Seattle Kraken Prospects Shine: Who’s Ready for the NHL? 🏒

Seattle Kraken Prospects Shine: Who’s Ready for the NHL? 🏒

The Seattle Kraken prospects split their two exhibition games against the Vancouver Conucks. What did we learn and who are some of the players that are looking to really have a breakout season? You are Locked on Kraken, your daily podcast on the Seattle Kraken, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Hey, what do you say Seattle Hockey fans? Welcome to another episode of Locked on Kraken, part of the Locked On podcast network, where we bring you your favorite team, the Seattle Kraken every single day. Erica L Ayala here, your host of Locked on Kraken, an accredited media member for Milano Cortina. That’s right, heading to the Winter Olympics once again. Uh, this is exciting. It’ll be my second Winter Olympics, third overall, including uh Paris. Got my Paris uh Bick pen. did not know Bick was a French company, but you learn a lot when you get to travel on the road. Either way, I’m excited to be here for another episode of Locked on Kraken. Uh, thank you so much for our everydayers. If you listen to us, uh, first listen of the day, midday listen, late night listen, either way, I’m excited. Uh, I’m here in Seattle. I didn’t get to the second prospect game like I was hoping to. Things got a little bit cray cray when it came to the WNBA playoffs. It was all hands on deck. Unfortunately, a former Seattle Storm player, Brianna Stewart, uh, injured in that game. Overtime win for the New York Liberty uh, MRI was taken today. We don’t have an update, but we’ll have to see there. Anyway, that kept me pretty busy, but um, the Seattle Kraken prospects played two games against the Vancouver Conucks prospects. One was in Everett, the second at KCI. I was actually there earlier in the day and then had to kind of bounce. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to focus on two things at one time, but um the energy looked amazing. Um I got to see some of the guys that skated uh and played in that first game. Um got to see them on the ice. They were doing some skills work with some of the coaches including Jessica Campbell. um when I got to to KCI just to handle some business things. But um I think overall we got some pretty good results. Again, split game. The first game the Kraken prospects had to come from behind a fourgoal period in the the final frame of that first game. Uh Koko is in net for that one. And you know, um, we’re going to hear from, uh, Lax Doll. We’re going to hear from Ken a little bit from Yanni Newman and talking about that line of Ken with Fergus and Newman, but also a player that I want us to focus on a little bit um, is David Goyette. Uh, also want to focus on Nathan Vilnu, who we’ll hear from both of them actually. and what are some of the things that they’re focusing on? One more session of just the rookies and prospects um as part of that rookie portion of camp before it’s all about playing with the big boys and I kept saying is it vets new threats? Well, we’ll see them in action later this week. Monday, today was a day off. They’ll have a skate session tomorrow, Tuesday, and then one day in between. It’s really just a media day. A lot of things happening then. But we’ll get into all of that on today’s episode. But um you know, in in game one, Ken had a goal and an assist. You also had Fergus. Um there were three other players, I should say, that score that had at least two points. Um that was Fergus, Jugnoth, and Fiddler. So, some names that again, John over at Sound of Hockey had some names that we went through his list. Of course, Ken is at the top of everyone’s list when it comes to talking about Kraken prospects. But again, there’s another player, David Goyette, who we’ll talk about in the next segment a little bit, so hang tight. Um, and Nathan Villnu, oh, I want some sandpaper, and he’s got some, but is it a little too rough? We’ll talk about that. Let’s first though hear from Ken and a little bit from Yanni Newman. They’ll talk and then uh we’ll also hear from uh from Lax about that first game and what are some of the observations that he made? Lots of fun. I think just that first period it’s kind of weird being back out there and and then I think as the game went on it it it was a really good game and you know I think our line had a really good game. We were making plays all night and you know felt pretty good out there. I think there’s a little bit of everything. I mean, Yanni can hammer the puck. Um, you know, Jagger makes plays everywhere and, you know, I can distribute the puck through the middle of the ice pretty well. So, I think it’s just a good mixture of everything and I think we showed well tonight. So, uh, you know, that was Ken talking about working with Fergus and Newman. We did hear from Newman and, uh, I think we talked about it the other day, but what we’ve been hearing from Laxie is that, you know, he really trimmed down. He got into an NHL body is what Laxie said to us the other day. and you could definitely see that. Uh he’s he’s someone that I’m excited to see. Um he worked on his fitness, worked on slimming down, but also putting on some muscle, you know. Um he I was going to play some of the clips, but his clips um you know I I think he keeps his answers pretty short just to make sure that he’s saying what he wants to say knowing that he’s still getting comfortable answering questions