The Seattle Kraken are one of just two NHL teams with as many as three top 25 prospects in a new ranking.
Scott Wheeler of The Athletic listed his top 100 prospects from the last five NHL Drafts combined (paywall), using these criteria: “To be considered a prospect, a skater must be under 23 and not fully established with his NHL club. The latter qualifier is arbitrary.” That’s why the list won’t include recent top overall picks like Connor Bedard and Matthew Schaefer.
All three of the Kraken listed fall within the top quarter of the rankings.
Four others earned honorable mention: forwards Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, Jagger Firkus, and Jani Nyman, and defenseman Ty Nelson.
(Editor’s Note: Quotes in this story are from Mr. Wheeler’s report. To subscribe to his material and/or see the rest of the list, here is the link once again.)
#5 Chase Reid – Defense – Kraken 2026 1st Round
Wheeler agrees with a legion of draft experts who expected Reid to be the first blueliner off the board at this June’s Draft. That’s why this ranking has Reid at number 5 overall, number 3 from the 2026 draft, behind only Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg, and number 1 among defensemen in the ’26 draft class. Instead, he fell to Seattle at 7th overall.
“He’s a righty with poise beyond his years. He escapes pressure well and can attack at openings or create them for himself. He has a great shot and is deadly in transition, with an impressive offensive sense and good vision. His defensive play has taken strides, though there are still times when he needs to button up and play a little firmer on both sides of the puck.
“A subtle but underrated quality in D that he has in spades, too: His passes on the power play to his flanks are always in his shooters’ sweet spots, and he always connects on target with one-touch shots.”
#20 Berkly Catton – Center/Wing – Kraken 2024 1st Round
Remember Wheeler’s criteria that playing in the NHL wasn’t a disqualification from being considered a prospect. Catton, chosen 8th overall in 2024, skated all season with Seattle despite not turning 20 until January. Like our own Simmer, Wheeler thinks Catton projects long-term as a center.
“Catton is dangerous whenever he’s on the puck and shines with his knifing, slippery game. Inside the offensive zone, the way he baits and shades, drawing players to him and then playmaking past them with a pass or a cut, is pretty impressive to watch. He’s a heady playmaker who uses spacing to his advantage and sees the ice at an advanced level, regularly executing quick plays through coverage or delaying into a pre-planned play.
“He has multi-dimensional skill, with an ability to play both with speed on the rush as a smooth, fast and nimble high-end skater and more slowly inside the offensive zone when the pace ramps down, and he has to spin away from pressure, which he does so well. He supports play well off the puck defensively, which was a focus of his this year.”
#24 Jake O’Brien – Center – Kraken 2025 1st Round
Once a new agreement between the NHL and junior hockey is made official, O’Brien is expected to begin next season at AHL Coachella Valley. We wrote a detailed profile of the former captain of the OHL Brantford Bulldogs here.
“One of the smartest offensive young players in the game, O’Brien is a finesse player with tons of feel, skill, poise and craftsmanship on the puck and as a passer. He has a high-end ability to put pucks into spaces for both his linemates and himself. He’s a decently fast skater who uses fluid crossovers to build speed and weave up the ice in control.
“It’s also worth noting that he’s a June birthday and the son of two high-level hockey players, so the athleticism is there, and the muscle should come. The skill, sense, IQ, patience and ability to make plays at different paces are all very appealing. He has top-six forward written all over him.”
Kraken Must Beware Of Sharks
The only team better represented than Seattle at the top of Wheeler’s rankings is the San Jose Sharks. A combination of tanking, lottery luck and shrewd drafting landed five Sharks in the top 25. In addition to winger Stenberg (#2), center Michael Misa is listed at #4, followed by a trio of defensemen, Keaton Verhoeff (#15), Sam Dickinson (#16) and Ryan Lin (#25).
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