Kraken place leading scorer Andre Burakovsky on IR

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
1 Comment

NEWARK, N.J. — The Seattle Kraken placed leading scorer Andre Burakovsky on injured reserve with a lower body injury.

Before their game at New Jersey, Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said Burakovsky is being listed as week to week.

Burakovsky’s leg appeared to buckle on his first shift of the game against the New York Islanders, and he played just 31 seconds in the 4-0 loss.

Burakovsky had appeared in 49 of the first 50 games in his first season with Seattle after signing as a free agent. He leads the Kraken with 39 points, including 13 goals and 26 assists, and is averaging a career-high 16 minutes and 33 seconds of ice time per game. He’s one of six skaters for Seattle with at least 30 points this season.

The Kraken activated defenseman Justin Schultz off injured reserve ahead of facing the Devils after missing six games with an undisclosed injury. Seattle also recalled forward John Hayden from Coachella Valley of the AHL to add depth to the forward group.

All-Star Matty Beniers to miss next 2 games for Kraken

matty beniers
Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

SEATTLE — Seattle Kraken rookie All-Star Matty Beniers will miss the team’s final two games before the All-Star break after taking a big hit from Vancouver’s Tyler Myers earlier this week.

Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said after morning skate Friday that Beniers would not play Friday night against Calgary or Saturday against Columbus. Hakstol did not speculate on Beniers’ availability for next weekend’s All-Star Game in Florida.

The team has not specified what kind of injury Beniers sustained from the hit. He was barreled over by Myers away from the play early in the second period in Wednesday’s 6-1 victory over Vancouver. Myers was penalized for interference on the play. Beniers returned briefly for one shift later in the period but did not play in the third period.

Beniers is Seattle’s lone All-Star selection this season. He leads all rookies in goals (17) and points (36), and is fifth in total ice time for rookies.

Seattle also placed defenseman Justin Schultz on injured reserve and recalled forward Max McCormick from Coachella Valley of the AHL. Hakstol said Schultz is improving but there’s no timeline on his return.

Kraken reassign 1st round pick Shane Wright to juniors

seattle kraken
Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports
1 Comment

SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken reassigned first-round draft pick Shane Wright to the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League on Friday, a day after Wright helped Canada to a world juniors title.

Wright, who turned 19 on Thursday, appeared in eight games with Seattle this season. But he will play the rest of the year at the juniors level due to the NHL’s agreement with the Canadian Hockey League that required Wright to either remain with the Kraken or be sent to his juniors team because of his age. Spending the season with Seattle’s AHL affiliate in Coachella Valley was not an option.

“We’re very proud of Shane’s performance at the World Juniors, helping captain Team Canada to a gold medal,” Seattle general manger Ron Francis said. “He has a bright NHL career ahead of him with the Kraken and now has an opportunity to lead his junior team as they compete for a Memorial Cup.”

Wright was the No. 4 overall pick in last summer’s draft, falling to the Kraken after he was expected to be one of the top two selections entering the draft.

Wright had one goal and one assist in his eight games with Seattle, but struggled to break into the lineup as the Kraken enjoyed an unexpected run of success early in the season. Seattle is third in the Pacific Division nearing the midpoint of the season and Wright’s playing time and chances to develop at the NHL level the rest of the season were likely going to be minimal.

Training camps open around NHL after another short offseason

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
3 Comments

Training camps open around the NHL after another short offseason, a third in a row squeezed by the pandemic. That doesn’t bother Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon one bit.

For one of hockey’s best players and his teammates, it’s already time to get back on the ice and defend their Stanley Cup title, less than three months since they knocked off the back-to-back champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I still feel like I just was playing,” MacKinnon said. “I took two weeks off, and then I started skating again. It’s just fun. I enjoy it, and I like the short summer. It feels like the season’s just kind of rolling over again.”

The NHL rolls into fall coming off an entertaining playoffs and final with the chance to finally get back on a normal schedule. That means full camps for teams that got new coaches and the benefits of a regular routine.

That means a mere 88 days between Game 6 of the final and the first-on ice practice sessions.

