![\"Tye](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2243331106-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTARRYTOWN, N.Y. \u2014 Whether it was with head coach John Dean or assistant Jamie Tardif, a day rarely went by during Tye Kartye\u2019s three seasons with the Soo Greyhounds in which the inquisitive forward didn\u2019t pop into a coach\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
Kartye\u2019s thirst for feedback was never-ending, and his response was always the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you very much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t matter if I was nice, if I was a bully, if I was hard on him, or we gave him some information he didn\u2019t like, it was always, \u2018Thank you,’\u201d Dean recalled on a recent phone call with The Athletic. \u201cHe sees everything as an opportunity to get better. That\u2019s who Tye is. I\u2019ve honestly never seen anything like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That explains how Kartye, whom Dean referred to as \u201cone of my favorite players I have ever coached,\u201d has climbed the ladder from undrafted prospect with no standout physical features all the way to the NHL.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old is still fending off those doubts. The latest adversity came when the Seattle Kraken placed him on waivers on Feb. 26, but that quickly led to a new opportunity. The New York Rangers jumped at the chance to claim Kartye \u2014 presumably with the recommendation of Tardif, who is now an assistant coach for AHL Hartford \u2014 and have been thrilled with the doggedness he\u2019s brought to their lineup. (The Rangers declined an interview request for Tardif, citing an organizational policy.)<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s made a difference in every game he\u2019s played,\u201d Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said.<\/p>\n
Kartye being waived could be viewed as a wake-up call, but the Kingston, Ontario native finds the suggestion of complacency offensive. He pushed back on that notion, describing his Kraken exit as \u201cmore circumstantial.\u201d Whatever the reason, Seattle\u2019s loss appears to be New York\u2019s gain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this year, honestly, I\u2019ve been playing the best hockey that I\u2019ve played in the NHL, and so that\u2019s why it was a little more disappointing,\u201d said Kartye, who\u2019s under contract through next season for an annual cap hit of $1.25 million. \u201cBut I\u2019m here now, and I\u2019m super excited to be here. I\u2019m glad with the way things turned out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some might see Kartye as a late bloomer, but those who have witnessed his journey up close see it differently. They point to a methodical process, with an emphasis on stacking incremental improvements. That tireless pursuit of progress has been his distinguishing trait.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing that jumps out at me is how much he loves the game,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cHe loves to practice, he loves to play, he wants to be on the ice. In my experience, those are the types of players that continue to grow and improve. You have to love what you do. There has to be an element of passion associated with what you do every day. And it\u2019s not forced with Tye. That\u2019s natural, and you can see that when he walks through the door every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Kartye\u2019s earliest disappointments came at the age of 16, when he was cut in his first attempt to make Soo\u2019s OHL roster. Greyhounds GM Kyle Raftis told him he\u2019d need to add strength to have a better chance the following season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn true Tye Kartye form, he came back a Mack truck,\u201d Dean recalled.<\/p>\n
A bulked-up Kartye made the team at 17, which was also his first year of NHL draft eligibility, but he wasn\u2019t considered a legitimate prospect. So he got to work.<\/p>\n
\u201cTye was wise beyond his years,\u201d Dean said. \u201cHe\u2019d ask, \u2018Hey, give me one thing, most bang for my buck, that\u2019s going to help improve my game?\u2019 And we\u2019d give him one thing and no more. He would crush that one attribute for 15 minutes before practice, 15 minutes after, and he\u2019d really have tunnel vision with it. He wouldn\u2019t try to spread too wide and end up being a jack of all trades, master of none. He just really took his time mastering each individual piece. And all of a sudden, at 18, 19, 20, we had this machine of a player who had all these tools at his disposal just because of his patience.\u201d<\/p>\n
After registering only 24 points as an OHL rookie, Kartye jumped to 53 points in year two while displaying the high motor and attention to detail that coaches like Dean have lauded him for. That inspired hope for the 2020 draft, but it came and went without hearing his name called.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was disappointing, because I thought maybe I had a chance that year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The draft occurred at a time when Kartye and the rest of his generation were dealing with a developmental hurdle no one saw coming: the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020-21 OHL season was ultimately canceled, forcing Kartye and many of his peers to go a year and a half without competitive, organized hockey.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was extremely disruptive,\u201d Dean said. \u201cI do think these young men, unfortunately, all took a step back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dean attempted to coach via Zoom calls, but as they realized the stoppage would linger, the onus fell on individual players to push themselves and keep up a routine. Kartye embraced the challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t tell you what Tye did,\u201d Dean said. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t need to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kartye spent much of that time working out, but it was hard to find open rinks during Canada\u2019s lengthy shutdown. So he improvised.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was lucky,\u201d he said, smiling. \u201cMy parents live on a river, and the river froze.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recruited friends to skate with him and used that time to hone skills his Soo coaches had emphasized.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving that much time to really analyze yourself and realize what you need to get better at, I think it helped me a lot,\u201d Kartye said. \u201cI took advantage of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Tye Kartye played 180 games with the Seattle Kraken, plus another 10 in the 2022-23 postseason. (Olivia Vanni \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
