Shane Wright makes Kraken roster for Wednesday's opener at Anaheim
VANCOUVER, BC - SEPTEMBER 29: Seattle Kraken center Shane Wright (51) skates with the puck during their preseason NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on September 29, 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cai
Shane Wright, the No. 4 overall pick in July’s NHL entry draft, has made the roster of the Seattle Kraken for the start of the 2022-23 season.
Forward Joonas Donskoi (upper-body injury) and goaltender Chris Driedger (ACL tear) were placed on injured reserve as the final roster moves to set the 23-man roster for opening night against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.
Wright making the initial roster doesn’t guarantee his spot on the team for the entire year. He can play in nine games for the Kraken before they could elect to return him to his junior hockey team – the Kingston Frontenacs. Sending him back to juniors would preserve a year on his three-year entry-level contract.
Cale Fleury makes the roster as the seventh defenseman as 2021 second-round pick Ryker Evans was assigned to the Coachella Valley Firebirds to begin the season. Evans would be a likely call-up should Seattle be in need of a left-shot defenseman due to injury.
Daniel Sprong, Karson Kuhlman and Morgan Geekie are among the final forwards to make the roster for Seattle. John Hayden and Alexander True were the final roster cuts at the forward spots ahead of the start of the season. Sprong was away from the team dealing with immigration paperwork but the team hopes he'll be able to join them on the road in Anaheim or Los Angeles for their first two games.
Donskoi had missed the last several preseason games due to his injury. Additionally, Jaden Schwartz left the preseason finale against the Edmonton Oilers early with an upper-body injury of his own. Schwartz’s status is still unclear for the opener in Anaheim, but he did skate with the starting group during practice on Tuesday.
"It's good to have him back on the ice today. He had a good day out there," head coach Dave Hakstol said.
Per Mike Benton of the Kraken radio broadcast, the skating lines during Tuesday’s practice were as follows:
Forwards:
André Burakovsky - Matty Beniers - Jared McCann
Jaden Schwartz - Alexander Wennberg - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Brandon Tanev - Yanni Gourde - Jordan Eberle
Ryan Donato - Shane Wright - Karson Kuhlman
Defense:
Jamie Oleksiak - Jordan Schultz
Vince Dunn - Adam Larsson
Carson Soucy - Will Borgen
Goalies:
Philipp Grubauer
Martin Jones
Reserves: Morgan Geekie, Cale Fleury, Daniel Sprong (absent)