The Kraken added two more voices to their leadership group on Wednesday morning, naming defensemen Vince Dunn and Brandon Montour alternate captains for the coming season.
They’ll join captain Jordan Eberle and returning alternates Matty Beniers and Adam Larsson, giving Seattle a five-man leadership group as players arrive for Thursday morning’s first official workout of 2026 Kraken Training Camp, pres. by Starbucks.
The move fills openings created by the departures of alternate captain Jaden Schwartz, who signed with the Colorado Avalanche this summer, and Yanni Gourde, whose alternate captaincy had not been replaced after he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in March 2025.
For Dunn, 29, the title fits a player who has been edging into that role for years. Now in his sixth season with the team as an original Expansion Draft pick from St.
Louis, he’s long been one of the Kraken’s most reliable two-way defenders and one of the more visible voices when the group has needed accountability. His breakout came in his second season, when he posted a career-high 14 goals and 64 points while Seattle made the playoffs and got within a game of the Western Conference Final.
Dunn and Larsson eventually settled in as the club’s top defensive pair, and along with Eberle, they’re among the few players still around from the franchise’s first game.
Montour’s elevation feels just as natural. The 32-year-old is heading into his third Kraken season after arriving with a résumé that included back-to-back Stanley Cup titles with the Florida Panthers and a seven-year contract in Seattle. His impact showed up immediately, both in production and in big moments: he tied the team record for points in a game by a defenseman twice, both times against Montreal, and also set the league mark for the fastest overtime goal at four seconds into the extra session.
Eberle, 36, enters his third year as captain after leading the team with 26 goals and 54 points last season. That production came less than a year after he worked his way back from a serious pelvic injury that left him sidelined and mostly bedridden for three months in 2024-25.
Larsson, 33, remains one of the organization’s quiet constants. The veteran defenseman has missed only one Kraken game, ending an “Ironman” run at 343 straight appearances so he could attend the birth of his daughter, Alba, in April 2024. He also reached 1,000 career games last season and has been part of the team’s leadership group since the beginning.
Beniers, 24, rounds out the group. He’s entering his fifth season with the Kraken and his third as an alternate captain after winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie during Seattle’s 2022-23 playoff run. Since then, he’s grown into a dependable two-way center and a more prominent presence in the room and at the podium.
In Other News...
Jagger Firkus Has Put Real Pressure On The Kraken This Camp
Jagger Firkus has spent the start of camp doing what young forwards are supposed to do when they finally get a real look: make the decision harder. The 22-year-old has already put together two AHL seasons, and the leap in his scoring and all-around game last year was enough to get him into Seattles full training camp, where the Kraken are getting a closer read on a player who has clearly moved beyond prospect status.
For a team that is still sorting out its forward group, Firkus offers a different kind of pressure than a veteran tryout or a depth option fighting to survive. Coaches and analysts have pointed to his offensive touch and his growth away from the puck as reasons he could belong in the lineup this season, and the organizations internal conversations have only sharpened that feeling. The question now is less about whether he has earned attention and more about how long Seattle can keep him waiting for a real opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Just Made A Surprise Change That Could Affect Their Young Core
Jessica Campbells departure is a notable one for Seattle because it comes out of a year in which she had already become one of the organizations more visible voices behind the bench. The former Kraken assistant coach has now moved into player development with the New Jersey Devils, a switch that keeps her in a role focused on helping young players grow even as it shifts her away from the day-to-day NHL bench environment in Seattle.
Chuck Fletcher is the name now attached to that same job in Seattle, arriving after a front-office shakeup in New Jersey that followed the firing of general manager Tom Fitzgerald in April. For the Kraken, the change matters because player development sits close to the heart of what the franchise is trying to build with its young core, and this kind of behind-the-scenes move can quietly shape how prospects are handled, taught and prepared over time. [Read more 🡒]
Matty Beniers Sends Clear Message About Who Belongs In Seattle
Matty Beniers stepped into Kraken training camp this week with the voice of someone already carrying more than his years. Wearing the alternate captain role, he talked about a topic that reached beyond one player or one roster move, framing his earlier comments about Jason Robertson's decision not to join the team as part of a bigger message about what Seattle wants to be. For a franchise still shaping its identity, Beniers made it clear the bar is not just talent, but buy-in, the kind of commitment that fits a city and a room trying to build something lasting.
Beniers has come a long way since Seattle drafted him in 2021, and the Kraken keep seeing that evolution not just in his play but in how he carries himself. The timing matters, too, with camp offering the first real glimpse of how the leadership group will set the tone for another season. Beniers' stance leaves little doubt about where he sees his future, even as the bigger question lingers around how Seattle defines the players it wants to keep and the ones it expects to attract. [Read more 🡒]