in English. But I think he does a great job and I understand also why he wants to keep his answers pretty short. But um you know a player that I I think has the potential to really make a strong case. Kton and Newman are players and so to see that Fergus is on that line I think is really interesting. Again Fergus uh Kton had one goal and one assist and so um next we’re going to hear from Laxgo where you said hey ask me after tomorrow night about Kton’s line with Yanni and Jagger. So tonight what’ you make out of them? Yeah it’s a good question. You know, I I thought they uh I thought they had some moments in the game. You know, obviously uh Cats has got some great speed and they were finding him off the rush coming underneath there. And I want to try and utilize Cat’s speed and he showed why he’s got that great speed. you know, later on, um, Laxel went on to say, Derek Laxel went on to say that, you know, Koko having the opportunity to help the team get back into the game again, four goals in the third frame, having to come back um from a a 3-1 deficit. And he talked about the game being at 3-3, Koko makes a big save on a breakaway, and then the Kraken prospects able to get going the other way. And um it’s actually I guess in the second game that he talked a little bit about what the goals are and what the focus is. Um the Seattle Kraken prospects win the first game 5-3. Um and then they lose game two at KCI 3-2. So coming up next, we’re going to talk a little bit and hear from uh we’re going to hear from Goyette. We’re going to hear from Vilnu and also from from Derek again about that game. before leaning into Goyette a little bit, what the expectation is there, and then finally hearing from Laxi about what happens next. So, what are we expecting tomorrow and especially Thursday when it comes to this portion of Seattle Kraken training camp and preeason? You just realized Tim and Erica. It’s okay. You just realized you need to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. When it comes to hiring, Indeed is all you need. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other sites. Indeed’s sponsored jobs puts your post at the top of the page and helps you find the right candidates faster. Now, I know what it’s like to try and hire the right people. Sometimes you think you got good vibes and it just doesn’t work out from a productivity perspective. Sometimes the productivity might be there, but a person just really doesn’t understand your vision. And so that can create tensions. Other times you hire the right person and they’re so good that they go on to other ventures. And what you need either way in whatever situation is something that is going to make you be successful at your goals without any setbacks. You want to find the right candidates right now. And so now you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 sponsored job credit. Just go to indeed.com/lockdon right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Locked on Kraken. Terms and conditions apply. Are you hiring? Then Indeed is all you need. Thanks again, Seattle Hockey fans, for listening, viewing, watching, rating, subscribing. Locked on Kraken. We also have been seeing that some of you are enjoying our journey when it comes to social media. Uh the great team over at Lockdown with the assistance of Joe have helped us coordinate some things. So we have a dash or uh excuse me a graphic for every day of camp. Not today. There was no session. Um then we’ll give you the schedule and then some clips and snippets. I’ll actually have footage from camp tomorrow since I’ll be there. So we’ve got some other exciting things cooking up for you. If you’re not already, make sure you are following us uh locked on Kraken and uh you can find us Locked on Kraken. Actually, that was the women’s hockey report. You should also follow the women’s hockey report on Tik Tok, but locked on Kraken on Tik Tok. Uh locked on Kraken on IG. Uh you can also follow me at Black Rosie Media on most platforms. Okay, so we heard from Ken. We we uh got to hear from Newman again. talked a lot about beefing up a lot of the guys. That’s what their focus is. And um you know I I want next to hear from uh we’re going to hear from Goyette and VNU who played in that second game. Um you know Goyette is someone that uh Derek Laxelstead had two really good games for the Kraken. We heard him say last or in the last few days, we talked about it last week on the show. Hey, some guys are going to get two games. Goyette is one of those guys and Goyette is a guy that maybe the Kraken want to get a really good look at. And in the next segment, you’ll hear kind of what the next steps are, what is this um how does this help the process for the scouts, etc. But first, let’s just break down what these guys were able to do. Goyette had a goal in game two. Um Fiddler also had a goal. Those were the only two goals for the Seattle Kraken as they fall to Vancouver 3 to2. Uh but you know, let’s hear from the guys about what they thought about game two. How much does defense factor into that? Because you were a 40 goal man obviously and junior and yeah, they tend to work on defense a lot in the pros, right? How how much of that? Yeah. Yeah, there’s a lot of that too. I mean, uh you know, the coaching staff and CV did a great job. I mean, uh helping me adjust to that and um yeah, it was a great year. I mean, I I you know, uh worked on my