As the world slowly got back to normal in 2021, Kartye accepted an invitation to attend rookie camp for the NHL\u2019s newest team: the Seattle Kraken.<\/p>\n
He was struck by how good the other players were \u2014 \u201cIt made me realize that I just need to keep working, because I wasn\u2019t at that level yet,\u201d he said \u2014 but made enough of an impression to stay on Seattle\u2019s radar when he returned to Soo.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said they\u2019d keep an eye on me and see how my year went,\u201d he said. \u201cI ended up having a really good year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kartye exploded for 45 goals and 79 points in 63 games that season \u2014 \u201cHe can absolutely rip a puck,\u201d Dean said \u2014 prompting the Kraken to offer a three-year entry-level contract and assign him to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. He carried that momentum into 2022-23, registering 28 goals and 57 points in 72 AHL games.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when I got to the AHL and I started to have a really good year there and get opportunities there and play well, I never really thought I was going to play in the NHL,\u201d Kartye said. \u201cI kind of just wanted to see how far I could go, see how good I could get.\u201d<\/p>\n
To Kartye\u2019s surprise, Seattle recalled him during its 2023 first-round series against the defending champion Colorado Avalanche. An injury to Jared McCann opened a top-six spot for a pivotal Game 5, with Kartye getting tapped for his NHL debut in the midst of a 2-2 series.<\/p>\n
\u201cI slid right into Jared\u2019s spot there, playing with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle, so they made it pretty easy for me,\u201d he recalled. \u201cObviously, they\u2019re really good players. And I knew that sliding into that line, I was gonna get an opportunity. I was gonna get to play. I wasn\u2019t gonna play like six minutes of sheltered hockey. I was actually gonna be a part of the game, and so I think that gave me a little confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
It showed. With the score tied at 1-1 midway through the second period, Eberle came wheeling behind the Colorado net and pushed a pass toward Kartye in the right circle. The rookie left-winger didn\u2019t hesitate, unleashing a one-timer to become the eighth player since 1927 to score a goal while making his debut in the playoffs and propel the Kraken to a 3-2 win.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the first one went in, it kind of took off from there,\u201d Kartye said.<\/p>\n
When Dean sits down with current Soo players, he often finds himself pointing to Kartye as an example to follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s a young man that wants to be coached, that wants feedback, that wants to consistently improve, that never had his guard up,\u201d Dean said. \u201cHe was always looking for opportunities to be better. But also, we learned from him. Listen, we have 16- to 20-year-olds here. There\u2019s five, six, seven, eight, nine different things each of these young men need to work on at any given time. And since we\u2019ve had Tye, it\u2019s always been, \u2018Hey, let\u2019s do one at a time here.’\u201d<\/p>\n
It reminds Sullivan of another forward who made it to the league through commitment and determination, then continued to evolve once he got there: Pittsburgh Penguins veteran Bryan Rust.<\/p>\n
Rangers forward Conor Sheary, who came up with the Penguins around the same time as Rust, concurred.<\/p>\n
\u201cRusty\u00a0never really scored early on in his career, and then at some point, it clicked,\u201d Sheary said. \u201cHe became such a proficient offensive player. He started to score close to 30 (goals) every year, which was a marvel. But I think the things that make him good are his speed and his work ethic, and I think Tye definitely has those attributes. Positionally, he\u2019s sound, he\u2019s responsible. He seems to be in the right spot a lot of times, and it makes it easy to play with a guy like that when you kind of know what their instincts are and where they\u2019re going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kartye has a long way to go to be compared to Rust, who recently eclipsed 25 goals in a season for the fourth time in his career, but he\u2019s showcased a comparable skill set through his first 16 games with New York. The 5-foot-11, 202-pounder has collected nine points (three goals and six assists) in that span while averaging 14:26 time on ice per game. He\u2019s quickly become a go-to penalty-killer and found a home on a middle-six trio with Sheary and captain J.T. Miller, which Sullivan recently called \u201cour best line the past few games, without question.\u201d<\/p>\n
His swarming puck-pursuit style and dependable defense match what Sullivan referred to as \u201cthe game we\u2019re trying to play here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s fit in well,\u201d added Sullivan. \u201cAnd I think there\u2019s an opportunity for his game to get to another level.\u201d<\/p>\n
It remains to be seen if Kartye can build on the offensive jolt he\u2019s provided this past month, but no one will question his effort in chasing that goal. He\u2019s what Dean calls \u201ca coach\u2019s dream\u201d \u2014 and an undeniably worthwhile waiver claim.<\/p>\n