The Seattle Kraken have three first-round picks showing up near the top of a new prospect ranking, and that puts them in rare company.
Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked his top 100 prospects from the last five NHL Drafts combined, with a simple cutoff: “To be considered a prospect, a skater must be under 23 and not fully established with his NHL club. The latter qualifier is arbitrary.” That framework leaves out recent top overall picks such as Connor Bedard and Matthew Schaefer, but it still gives a strong read on how Seattle’s young talent stacks up.
The Kraken landed three players in Wheeler’s top 25, and all three sit in the top quarter of the list. Four more Seattle prospects received honorable mention: forwards Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, Jagger Firkus and Jani Nyman, plus defenseman Ty Nelson.
Chase Reid comes in highest among the Kraken group at No. 5 overall, which also makes him No. 3 from the 2026 draft behind only Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg. Wheeler had him as the top defenseman in the class. Seattle grabbed Reid seventh overall in June after he was widely expected to be the first blueliner selected.
“He’s a righty with poise beyond his years. He escapes pressure well and can attack at openings or create them for himself.
He has a great shot and is deadly in transition, with an impressive offensive sense and good vision. His defensive play has taken strides, though there are still times when he needs to button up and play a little firmer on both sides of the puck.
“A subtle but underrated quality in D that he has in spades, too: His passes on the power play to his flanks are always in his shooters’ sweet spots, and he always connects on target with one-touch shots.”
Berkly Catton checks in at No. 20, and Wheeler’s ranking reflects a player who already spent the season in Seattle after being taken eighth overall in 2024. Catton did that before turning 20 in January, and Wheeler sees him long term as a center, matching the view of “our own Simmer.”
“Catton is dangerous whenever he’s on the puck and shines with his knifing, slippery game. Inside the offensive zone, the way he baits and shades, drawing players to him and then playmaking past them with a pass or a cut, is pretty impressive to watch. He’s a heady playmaker who uses spacing to his advantage and sees the ice at an advanced level, regularly executing quick plays through coverage or delaying into a pre-planned play.
“He has multi-dimensional skill, with an ability to play both with speed on the rush as a smooth, fast and nimble high-end skater and more slowly inside the offensive zone when the pace ramps down, and he has to spin away from pressure, which he does so well. He supports play well off the puck defensively, which was a focus of his this year.”
Jake O’Brien rounds out Seattle’s top three at No. 24.
The Kraken’s 2025 first-rounder is expected to start next season with AHL Coachella Valley once a new agreement between the NHL and junior hockey is made official. He was the former captain of the OHL Brantford Bulldogs.
“One of the smartest offensive young players in the game, O’Brien is a finesse player with tons of feel, skill, poise and craftsmanship on the puck and as a passer. He has a high-end ability to put pucks into spaces for both his linemates and himself. He’s a decently fast skater who uses fluid crossovers to build speed and weave up the ice in control.
“It’s also worth noting that he’s a June birthday and the son of two high-level hockey players, so the athleticism is there, and the muscle should come. The skill, sense, IQ, patience and ability to make plays at different paces are all very appealing. He has top-six forward written all over him.”
Seattle was one of just two teams with three players in Wheeler’s top 25, and the only club with more top-end representation was San Jose. The Sharks placed five prospects in the top 25, led by winger Stenberg at No. 2 and center Michael Misa at No.
- Their other three names in that range were defensemen Keaton Verhoeff at No.
15, Sam Dickinson at No. 16 and Ryan Lin at No. 25.
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