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Showing posts from September, 2024

Mad as hell and not going to take it anymore

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People who have followed hockey for many years can recall games where one particular player seemed to be getting into scrums and even fisticuffs all night long. Seattle Kraken fans haven't seen that very much. Especially last season when the team was criticized for not responding to cheap shots against players like Matty Beniers and Jared McCann. That wasn't the case at Vancouver's Rogers Arena on Tuesday night. Forward John Hayden, who's been slowed down by injuries and has spent the last two seasons with the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL, was a thorn in the side of the Canucks and public enemy number one of Vancouverites in attendance. Hayden started the night stepping up to fight 6'6 defenseman Vilma Alrikson after the Swedish rookie ran Logan Morrison from behind. The `little guy' at only 6'3, Hayden appeared to deliver the most punches. ``That's John Hayden in a nutshell," opined former NHLer Eddie Olczyk on the Kraken telecast. ``He ...

Kraken lose pre-season opener

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 Pre-season games, especially early ones, are more about individual performances than they are about the final score. The Seattle Kraken dropped a 6-1 decision to the Calgary Flames last night at Climate Pledge Arena - really a Flames' rookie team- but there were still some bright spots as the Kraken begin a new era under new head coach Dan Bylsma.   The Kraken had their share of rookies on the ice in their first pre-season tilts, including the two top picks from the 2024 amateur draft - number-one pick Berkly Catton and number-two selection Nathan Villeneuve. Both made their presence felt in the game.   First the positive. Villeneuve, who played for the Sudbury Wolves a season ago, recorded the Kraken's only goal in the second period. He took a pass from Oliver Bjorkstrand stationed along the right wing boards, and snapped a shot past Calgary netminder Dustin Wolf, a former American Hockey League Most Valuable Player. Wolf, a former Everitt Silvertip, stopped 3...

Montour hopes to make history (again)

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Brandon is an awesome guy. Great in the locker room. If you’re out of the fight, he’ll drag you back in.                                                                          Josh Mahura   Last season, Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour, was a part of history. Two seasons ago, Montour's Florida Panthers lost in the Stanley Cup finals. That made it even sweeter, when Montour's Panthers rebounded last June to defeat the Edmonton Oilers and win the franchise's first ever Stanley Cup. Signed by the Kraken as a free agent, Montour admits his thoughts have drifted to making history again - helping the Kraken bring the hallowed Stanley Cup to the Pacific Northwest for that franchise's first-ever championship. ``The Stanley Cup is meaningful. It's crazy the reaction it gets," said Montour, who li...

Will Stephenson bring scoring punch to the Kraken

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While the Seattle Kraken have never sipped from the Stanley Cup after winning an NHL championship, several individual Kraken players have celebrated that moment. Perhaps to install a winning attitude, the Kraken have signed their share of Cup winners - Philip Grubauer and Andre Burakovsky with both Washington and Colorado and Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwartz with the St. Louis Blues. As Seattle begins its fourth NHL season - full practices began Thursday at the Northgate Training Facility - two more cup winners have joined the Kraken. Forward Chandler Stephenson celebrated with the Washington Capitals in 2018 and with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023. Defenseman Brandon Montour was part of the Florida Panthers first-ever championship last spring and like all the winning players got to bring the Cup back to his hometown, Ohswekan, Ontario for a day. Unlike the Nashville Predators and the Chicago Blackhawks, the Kraken didn't pursue several free agents but made a splash with the two big...

Kraken Housekeeping

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  SEATTLE KRAKEN 2021-2024 ALL-TIME RECORD 107-112-27 Playoffs 7-7 ALL-TIME ROSTER MASON APPLETON 2021-22, ALEX-BARRE BOULET 2021-22, NATHAN BASTIEN 2021-22, PIERRE-EDUOARD BELLEMARE 2023-24, MATTY BENIERS 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, OLIVER BJORKSTRAND 2022-23, 2023-24, COLIN BLACKWELL 2021-22, WILL BORGEN 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, ANDRE BURAKOVSKY 2022-23, 2023-24, DENNIS CHOLEWSKI 2021-22, AUSTIN CZARNIK 2021-22, JOEY DACCORD 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, RYAN DONATO 2021-22, 2022-23, JOONAS DONSKOI 2021-22, CHRIS DRIEDGER 2021-22, 2023-24, BRIAN DUMOULIN 2023-24, VINCE DUNN 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, JORDAN EBERLE 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, RYKER EVANS 2023-24, CALE FLEURY 2022-23, 2023-24 HAYDN FLEURY 2021-22, JESPER FRODEN 2022-23, MORGAN GEEKIE 2021-22, 2022-23, MARK GIORDANO 2021-22, YANNI GOURDE 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, PHILIPP GRUBAUER 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, JOHN HAYDEN 2022-23, 2023-24, CALLE JARNKROK 2021-22, MARCUS JOHANSON 2021-22, MARTIN JONES 2022-23, TYE KARTYE 2...