The Seattle Kraken’s prospect pipeline is starting to look like the kind of stockpile that can actually change a roster.
That’s been one of the quieter strengths of the organization under both former general manager Ron Francis and current GM Jason Botterill, whose 2025 and 2026 drafts have also drawn strong reviews. The pattern is familiar: Seattle has brought in talented teenagers, then given them the time and pro-level coaching needed to turn promise into something usable at the NHL level.
That timeline matters in hockey more than it does in some other sports. These players are drafted around age 18, long before they’ve filled out or cleaned up the habits that carried them in junior hockey.
A young forward has to learn how to handle a 200-pound NHL veteran coming at him at full speed, and he has to do it while getting stronger, smarter, and more consistent in the little details. Unless a player is a rare exception like Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini or Matthew Shaefer, the leap is usually gradual.
Jagger Firkus is a clean example of how that process is supposed to work.
The Kraken took Firkus in the second round in 2022, drawn to the kind of offensive touch that made him a 61-goal scorer in the WHL. On Sunday in Calgary, he showed exactly why that skill set still matters.
A tough-to-handle, deflected cross-ice pass came to him on edge, and the 22-year-old didn’t waste time trying to settle it down. He used his hand-eye coordination to fire a one-timer that found the net.
Firkus has kept producing since then, and the numbers back it up. As Alex Wyatt of Dobber Prospects wrote, “As an AHL sophomore,” he “contributed 21 goals and 35 assists in 63 games, and the underlying numbers are great as well. According to Instat, he was in the 90th percentile or higher for all the important offensive categories: goals, assists, points, primary assists (68%) and shots on goal.”
He’s also changed physically. The 5-11, 170-pound forward has added 10 pounds of muscle since arriving with the Moose Jaw Warriors, and his game away from the puck has taken real steps forward too. That matters because NHL teams can’t live on scoring touch alone, no matter how badly they need it.
For Firkus, the wait has been long enough. Four years after being drafted, his Kraken opportunity is finally arriving, and he’s not the only one on the doorstep.
Wyatt sees more of the pipeline ready to follow. “The build has been slow, and now it’s time to start graduating some of the prospect pipeline to the NHL.
To this end, the Kraken have a slew of AHL players ready to start making their mark in the NHL. This is still a fun young team to get behind and be excited for.”
In Other News...
Kraken Prospects Helped Spark A Feel-Good Seattle Moment In Northgate
A new ball hockey court in Northgate gave the Kraken a chance to turn a community project into something more personal, with prospects Ty Nelson, Oscar Fisker Molgaard, Jagger Firkus, Tyson Jugnauth and Kaden Hammell on hand for the opening of the Hubbard Homestead Sport Court. The event, led by the Krakens One Roof Foundation, brought local elementary school children into the mix for a clinic and relay races, the kind of neighborhood gathering that makes the rink-adjacent game feel closer to home.
The opening also drew community leaders and underscored the push behind neighborhood sports facilities across Seattle. King County helped fund the project, and the court now joins a growing list of Kraken-backed spaces meant to give kids a place to play right where they live, even as the bigger picture around the foundations reach keeps expanding. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Just Made A Risky Bet On Their Scoring Depth
Seattle is leaning into a familiar offseason theme: build from the middle of the lineup and trust that the scoring will follow. Jaden McManns extension fits that approach, as the Kraken continue trying to improve their depth and penalty killing while counting on younger forwards to take another step. With a handful of expiring contracts and draft picks still available to help address other roster needs, the front office is clearly trying to balance todays lineup with a longer view.
McManns new deal makes that balance a little more complicated. He arrived last season and produced career-best numbers in several offensive categories in a limited sample, which is exactly the kind of spark Seattle wants to reward. The question now is whether the Kraken can get enough from him and the rest of the forward group before the contract starts looking more like a commitment to potential than present-day certainty. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Top Prospect Suddenly Faces A Tougher Roster Fight
Jake OBriens push to crack the Krakens NHL roster has hit a small bump at just the wrong time, with the top prospect listed day-to-day because of a lower-body injury. Seattle is treating it as a precautionary situation, but it comes as preseason games begin to run out and every shift matters for a young player trying to force his way into the picture.
OBrien still remains in the conversation for the NHL roster, and there is another wrinkle working in his favor if the Kraken decide he needs more time elsewhere. Under the new league rule, one 19-year-old first-round pick can be sent to the AHL if he does not make the NHL roster, giving Seattle a little more flexibility with how it handles his development while this latest injury keeps his status in flux. [Read more 🡒]