Here's where the Kraken roster stands in the days before the regular-season opener: Even those who didn’t know what they were looking at Wednesday night in Climate Pledge Arena had to know they were looking at something. That would be 20-year-old Kraken prospect Shane Wright’s twirl goal, a showman’s goal, scored between the goalie’s legs while several of the sport’s top stars looked on from the Edmonton Oilers’ lineup. It isn’t a huge surprise Wright is poised for an NHL return.
General manager Ron Francis strongly implied it was coming in exit interviews, and Wright played well enough in the minors last season to warrant it. But Wednesday night’s performance was an exclamation point — he's back! His NHL career got off to a false start in 2022-23 when the recently drafted teenager hung around through the fall and winter and barely played for the Kraken, who were off to a hot start. He was forced to take a step back, but made the most of it, particularly as the youngest player in Coachella Valley last season.
“This camp, he came in without eyes wide open, not looking around, not taking it all in,” Dan Bylsma, his coach then and now, said Wednesday morning. “He showed what kind of player he is and what kind of player he can be.” It was, indeed, a good camp.
Free agent signing Brandon Montour was in a different group than Wright and his observation time has been limited. They both played against the Oilers. “Obviously, he's growing still.
He skates l.
