Jake O’Brien’s push for an NHL job with the Seattle Kraken has hit a snag at the worst possible time.
The 19-year-old center, who has been one of the bright spots of camp, is now day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The Kraken said it’s the same issue that kept him out of rookie camp, and head coach Lane Lambert described the move as precautionary.
That matters because O’Brien had been making a real case to stick. He already showed up in Seattle’s preseason opener against the Vancouver Canucks, where he scored a goal and added an assist. After that, he remained with the team through its first round of roster cuts to 25 players, leaving him just two players above the regular-season limit and squarely in the mix for an NHL spot.
Now the question is whether he gets back into preseason action at all. If the Kraken decide to be careful, he could miss the rest of the exhibition slate and still be ready for the regular season, which begins Oct.
- But with roster spots tight, every chance to impress carries weight, and any time lost opens the door for other players to make their case.
There is also another path available for O’Brien under a new rule that lets each NHL team have one 19-year-old first-round pick play in the AHL. Seattle took him eighth overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, which makes him eligible.
O’Brien’s draft stock was built on big numbers with the Brantford Bulldogs. He posted 98 points in 66 games, then followed that with 93 points in 53 games last season and 23 points in 15 playoff games.
Seattle has spent the past several seasons in rebuild mode, but O’Brien has already looked like the kind of talent that can force the issue.
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 Prospect Pipeline Is Finally Putting Real Roster Pressure On
Jagger Firkus has become the clearest reminder that Seattles prospect pipeline is no longer just about long-term hope. The 2022 second-round pick has made noticeable strides in both skill and physical development, the sort of progress that tends to show up only after a young player has spent real time under pro coaching and gone through the grind of adding strength and refining his game. For a franchise that has asked patience of its draft picks, that matters.
The bigger picture for the Kraken is starting to shift from simply developing talent to figuring out how to fit it in. Analysts have long pointed out that Seattle prospects often need several years before they are ready for NHL duty, but that timeline is beginning to compress as more AHL players mature into legitimate options. The next question is no longer whether the organization has enough depth to dream on, but which of those names are close enough to force the issue. [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 🡒]