Lane Lambert came away from the Kraken’s first official day of training camp on Sept. 17 with a grin, pleased by the pace and energy he saw. Jared McCann may have had an even better reason to feel good when he left the ice.
For the first time in a long time, McCann wasn’t dealing with the chronic lower-body pain that bothered him through much of last season and eventually cost him 30 games. The Kraken shut him down near the end of the year once Seattle had been eliminated from playoff contention, and McCann has said publicly that the pain and the aftermath after games affected many of the 52 contests he did play in the 2025-26 season.
Even with that burden, the 30-year-old winger still scored 20 goals, extending his streak of hitting that mark in all five Kraken seasons. He had 27 goals in Seattle’s first year and then exploded for 40 in the second, when the franchise came one Game 7 short of the Western Conference final. In total, McCann has scored 138 of his 206 NHL goals with the Kraken, a sharp jump from his previous career high of 16 goals in each of his final two seasons with Pittsburgh.
This summer brought a clean-up procedure and a focused training plan, and McCann says he’s now at 100 percent with no pain and fully able to condition. One major sign of that progress: he’s back doing plyometric work, something he considers essential for leg strength and something that was effectively off-limits for much of last season.
“[McCann] looked fast out there today,” said Lambert after Day 1 of camp. “He’s a guy that we count on.
I see his production when he’s healthy. He’s a guy we need from that standpoint.”
The Kraken are projecting McCann onto what could function as their top line, with Matty Beniers centering him and newcomer Mackie Samoskevich on the other wing. McCann and Beniers have spent plenty of time together, and Samoskevich - a familiar face from the University of Michigan - was expected to bring playmaking to complement McCann’s shot.
That trio showed some real chemistry in the team’s second-to-last preseason game, creating several scoring chances before Samoskevich landed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury and a day-to-day recovery timeline. He’ll miss at least the season opener, though the expectation is that he’ll be back soon after.
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Kraken Opening Night Just Created Two Early Forward Opportunities
The Krakens opening-night roster picture already has a couple of wrinkles up front, with Mackie Samoskevich and Jake OBrien landing on injured reserve to begin the season. Seattle will open carrying 13 forwards and eight defensemen, which leaves the club with a little less depth at forward than it would prefer, but also opens the door for other players to get an early look while the lineup settles in.
Samoskevichs situation appears to be the more immediate one to watch, since he is day-to-day and the team has a back-to-back coming up. OBriens timeline is longer, and Seattle will have to manage around that absence while the roster gets through the first stretch of the schedule, making these early days a useful test of how the Kraken handle both short-term uncertainty and the next man up mindset. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Fans Just Got A Much Easier Way To Watch This Season
The Kraken are making it easier for fans across the Pacific Northwest to follow the team this season, with a regional broadcast setup that reaches homes on local television and streaming alike. Games will air on Seattle stations such as KONG and KING 5, along with other regional outlets, and will also be available through Prime Video, giving viewers a broader menu than the old grab-and-go scramble to find a channel.
The coverage plan also keeps familiar voices in place, with John Forslund handling play-by-play and JT Brown working alongside him as analyst. Add in the iHeart Kraken Audio Network and a weekly show on KING 5, and the organization is clearly trying to make sure the action is easy to find whether fans want the full TV experience, a radio call on the move, or a regular local wrap-up. [Read more 🡒]