defensive game a lot. I think I improved a lot as well. Um, and I I think I’ve been showing that here the first two games. So, uh, yeah, I’m happy with that. So, in that clip, we heard uh that was Goyette talking about his defensive side of the game. You heard you probably heard the question. You know, he’s been a 40 goal scorer scorer, excuse me, before, but part of the rub with Goyette is that there’s a little bit of a drop in productivity. he had his first um you know AHL um season and you know a lot of people are wondering what we saw in juniors is that going to translate because for Goyette um you know he had six goals and 18 points for in 54 games which for a lot of people is below his expectations especially considering you know he’s been a 40 goal scorer but that’s where the gap between juniors and the next level is and why maybe there is a little bit more of a learning curve than people talk about. Uh Laxo also talked about some of those stats being inflated because these guys, especially the top tier guys in junior, they’re playing on all special teams. He broke it down. They’re playing 40 minutes a game. So, of course, the opportunities are going to be there. Um but how many of those are hard minutes? And I thought that was a really interesting thing um with respect to a player like Goyette. But um you know he is someone that talked about having to learn the defensive side of the game, the defensive responsibility is an expectation at the next level. And so Goyette is a player who I am going to look to see what and how is he bringing his defensive game to the table and is that something that’s going to help him be trustworthy and reliable? Will he be one of those guys on the short list to help out the Kraken? I don’t see him as someone making the the NHL team, but he can definitely be someone, especially at 21 years old, where, you know, he gets some good looks, and I think that’s what he wants, you know, like we we’ve talked about that with a few guys already. Um, but, you know, next I want to talk about new because he’s got he’s a PNV sandpaper guy. got into a fight in his first AHL game and he’s asked about what is the line and that that’s something that he’s focused on. He said he’s always going to be a nosy I’m pointing at my nose for our audio listeners. He’s always going to be a nosy player, you know, someone who’s going to muck it up so to speak, but um there is a balance. So whereas Goyette is working on his defense, we have Vilu who’s working on his discernment um and being physical without crossing a border. You’ve got almost all of the guys that are working on putting on weight while also trimming up in the right ways. So there’s a lot going on and again coming up next on the show, how does this all come together? What is the evaluation process? We’ll hear more from Derek Laxaw on that. But uh here’s Nathan. Obviously it’s hard. I mean, I’m a nosy player, so I mean, I won’t turn down a fight, but at the same time, I got to know when to fight. And, uh, I think I’ve done a really good job on that my first year. Um, obviously, I used to fight every game my first year. And now, uh, I kind of calmed it down, picked the right, uh, right time and right players. I’m not going to take one of the fourth lines out to take me out to. So, it’s also like who I’m fighting as well. And then also scoring goals. I mean, it’s always fun to do that. So, I like to work on that as well. So nude talking about that balancing act right of uh having the sandpaper but also you know being on the ice being able to contribute is of paramount importance. So you know what I took away from this overall is that this is the a good start. um what we heard from Lax Doll. I thought I had the clip here but I didn’t include it. Uh apologies. I I try to keep these short. Um but there was an ask from the team from the players to really be able to think about that there are times where you know you’re going to be shooting a lot from the perimeter in some of these early games. How do you attack? How do you penetrate? How do you make things happen when both teams are kind of still feeling things out or just the game is not opening things up? You have to be able to force that. And so that’s where a player like VNU comes in, right? You want that sandpaper. You want that grit, that muck. And you need people who can be smart on the puck. And a part of the defensive battle is trying to force your opponent into bad plays, turnovers, while also um keeping things level for your own team. So coming up next, again, want you to hear, we’ll end the show hearing from Laxie, uh Derek Laxel about what is the translation, what happens next, and then I’ll give you what we have as far as the schedule in the upcoming days. Uh that’s coming up on today’s episode of Locked on Kraken. Today’s episode of Locked on Kraken brought to you by our friends at FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel is making sure you’re ready for kickoff with a can’t miss offer. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. That means you can use it on same game parlays, you can use it on player props, and you can even jump into the live action as everything unfolds. FanDuel makes every game more exciting. Whether you’re watching your team or just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup, it’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s the best way to bring a little more energy to your Sundays. So, are you ready? Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanduel.com to get started. That’s fanduel.com to place your first $5 bet. All right, Seattle hockey fans split. I think we’ll take it. Uh the guys, you know, were able to fight back and claw back in game one. In game two, you know, discipline things, habits here and there, but this is more about process than end result. Of course, getting goals, um, getting a feel is important as well, but now it’s all in service to what comes next. So, what is coming up for the Seattle Kraken prospects is on Tuesday, September 16th, tomorrow, they’ll hit the ice. Again, check out our social media, but I’m going to give you the schedule now. 10:30 a.m. uh, goalie ice and then 11 to 11:30 is practice on rink two. first two sessions on rink two and then we’ll move over to rink one 11:30 to 12 pm and uh us media folks will speak to to the the fine fellas after that. The 17th is an internal media day from my understanding and then training camp starts. The two uh the the full roster and lineup that we’ve talked about before on the show will be broken up into two groups, the blue group and the white group. We don’t have those rosters just yet, but when I have them, I will certainly let you know. And the blue group will start at 8:55 a.m. on Thursday. The white group will start at 1110. Um, and so, uh, basically there’ll be some action going on until about 100 p.m. on Thursday. Uh, similar schedule for Friday and Saturday. And then Sunday, September 21st, is the first preseason game. The the Kraken will host the Vancouver Conucks once again, this time at Climate Pledge Arena. Um, and so that’s going to be a big one there. Um, then the next game is uh a preseason game against the Calgary Flames on September 23rd. Uh, a preseason game on September 24th in Edmonton against the Oilers. And then the team will return on um or excuse me uh on Friday, September 26th. That’s also a game in Vancouver against the Canucks. The team will return on Monday, September 29th. They will take on the Calgary Flames. And then they also take on the uh the Oilers, the Edmonton Oilers at CPA or excuse me, at Kraken Commun, yes, at CPA on Wednesday, October 1st. And um then it’s just one more official uh session of preeason which will be on Friday, October 4th. I know that was a lot and I botched some of it, but don’t worry, have no fear. That’s why we have those super duper graphics. If you’re not already, follow us on Instagram, which also means that we post to Facebook. Follow us on uh Tik Tok. We have everything also on our YouTube channel, but we will keep it all organized with some of the graphics that we have. what comes next practically for the Kraken organization and of course the players. Well, uh uh Derek Laxel tells us these two games are great opportunities for um our scouts and our staff to see the players in a game environment. Um there’s probably not a lot of there’s a little bit evaluation going on, but I think it’s a chance for these kids to get in a game mode uh moving forward into training camp, the main camp, right? Which is kind of what you want to do. You want the kids kind of feeling good about their game and you know I thought they had a really good push in the third period. We had a couple looks on a two and0 and a breakaway in the second period. Hit a cross bar hit another post. So at the end of the day like it’s um we’re happy with the effort. We’re happy we’re happy that they pushed to the end. But now like we when they get up tomorrow morning it’s a day off. They get a chance to sleep in and now they get focused on the main camp. So those two those two games are basically filed. We asked the the kids to shoot more because when you get in these games early in the season, it tends to be a lot of perimeter hockey, a lot of extra passing and we just talked about trying to create some more chaos in the third period and I thought the kids did a good job with that. But now it’s main camp. This is this is big boy hockey now. Now you got the vets coming into your practices. The tempo’s going to pick up. You know, the puck’s going to move a lot quicker. Um so now they’re going to really have to when the puck drops here on Thursday and training camp starts, you have to be ready like and they will. This is where the kids really take that step in learning because when you have to play with that pace, you either you’re either in and out, right? And then so this is a good chance for these kids to really develop their game. All right, so I knew I had that clip somewhere. It was at the end. Um but, you know, asking them to pick up the pace, asking them to, you know, be able to put more shots up, um really impact the game. I think it’s great that they had, as he said, some information to file, but now, especially for the guys that are going to get to stick around camp, they have to level it up. And so, I think that’s what tomorrow will be about. I’m expecting tomorrow’s drills to be fast, to be efficient. Another thing that I want to mention is um that Laxi also talked about that there were some systems implemented throughout the first two games. Nothing crazy, but just enough that it’s not overwhelming the players, but also that then they’re not overwhelmed come Thursday. So, the systems and the structure that’s incorporated was in the service of prepping them for main camp. Not so much for the games against