picking eighth overall, O’Brien was always a possibility for the Kraken. Despite Matty Beniers blossoming into a solid, all-around pivot, Chandler Stephenson locked up long term, Jared McCann in the mix and Shane Wright planting roots at the NHL level, and don’t forget Berkly Catton, Jake O’Brien is a savvy pick up for the Kraken. O’Brien is a fantastic playmaker, and helped frequent linemate Nick Lardis score the most goals in the OHL (71 in 65 games) since John Tavares (72 in 67 games) in 2006-2007. O’Brien stands to be the most offensively gifted playmaker down the middle for Seattle, and when he is ready to start breaking into the NHL, room will open up. McCann has two years left on his contract, he and Stephenson can both play wing, and Matty Beniers seems to be best suited as a two-way centreman, allowing O’Brien to battle Catton for the job. He will head back to Brantford and see if he can help Marek Vanacker earn his way to Rockford as his triggerman next season. 

Round 2, 36 overall: Blake Fiddler, D 

Fiddler already looks like he belongs on an NHL blueline. Standing 6-5 and weighing 220 lbs, he would already be in the upper echelon of size among defenders in the NHL, squeezing right between Kraken incumbents Adam Larsson and Jamie Oleksiak. The style of game Fiddler will play at the NHL level will fit right along their lines as well. While he isn’t without his offensive tools, where his bread is buttered is along the defensive skills of a modern NHL defenseman. Not just a shot blocker and body checker, Fiddler’s ability to read the play, anticipate routes and fill them with his body and carry the puck out of trouble before feeding a rushing teammate will earn him looks at the NHL level. He will need to hone these skills and prepare them to be used against the best players in the world, but Fiddler possesses a strong projection to an NHL role, it will just take some time to develop. Fantasy poolies will need to assess if his archetype is suited for their league settings. 

Round 3, 68 overall:Will Reynolds, D

Reynolds is an old-school defensive defenseman, standing 6-3 and 187 pounds. He was a rookie in the QMJHL in his draft year, and in a league where gaudy point totals are the norm, he offered four goals and 10 assists to go along with 69 penalty minutes in 64 games. An August birthday, he was slightly more than a month away from having to wait for next year’s draft, which makes his current size much more impressive, and gives us an indication of the likely timeline it will take for him to develop. He will return to the QMJHL next season and aim to grow his game, though we shouldn’t expect much from an offensive perspective. Reynolds will have value to the Kraken by becoming an effective play killer, and will help our fantasy squads if he can collect a good number of hits, blocks and penalty minutes while doing so. He will be a long wait, so watch list, not stash. 

Round 5 134 overall: Maxim Agafanov, D 

Agafanov just turned 18 and already stands 6-2, weighing 198 pounds. He is NHL-sized already, and stood out as a solid puckmover in Russia’s junior MHL league. He logged heavy minutes for his squad and was second on the team in goals from the back end. To show he has NHL potential, he will need to develop all aspects of his game, and remains a long work in progress as he returns to the MHL this fall. He isn’t worth stashing this far out, but is worth keeping an eye on to see if his game takes a step forward in the near future. He is likely to see time at all three Russian levels as most prospects like him will bounce around. Keep an eye on if he sees more time in the KHL than the VHL, as the latter usually does not bode well for their development. 

Round 7, 205 overall: Karl Annborn, D 

Seattle’s first of a pair of seventh-round choices, Annborn projects as a Swiss Army Knife, or should I say Swedish Army Knife, of a defender. He has no one skill that sticks out ahead of the others, rather is meaningfully proficient in all of them. He has taken on first pair responsibility in the Junior levels of Swedish Hockey, and saw five games at the Professional level. Annborn would be one of the youngest defenders in the SHL if he sees regular usage there in the upcoming season, so keep an eye on his performance there. The point totals will not be gaudy- they rarely are for such young defenders, let alone in the SHL- but if he looks like he belongs there, he’s worth a stash in deeper leagues where a low risk pick making the show benefits you. He likely won’t run an NHL powerplay, but he has projectable skills to be a bottom four blueliner. 

