Kraken Scoring
OK, so Berkly Catton, Ryan Winterton and Shane Wright will be a year older, and with that will come some expectations, whether that latter name is still part of the team or not, but other than a couple of young kids maturing a bit more, the Kraken haven’t done a whole lot to add much offense.
Cue Bobby McMann and Mackie Samoskevich.
They’re the sum total of new names up front, and considering the fact that veteran Jaden Schwartz has moved on to the Colorado Avalanche, there’s gonna be even more pressure to score.
Even if the pressure doesn’t come from the market, it will come internally, non-verbally from peers and of course self-induced. Expectations can be a pain in the arse.
Imagine if McMann doesn’t keep up some semblance of his furious pace of scoring that we saw after he joined the Kraken last spring, as in ten goals and four assists in 18 games after March 6th. Actually, he cooled off already, finishing last season with two goals and no assists over his final eight games. At that point, the Kraken’s season was lost.
You may or may not have read our scouting reports; McMann can get hot and can also disappear for stretches. Hmm, did that happen here already?
Samoskevich will try to meld and work some Michigan magic with his former Wolverines teammate, center Matty Beniers. That’s assuming Kraken head coach Lane Lambert puts them together. One would think if they don’t start the season on a line, it’ll happen at some point.
The 23-year-old winger had 15 and 12 goals respectively the last two seasons for the Florida Panthers. Not exactly earth-shattering, but here’s a kid who played lower in a top heavy line-up and got his name on the Stanley Cup in 2025. Last season he saw more opportunity with the Cats suffering a rash of injuries and missing the playoffs.
In the case of his productivity in Seattle, it’s definitely a wait and see.
What both Mackie and McMann bring to the table: Speed!
Yet as big a factor as it is in today’s NHL, it only takes a club so far. For a team that finished 28th in scoring, bursts inside the blueline need to result in tangling the twine. “Finish” for this club hasn’t been a strong suit.
Of all the key factors for the Kraken entering the 2026-’27 season, this is clearly one of the top five to watch. It’s the Mackie and Bobby show.
Earlier Kraken:
— Kraken Hopped Aboard The Never Ending Coaching Carousel
Earlier Canucks:
— Simmer’s 9; Cherry For HHOF, Obituaries, Kraken-Canucks Clash
