Praise for Chase Reid keeps piling up, and the Seattle Kraken’s 2026 first-round pick is starting to sound like the kind of defenseman people will spend years wondering how they let slip by.
Bleacher Report’s Hannah Stuart didn’t exactly leave much room for debate, calling Reid an “Elite defender,” whose “dynamic skating and elite hockey sense create a separating factor that puts him light-years ahead of most opponents when it comes to processing the game.” If the 6-foot-2, 190-pound blueliner ends up matching that billing, he could eventually be viewed as the best player the Kraken have ever drafted.
The buzz isn’t just coming from one corner, either. Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff expects Reid to be a major presence for Team USA at this winter’s IIHF World Junior Championship after he survived roster cuts following July’s four-nation Summer Showcase in Windsor, Ont. Two other Kraken prospects, defenseman Blake Fiddler and forward Casey Mutryn, were not as fortunate.
Ellis was especially high on Reid’s game with the puck. “I love the way (Reid) runs the power play, because he commands so much attention that no opponent seems to know how to handle. He’s very deceptive with the puck, and he can get into scoring lanes quickly.
“He’s also an outstanding skater - maybe the best of any top defender in the class. Reid has a remarkable shot, and he seems to think the game at such an advanced level. He rarely makes a bad pass, and he’s so elusive when he’s skating around with the puck at speed.”
Reid is headed to Michigan State in the fall, and those who know him best keep circling back to the same thing: work ethic. His mom, Magyn Reid, told the Sault Star, “Chase is the busiest human being you will ever meet on the planet,” and added, “He was always the hardest worker.”
Family is never far from his mind, either. Reid has his late grandfather’s name written on his sticks. His grandfather had been both a police chief and firefighter, and Reid said in a CHL social media video, “He’s the guy I want to play for and I want to make him proud out there.”
Magyn Reid described her son this way: “He’s a people pleaser. He doesn’t want to let people down. Ever.”
And if that wasn’t enough to underline how highly he’s regarded, the draft-night regret theme is already creeping in. The Chicago Sun-Times said the Blackhawks might one day regret trading the No. 4 pick to Buffalo for defenseman Bowen Byram, writing that “The Hawks might look foolish in retrospect.
Reid’s upside is likely higher than Byram’s. Reid’s ceiling could be something like Zach Werenski, whom he named as his player model at the combine.”
Ellis closed with the sort of line that tends to linger: “He’s just so good, some teams are going to wish they didn’t pass him up at the draft.”
In Other News...
Kraken Fans Just Got A Reminder About One Unsettled Roster Question
The NHLs Pacific Northwest and Western Canadian hockey circles have lost a few familiar voices recently, with longtime Calgary Flames play-by-play man Peter Maher passing away at 79, along with veteran Canadian broadcaster Lloyd Robertson and sportscaster John McKeachie. Their departures are a reminder of how much the sports soundtrack matters, especially as a new season approaches and familiar regional rivalries prepare to resume.
For Seattle, the early schedule offers a quick look at where things stand, with the Kraken and Canucks set to cross paths in the preseason before the regular season opens later in the month. It also leaves one roster question hanging over the buildup: former Kraken winger Eeli Tolvanen is still sitting in free agency, and his status remains one of the more interesting loose ends as camp and exhibition play draw closer. [Read more 🡒]