Round 7, 218 overall: Loke Krantz, RW

Krantz is a fun pick, as most late round swings often are. At this stage of the draft teams are reaching for boom/bust types who may have holes in their game but can excel at one aspect. At 6-2, 196 pounds, the 18 year old winger has the makings of a power forward, and since 2023-2024, he’s scored 61 goals in 96 games spread between the Swedish J-18 and J-20 Regional and National leagues. He also racked up his fair share of penalty minutes. Have the Kraken drafted a Swedish Patrik Laine in the 7th round? Probably not, and we’re nowhere knowing if Krantz is a legit NHL depth piece, but toss that into your league chats to spice things up if things have gotten sleepy in the offseason. 

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Off-Season Moves 

Incoming 

Mason Marchment, Trade with Dallas – Marchment was a savvy pick up for Seattle, taking advantage of Dallas’ willingness to move the scrappy winger to free up some cap space. Marchment has consistently paced for more than 30 points per season over recent years, chipping in with over two shots and a hit per game. Marchment figures to be a middle-six multi-cat winger with a spot on the powerplay. 

Ryan Lindgren, UFA 4 year $4.5 Million – A solid, stay at home defenseman, Lindgren figures to help add stability to the Kraken blueline. Seattle has always been a decent team at protecting their goalies, and D’accord has taken the net and provided solid goaltending, but they will need to continue to focus and invest in their blueline if they wish to truly step forward as a contender. At sub- $5 million a season for his age 28-32 years, the signing is a very solid, quiet improvement. 

Frederick Gaudreau, Trade with Minnesota – A serviceable veteran who takes a lot of draws but otherwise doesn’t provide a tonne of fantasy relevance. 

Matt Murray, UFA 1 year, $1 Million – His AHL resurgence makes him a potential challenger for the backup role.

Outgoing 

Mikey Eyssimont, Traded To Boston – Part of the trade that saw Seattle move veterans Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde to Tampa at last year’s deadline, he was depth to fill the loss of the two wingers. 

Andre Burakovsky, Traded to Chicago – Burakovsky was a decent enough winger for Seattle, and helped ensure they had capable veteran players as the team’s core grew. With the acquisition of Mason Marchment a clear upgrade, and impending graduation of Jani Nyman, and several prospects marinating in Coachella Valley, he was a moveable piece. 

Re-Signed 

Ben Meyers, 1 year, $775,000 – AHL veteran depth. No fantasy value. 

Cale Fleury, 2 years, $890,000 – NHL depth/7th defenseman. Minimal fantasy value, if any. 

Tye Kartye, 2 years, $1.25 Million – NHL grinder. Solid category specialist for hits, less than one shot per game last year. 

Kaapo Kakko, 3 years, $4.525 Million – A potential fantasy steal based on his recent perceived value. Will turn only 25 this season, and is approaching his 400-game breakout threshold. Saw consistent first line usage with Matt Beniers since arriving in Seattle. He is worth acquiring for the chance at upside if things continue to click. Think 60 points upside rather than 80, and nearly a hit per game. 

Ryker Evans, 2 years, $2.05 Million – Rounding into his role as a professional defenseman. The acquisition of Lindgren likely forces him into a bottom-pair role, but he’d be third in line behind Dunn and Montour for powerplay time. He is a young defender with just 109 games played, so he’s a great dynasty investment with his ability to hit, shoot and block, but won’t be a great redraft play without injuries opening the path to better deployment. 

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In the System 

Risers 

Jani Nyman

Small sample size alert- but Nyman’s 82 game line based on his 12 NHL games would have been 21 goals, 21 assists, 150 shots, 89 hits and 27 penalty minutes. That was with him seeing 14 minutes a night. Though one shouldn’t expect him to be a lock to keep that pace up over 82 games in his sophomore campaign, it gives us some insight into the type of player the big Finnish winger can round into as he develops. His AHL numbers (In 60 games played, he had 29 goals, 18 assists, 31 PIM and 145 shots) paint a similar picture, and he is a lesser known commodity in fantasy circles who could be acquired cheaper today than in the future. 

Niklas Kokko

Kokko’s first season in North America was a success. He played 33 games and sported a 20-10-2 record with a 2.26 GAA and 0.913 save percentage. With Matt Murray brought in cheaply to provide some veteran goalie depth, and Joey D’accord showing he has the panache to be an NHL starter, the question will be who sits as the NHL backup, and the AHL starter. Phillip Grubauer still is the incumbent at the NHL level, and the back up job is his to lose- with his numbers showing that he’s capable of doing just that. One would expect Matt Murray would be the one to take the backup job if a move is made, allowing Kokko to be the guy at the AHL level again, and gain experience and confidence to platoon with D’accord in the next few seasons. He is a goalie to target for your farm roster in dynasty leagues. 