Vancouver, but to make sure that they can keep up with the pace for Thursday. And that goes back to something that I talk about on the show a lot. You know, I love my guy Tado Had out in Kansas City. He’s our GM and head coach of the Kansas City Mavericks. We’ve had him on the show a bunch of times when the team is coming through Tulsa and I’m in Tulsa. I’m able to catch up with the our ECL team. And that’s when I started to learn how deeply integrated the Kraken systems are throughout the entire organization. And so I think that also helps for some of the guys that have already been in the AHL that are in the ECHL when they come to Kraken Camp. Even if the speed is a little overwhelming, what you need to do in order to master something, there’s I don’t there’s probably a name for it, but a lot of people what they’ll do is that they’ll speed up the process. Um, you know, as long as it’s no motorized vehicles, it’s probably safe, but you kind of improve the cadence. you speed things up. Uh you try to say it in quick succession to make sure that it’s becoming more of a muscle memory or brain, you know, it’s being committed to your brain and you’re not thinking it. You’re just reacting and responding. You’re um offering what you know. And so I think it’s going to be exciting, but I do expect tomorrow’s session to be fast. There might be some breakdowns, you know, opportunities for the guys to huddle and really focus and narrow in on things. If I had to guess though, it’s going to be a little bit of a combination of the two. So, how do you add more to the structure that had been being added gradually ahead of the games? Now, they have a little taste. They’re focused. They can file things on how they did or didn’t do in a game. And now you can get their attention, grab their attention, and say, “All right, whether you liked what you did and you want to level up, whether you think you have more in the tank, this is what we need you to focus on now. This is the next task. this is your next chance to integrate it. So, that’s what I’m expecting. Let me know who are you excited to see. Goyette is someone on my list. Newman is someone on my list. Uh I just want to catch up with Jack Leaf Fontaine. He’s so much fun to talk with. One of our ECL guys that I I get to see when I’m in Tulsa. Um you know, Coco, I think, is someone else that we’re excited to see. I know the Furkus Circus is back. Fiddler is someone again. John Bar, stick taps to you over at Sound of Hockey doing amazing work. Uh, and my sandpaper guys. I want to see my sandpaper guys. Jugnoth, Vilneu. I’m I’m curious to see them in action at camp. That is our show. Again, please do follow Locked on Kraken, Tik Tok, Instagram, of course on YouTube. Subscribe wherever you listen to audio podcast. We have some really fun things in the works. Joe is away a little bit. I know I’ve mentioned it, my everydayers just send good vibes as always. Um, expecting to have her back soon in a more active role. She’s still doing some things behind the scenes. I know a lot of you have seen Joe commenting on your comments on YouTube regarding our our um conversation about the jerseys. I did see one in passing. I didn’t like get to really feel it up close yet, but I did see one in passing. I’m very excited for the glow-in-the-dark element. I’m a glow stick girly. Like I love me a good glow stick moment. So, super excited for these. Already talked about um you know, fanatics and all of those things, but you know, I’m open. I’m open to it. Let me know. Have you gotten your hands on one? Uh or I guess it’s a pre-order, but have you gotten to see them up close? Uh let me know how you feel about these sick jerseys. I can’t wait to see them in action. All right, you know what? What comes next? a reminder to be kind to yourself and hopefully you can extend that kindness to others. We hold fast. We stay true and loud and proud we say, “Let’s go Kraken and let’s go Seattle Storm.” They’re going to need some extra love. So, make sure you send it that way. I’ll be at that game. So, if you’re at CPA tomorrow night, Tuesday night, come say hi. All right. Until then, I’ll catch you on the next episode. Peace out, everybody.

Seattle Kraken fans, it’s time to dive into the latest updates on the Kraken prospects! After splitting two exhibition games with the Vancouver Canucks, who’s ready to make the leap to the NHL? 🏒

Locked On Kraken host Erica L. Ayala, an experienced media professional and integral part of the Seattle Kraken brand launch, breaks down standout performances, key players like David Goyette and Nathan Villeneuve, and what’s next as training camp ramps up.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Split exhibition games
00:17 – Welcome back
04:38 – Ken, Fergus, and Newman
06:15 – Future of the prospects
09:18 – Follow us on social media
11:29 – Game 2 analysis: Key takeaways
18:12 – Next steps for Kraken prospects
21:15 – Upcoming developments
22:45 – Enhancing team structure
25:47 – Players to watch
26:24 – Episode wrap-up
27:30 – Kindness and self-care

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ABOUT LOCKED ON KRAKEN
Locked On Kraken is a daily podcast covering the 32nd NHL team! Host and freelancer journalist Erica L. Ayala (Locked on WBB, Forbes, Sports Illustrated, and more) helped the then NHL Seattle franchise launch the Seattle Kraken brand back in July 2020.

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