Development of Kraken Prospects And Trades Will Go Long Way Toward Defining Their 2025

The Seattle Kraken enter the calendar year 2025 in a difficult place: on the one hand, they're relatively far out of a wild card playoff berth in the Western Conference. But on the other hand, they're growing their prospect base and succeeding, given their eight players who participated in this year's IIHF World Junior Championship.

So, what's the right attitude to take toward the Kraken? We'd humbly suggest caution-but-optimism. There's some talented youngsters on their way to being NHL difference-makers, but you never know for sure until you know for sure, right? So let's break down a few names to focus on:

For starters, there's, of course, Matty Beniers. The 22-year-old up-and-comer is in his third full NHL season, and while he's having a down year on offense, with just five goals and 19 points in 37 games, we know that progress isn't always linear, and Beniers is still crucial to Seattle's fortunes going forward.

Meanwhile, the Kraken's future includes current NHLer Shane Wright, and prospects Berkly Catton, Carson Rehkopf, Ryker Evans, and Jagger Firkus. Wright currently has seven goals and 16 points in 34 games in his first full NHL season, and the 20-year-old is coming along slowly-but-surely. And Catton and Rehkopf are presently on Canada's World Junior Championship teams, while Evans is averaging slightly more than 20 minutes per game for the Kraken this year, and Firkus is honing his craft with Coachella Valley of the American League.

Also worth factoring into your perspective on the Kraken should be the trades GM Ron Francis has recently made and very probably will make by or before the NHL's March 7 trade deadline this year. Let's start with the recent trade for former New York Rangers right winger Kaapo Kakko, who figures to be a long-term part of the picture for Seattle. Kakko still has room to grow his game, but at age 23, his best days are ahead.

In addition, you have to expect Francis will be trading players who will be UFAs at season's end -- specifically, center Yanni Gourde, and wingers Brandon Tanev and Daniel Sprong. Francis can't ask for the world for any of those three players, but it's very likely he can get decent draft picks and average-to-slightly-above-average prospects in return for them. Francis has to keep his eyes on the long-term, and the more youngsters he brings into the Kraken's system, the better chance he has to develop some of them into NHL-caliber gems.

As is evident, the Kraken have their share of young talent worth building around, even if it's still too soon to identify exactly who can make the jump to hockey's top league. But as 2025 begins to unfold, Seattle fans have much to be excited about.