Lukas Dragicevic

Dragicevic sat just behind fellow Kraken blueline prospect Tyson Jugnauth for the best NHL-affiliated performance in the WHL last season. Undrafted Mazden Leslie had one more point than Dragicevic’s 71. He has consistently been a performer at the Junior level, and figures to make the move to the professional ranks and start learning to quarterback a powerplay at higher levels. The Kraken have a number of strong defensive prospects in their pipeline, and Dragicevic is the one with the best pedigree and body of work to be a future PP1 QB. There’s still lots of development time ahead of him and he will have to prove he can do it against tougher competition, but he’s a name that goes less discussed in fantasy circles, and it’s worth an investment in dynasty leagues if the acquisition cost is reasonable. 

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Fallers

David Goyette

Many would agree that Goyette’s AHL debut takes some of the shine off of his recent OHL production. A step back is expected when players change teams, let alone graduate up a level, but his drop off in production was palpable. The good news is it was very well accentuated by deployment. While he certainly still retains value as a prospect, and can still earn his way to the NHL, many of us who roster him were hoping for a better introduction to AHL hockey. With more opportunity and deployment, he can put the lessons learned in 2024-2025 into practice and repair his perceived value. He’s worth a speculative investment on that exact thing occurring. 

Tucker Robertson

As Robertson acclimates to AHL hockey and starts to carve out his niche, that niche is becoming clearer, and likely not valuable to us as fantasy hockey managers. Tenacious bottom-six forwards are worth their weight in gold come playoff time, and he may even throw that weight around at the NHL level one day, but as his picture becomes clearer, he is being passed on the ‘fantasy relevance’ depth chart by newer, higher ceiling players with each passing draft. 

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Likely to see NHL action 

Ryker Evans

Evans is essentially a bonafide NHLer now, and his two-year, $2.05 Million per year deal shows Seattle’s commitment to him. He will fill a bottom pair role most likely, as he continues to grow his game. 

Jani Nyman

The big-bodied Finn performed admirably in the AHL, and earned an NHL call up in 2024-2025. In his short stint with the Kraken, he showed promise and an ability to play NHL level hockey. He should likely see his role grow with the Kraken in the upcoming season. 

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Top 20 Prospects 

This section is intended to paint a picture of the Seattle Kraken prospects whose current trajectory projects them making the most positive fantasy impact at the time that they reach the NHL. Arrival date and NHL certainty have been taken into consideration; however, potential upside is the most important factor in determining this list. 

1. Berkly Catton 

2. Jake O’Brien 

3. Jani Nyman 

4. Jagger Firkus 

5. Lukas Dragicevic 

6. Ty Nelson 

7. Carson Rehkopf 

8. David Goyette 

9. Blake Fiddler 

10.Niklas Kokko 

11.Eduard Sale 

12.Caden Price 

13.Nathan Villeneuve 

14.Clarke Caswell 

15.Semyon Vyazovoy 

16.Julius Miettinen 

17.Ryan Winterton 

18.Tyson Jugnauth 

19.Oskar Fisker-Molgaard 

20.Jakub Fibigr 

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Final thoughts 

The Kraken have a fantastic pipeline filled with snipers, playmakers, gritty role players, powerplay quarterbacks and stay at home defensemen. They’ve chosen to take the slower, build from within approach compared to their expansion sibling the Vegas Golden Knights. While the farmhands are beginning to earn their way onto the main roster, there are a number of very serviceable veterans who are there to mentor the youngsters and provide value on the ice during their tenure. While the Kraken aren’t top-tier contenders at present, the future is bright for them at every position- especially with their elite centre pipeline- and fantasy managers will want to ensure they have shares in the Kraken as the NHL roster takes shape. 

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Make sure to check out the Seattle Kraken team page here: https://dobberprospects.com/team/seattle-kraken/

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Thank you for reading! Follow me on Twitter/X @KrakenWyatt for more Seattle Kraken prospect content.