Seattle Kraken rookie Berkly Catton was already unlikely to be joining Team Canada for the World Junior Championships later this month in the Twin Cities.
And then he joined the list of Kraken forwards to be sidelined by an injury so far this season with the team announcing on Monday that Catton would be out week-to-week with an upper body injury.
Kraken coach Lane Lambert said Catton’s injury came from a shot block in the third period of last Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Detroit. Catton used the palm of his right hand to block a shot from the blue line. It was one of three shot blocks the former Spokane Chiefs standout had in the game, a new high during his rookie season. But he was clearly in discomfort on the bench after making the block.
The 19-year-old first-round pick from 2024 is still seeking his first NHL goal but has picked up five assists through his first 21 games. Catton had seen his ice time tick up recently after a stretch of games where he was around 10 minutes or less per game.
The news of the injury came the day Canada released its training camp roster for the World Juniors and Catton wasn’t included. The feeling within the Kraken organization last week was that Catton probably would remain with the NHL team and not go to the World Juniors, in part because of concerns about injuries to the group of forwards.
Jared McCann, Freddy Gaudreau and Kaapo Kakko all missed extended time with injuries through the first 26 games. The most impactful injury among the forward group might be the current absence of Jaden Schwartz, who is expected to be out through the end of the calendar year with a lower-body injury.