Seattle’s training camp brought a few clear signals this week, and one of the biggest came from the Kraken’s leadership group. Vince Dunn, now one of the team’s alternate captains alongside Brandon Montour, said he expects the group to spark real change inside the room.
Dunn said the letter is a first for him. “In my other life, I guess.
I’ve never worn a letter. This is a first for me.
Super excited.”
He explained that the new leadership setup has already been in motion for a while. “Lane (Kraken coach Lambert) brought the leadership group in.
We’ve had some discussions as a group. It’s not everything to wear a letter to be a leader.
I’ve always looked at myself as a leader, even last year.
“I think as a leadership group, we’ve done a lot of work. I think you’ll see some really positive changes with the group.”
Dunn pointed to the mental side of the game and the need for a better start on a night-to-night basis. “It’s a lot of things between the ears.
Having a really good mentality. Last season, we found a way to lose a lot of games, beat ourselves.
“You’ll always have people doubting you. Most of those games, we came out on top. The games we thought were easily winnable, we came up short a lot of those times.
“Preparation is huge. It’s been unfortunate that we start games flat. That’s on us to be ready for the games, especially on home ice, where there’s all the energy in the world.”
Matty Beniers also addressed the reaction to his recent pointed response involving players like Jason Robertson, who turned down a lucrative offer this summer to accept a trade to Seattle. Beniers said the attention around it was fair game, but his point was straightforward.
“I heard a lot of people liked that. It was just the honest truth.
It wasn’t necessarily a dig at him or anyone else. We want guys who want to be here, love this city, and want to win here.
“It’s good to get some traction around our city. It sucked when it happened.
The media had fun with it. ‘Look at how bad Seattle is.
Robertson doesn’t want to go there for all this money.’ It’s our duty to go, ‘It’s great here.
‘”
Coach Lane Lambert, meanwhile, said the team’s challenge is less about proving it can hang with the league and more about doing it consistently. Asked about the split between Seattle’s strong play before the Olympics and the dip after, Lambert kept it simple: “We proved that we could beat anybody in the league last year. It’s just a level of consistency.”
He was also asked about a roster that could include 8 or 9 forwards 23-and-younger, and whether that changes the staff’s approach. Lambert said the young players have already been through enough to understand what’s required.
“There’s potential for some of that. At the same time, the young players have been in those situations before.
They understand what it takes. That was part of the process last year as well.”
General manager Jason Botterill also detailed the additions of two former NHL general managers to his staff: Patrik Allvin, formerly of Vancouver, and Chuck Fletcher, who previously held the top job in Minnesota and Philadelphia.
Botterill, Allvin, and Fletcher all worked together in Pittsburgh, where they won a Stanley Cup in 2009. Botterill said the hires were designed to strengthen the organization in several ways.
“We talked about different ways we could strengthen our organization. I have a familiarity with them, but they have a ton of different experiences since that time. Having that experience of sitting in the chair helps me out.
“Chuck can help (AHL Firebirds GM) Troy Bodie, making sure there’s a smoother transition from player development to Coachella Valley up to Seattle. Chuck’s experience evaluating players across different leagues can be very helpful.
“Patrik Allvin will work closely with me, oversee our pro staff. We all have a Rolodex of agents we’re close to.
Some of his is a little different than mine. That communication with players and agents has been very helpful this summer.”
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