The Seattle Kraken kicked off the beginning of pre-season with a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks, dressing several NHL players and top prospects.
Among those NHL players were Matty Beniers, Kaapo Kakko, Shane Wright, Jaden Schwartz, Vince Dunn, Ryker Evans, Adam Larsson and Jamie Oleksiak.
The top-rated prospects featured Berkly Catton, Jani Nyman, Jake O’Brien, Eduard Sale, Jagger Firkus, Oscar Fisker Molgaard, and Blake Fiddler.
The Kraken took a 1-0 lead after Sale capitalized on a 2-on-1 opportunity. The 20-year-old took his chance with confidence, beating the Canucks goaltender over his shoulder after looking off Catton. Prior to Sale’s marker, Wright and O’Brien had breakaway opportunities to open the scoring but were denied by Nikita Tolopio.
The Canucks answered back with a power play goal before the Kraken scored three unanswered in the middle frame, two of which came off the stick of Nyman. Nyman’s first tally came off a neat pass by Kakko. Nyman quietly found his way to the far post on an odd-man rush and tapped in the go-ahead goal.
The 21-year-old’s second goal was more indicative of what Nyman provides. Nyman loaded up for a one-timer and picked the far top corner for his second of the game.
“His second one was a good shot, his first one was going to the net hard and a great play by Kakko,” coach Lane Lambert said. “The thing that really excited me about that (first Nyman) goal was that it started in the defensive zone. We killed the play (by Vancouver) and then it wound up in the back of their net. From my perspective, that’s what I’m talking about when we’re talking about defense, and it translates into offense. So, Jani (Nyman) played well.”
In between Nyman’s goals was a Schwartz marker, assisted by Wright and Dunn. Fisker Molgaard also picked up an assist on John Hayden’s goal, jumping on a loose puck after an offensive zone faceoff.
“This summer was very long for me – I spent four months training hard,” Nyman said of meeting what he knows is a huge training camp opportunity. “I tried doing everything (needed) so that one day, I can play in the NHL.”
There may not be a player on the Kraken roster who shoots a puck like Nyman can. His release is quick and his shot is heavy, and in limited opportunities, he’s shown that it is more than capable of beating NHL goaltenders.
To make the team, Nyman will have to do more than score goals. A level of attentiveness to the defensive side of the game is vital.
Another young forward looking to make the Kraken’s opening night roster is Catton. The 19-year-old didn’t record with any points, but in 14:24 of ice time, Catton finished as a plus-2, with a Corsi for percentage of 62.50 and an expected goal percentage of 59.73, according to Natural Stat Trick.
He’ll be given another chance to create more offense, but it was a positive start for Catton.
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