For the last 23 years (12 with The Hockey News), Dobber and his team have reviewed each team from a fantasy hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 24th annual review will appear here on Dobber Hockey throughout the summer. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey, both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future.

Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are considered when examining the depth chart and evaluating the potential of the players on it.

Enjoy!

** Be sure to pick up your copy of the 2026-2027 Fantasy Hockey Guide **

Gone – Jamie Oleksiak, Eeli Tolvanen, Jaden Schwartz, Matt Murray

Incoming – Mackie Samoskevich, Curtis Douglas

Impact of Changes – Having two second line forwards leave only to be replaced by one top-six forward and a fourth-line pugilist doesn’t really indicate that things will be different this season. The only other change was letting Oleksiak go in free agency, and just replacing him internally. 

All-in-all, after a bottom-five finish this past season, more of the same can likely be expected next year. The Kraken didn’t suffer from terrible luck or devastating injuries, so unless there is some big growth from their young players and prospects, this is unlikely to be a prosperous fantasy team for the upcoming season. 

Douglas could bring some more PIMs to the team, and may get a regular spot in the lineup, but he also could end up being redundant and sat in favour of one of the Kraken’s developing forwards anyways. 

Ready for Full Time – Jake O’Brien, Oskar Fisker Molgaard, Ty Nelson, Nikolas Kokko

The Kraken don’t have a pipeline overloaded with talent, but they do have one of the best prospects left outside of the NHL in Jake O’Brien. O’Brien is coming off back to back 90-point seasons in the OHL, and he would have cracked 100 this year if it wasn’t  for missing a dozen games due to injury. He is a very intelligent and skilled passer, and would immediately become one of the top offensive weapons for the Kraken upon his debut. He may still end up not making his NHL debut this year, which would allow him to round out his game further for a debut in 2027-28, but if he does make the team out of camp it will be for the offence he brings. 

On the other end of the spectrum, Fisker Molgaard is an over-ripe all-around forward who could play up or down the lineup for the Kraken. He might have even been ready last season from a well-roundedness perspective, but the offence wasn’t quite up to speed with only two points in his 13 NHL games. 

Ty Nelson (D) and Niklas Kokko (G) could also see some games for the team this year, but neither is likely to make the team out of camp due to the depth in front of them. 

Fantasy Outlook

Seattle is a bottom of the barrel team that made only minor moves this summer, and doesn’t have a superstar at any position. Jared McCann, Brandon Montour, and Vince Dunn are the most interesting from a fantasy perspective, but none are going in the early rounds of drafts, or are going to be the difference between winning or losing your league. 

If anything, it could even be worse this season, as the absence of Oleksiak may make things a little more difficult on the goalies. There is a bit of hope that breakout seasons due for McMann (14 points in 18 games with the Kraken this spring) and Samoskevich (should hit his Breakout Threshold mid-season) could help buoy some of the offence as they pass their breakout thresholds. Still, for both players a breakout season would only be about 55 points, which isn’t all that much of a change or an upgrade on Tolvanen or Schwartz. Especially with how ice time is spread out in Seattle, temper expectations for the two newer wingers. 

In net, Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer have each had some solid runs in recent years, but sorting out which is going to get the larger share of games, and when those good games (and less frequent wins) are going to come is a whole other matter that makes them harder to rely on. 

Fantasy Grade: C- (last year was a C+)