Three’s a Quorum
Proving the team leadership is on the same page, captain Jordan Eberle filled in TV viewers in an interview with Kraken Hockey Network personality Piper Shaw.
“The first period I thought we played well for the most part,” said Eberle. “Then we played their game. We decided to get into a track meet. We can’t play that way, that’s not our identity. We we down 3-1 after the second period, but it could have been 5-1 or 6-1. We weren’t there on the power play or penalty kill. You do that in this league, and you get humbled pretty quickly. Maybe we needed that.”
Winterton’s Path to Goal No. 1
The bright spot for Seattle in the loss was Ryan Winterton‘s first NHL goal in his 34th appearance. He played nine games with the Kraken in 2023-24 and another dozen last year (notching his first assist). Wednesday’s score won’t be his last. The feeling here is that he is just getting started. Winterton’s trajectory jumped a couple three moves on the prospect chessboard this summer and fall.
Winterton just turned 22 in September. He is an even-keeled player, a trait clear since he was one of the youngest players selected in the 2021 NHL Draft. He was the Kraken’s third-round pick, and this reporter’s first conversation with the Kraken winger was impressively mature while showing his ambition to do all necessary to make the NHL. Winterton had a quiet but confident presence even then, and he has found ways to improve each season, whether still in juniors (leading a team to the Memorial Cup), then with AHL affiliate Coachella Valley and now this year making the Kraken squad out of training camp.
With the Firebirds, he rose from an occasional penalty killer to “first forward off the bench” in the 2023-24 season when CVF won a second straight Western Conference championship. Winterton was a reliable, clutch scorer in the AHL, especially in the playoffs. A couple of summers ago, Winterton committed to an aggressive training regimen while skating with a Toronto pro group. At subsequent development and training camps, other Kraken prospects asked whether they could get involved in a similar program to Winterton.
This fall, Winterton impressed Lane Lambert and the coaching staff with his speed on offense, responsible defensive instincts in all zones, and stellar work on the PK during preseason games. It led to Winterton earning a fourth-line assignment with former Firebirds teammate Tye Kartye on the other wing and various centers (the now-injured Freddy Gaudreau, Ben Meyers, and 19-year-old Berkly Catton). Wednesday’s goal actually started with Winterton zipping into the zone to challenge San Jose’s young goaltender Yaroslav Askarov. The Kraken maintained offensive-zone possession long enough for Winterton to pounce on a loose puck in the high slot and roof it past Askarov. D-man Ryan Lindgren and center Shane Wright picked up the assists, a nice touch on the latter since Winterton and Wright were frequent linemates in the AHL.