The Seattle Kraken are heading into the pre-Olympic stretch without one of their most promising young players. Rookie forward Berkly Catton will miss the team’s final three games before the NHL pauses for the Winter Games in Milano Cortina, sidelined with an upper-body injury.
The injury happened Thursday night during Seattle’s 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Catton, reaching for a puck near the offensive blue line, took a hard hit when he collided head-first with defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. It was a tough moment for the 20-year-old, who’s been carving out a role in the Kraken lineup during his first NHL season.
Catton has logged 11 points (five goals, six assists) across 40 games this year-a modest stat line on paper, but one that doesn’t tell the whole story. He’s shown flashes of the high-end skill that made him the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
And for a rookie adjusting to the speed and structure of the NHL, he’s held his own. He’s quick in transition, shows strong instincts in the offensive zone, and has been steadily earning the trust of the coaching staff.
Before arriving in Seattle, Catton lit up the WHL with the Spokane Chiefs. Last season, he put up video game numbers: 54 goals and 62 assists for 116 points in 68 games.
That followed a 109-point campaign the year before, where he added another 42 points in just 20 playoff games during Spokane’s deep postseason run. The production was elite, and it was no surprise when he cracked Canada’s roster for the 2025 World Junior Championship.
While he didn’t have a breakout tournament-just one assist in five games-his overall résumé speaks to a player with big-league potential.
For now, though, the focus is on recovery. Catton’s absence comes at a critical time for the Kraken, who are in a tightly packed Pacific Division race.
With 59 points through 53 games, Seattle currently sits third in the division. But the margin is razor-thin.
The Ducks, Kings, and Sharks are all nipping at their heels-either tied or within a single point. A short losing streak could send Seattle tumbling out of the playoff picture.
That makes these next three games before the Olympic break all the more important. Every point matters in the Western Conference logjam, and missing a young contributor like Catton-even one still finding his NHL footing-adds another challenge for a Kraken team trying to stay afloat in the postseason race.
Seattle will need others to step up in his absence. But make no mistake-Catton’s future in this league looks bright.
The hope now is that the injury isn’t anything long-term and that he’ll be ready to jump back in when the season resumes. Because if the Kraken are going to make a real playoff push, having a healthy, confident Catton in the lineup could be a difference-maker down the stretch.