“We’re kind of used to it now,” Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy said after he and the Lightning lost in the final for the first time in three consecutive trips. “It’s a little harder, of course, because you don’t have that much time to rest. It’s basically a few weeks and you have to get back at it. But, yeah, I can’t complain. You want your summers to be short every year.”

It was a little longer for Connor McDavid and the Oilers after losing to Colorado in the West final. Despite the lack of downtime, McDavid “wouldn’t trade that in for anything” and aims to make it even further since Edmonton shored up its goaltending situation by adding Jack Campbell.

A few spins of the goalie carousel ended with the Avalanche acquiring Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers and Cup winner Darcy Kuemper landing with Washington. Joining new teammates, many of whom hoisted the Cup in 2018, Kuemper is not worried about less time off.

“It was definitely a very unique summer,” Kuemper said. “With how short it was, you start getting back into the gym and you’re kind of a little bit worried that your training’s going to be so short. But you kind of felt like you weren’t getting back into shape. You were already there.”

NEW COACHES

The Oilers are one of several teams settling in for training camp under a new coach. Jay Woodcroft took over as interim coach in February but has the full-time job now.

“Looking forward to a camp with him,” McDavid said. “He did a great job coming in during the middle of the season, but it’s never easy on a coach, for sure. I’m sure there’s things that he wanted to touch on that you wasn’t able to kind of in the middle of the year, so he’ll be able to to touch on all of it this year.”

The same goes for Bruce Boudreau in Vancouver, 11 months since being put in charge of the Canucks. Philadelphia’s John Tortorella, Boston’s Jim Montgomery, Vegas’ Bruce Cassidy, Dallas’ Peter DeBoer, Florida’s Paul Maurice, Chicago’s Luke Richardson, Detroit’s Derek Lalonde and the New York Islanders’ Lane Lambert are all starting the job fresh.

CAMP TRYOUTS

Roughly 40 players are attending a camp on a professional tryout agreement with the chance to earn a contract for the season. James Neal has that opportunity with the Blue Jackets, and Derek Stepan returned to Carolina to seek a job with the Hurricanes.

The most intriguing situation involves 37-year-old center Eric Staal, who agreed to the tryout with Florida the same time brother Marc signed a one-year contract. Younger brother Jordan was with Eric and Marc on the 18th green at Pebble Beach to witness the occasion.

“They’re both just super pumped, as was I,” said Jordan Staal, who is the captain of the Hurricanes. “Eric is excited about the opportunity and Marc, as well. Really cool. Really cool thing.”

EARLY START

Before the puck drops on the NHL season in North America on Oct. 11, the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks play twice in Prague on Oct. 7 and 8. And those are not exhibitions.

“We still play two important games,” said Sharks forward Tomas Hertl, who is a native of Prague. “It’s not just preseason where you coming here to warm up.”

Colorado and Columbus will also play two games in Tampere, Finland, on Nov. 4-5 as part of the NHL’s Global Series.

And just as the league gets used to a regular schedule, work is ongoing between the league and NHL Players’ Association to stage a World Cup of Hockey in February 2024, which is popular among players even if it knocks the calendar off kilter again.

“I think they missed out on a huge, huge portion of the international game that’s really going to be missed,” McDavid said. “We need to figure out a way to get an international tournament in as quickly as possible.”

Seattle Kraken promote Alexandra Mandrycky to assistant GM

Seattle Kraken promoteAlexandra Mandrycky to assistant GM

SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken have promoted Alexandra Mandrycky to assistant general manager after three years as director of hockey strategy and research.

Mandrycky was one of the first front-office hires by the Kraken after the expansion franchise was awarded by the NHL. She becomes the sixth female assistant general manager currently in the NHL.

“I am extremely honored to step into this role with the Kraken,” Mandrycky said in a statement. “I’d like to thank my team, who have been an essential part of the day-to-day success of our department and organization. I appreciate the trust Ron and Tod Leiweke have shown in not only me, but our whole department, and I’m excited to continue to grow with this team.”

Mandrycky will join Ricky Olczyk and Jason Botterill as assistant general managers working alongside GM Ron Francis. Mandrycky will continue to lead Seattle’s research and development team but also oversee amateur scouting as part of her promotion.

Mandrycky spent four seasons as an analyst for the Minnesota Wild before joining the Kraken.