By Charles Hamaker 

Northgate, WA – Returning to the rink following a difficult four-game road trip that saw them go to overtime in three of those contests, the Seattle Kraken returned to the rink on Wednesday, November 1st as they prepare for a brief stop at home where they’ll be two games. Ahead of tomorrow’s contest against the Nashville Predators, the whole squad was on the ice as head coach Dave Hakstol preached pace and execution. There were a few unique notes from today’s practice session, not open to the public, including seeing a familiar ghostly friend. While they may not always seem largely impactful, practice time is valuable during the NHL regular season considering just how little teams get to work on different aspects of their game.  

First out: Brandon Tanev? 

Currently on injured reserve, forward Brandon Tanev was out on rink one before the team got underway for practice. Tanev, who on October 16th was ruled out for four to six weeks so this would be ahead of his timeline, was seen working on speed skating and shooting around the net. While it isn’t necessary an indication that he’ll be ready to get back with the team immediately, it’s a positive thing to see him out on the ice at all, as this is the first time since that injury that we’ve been able to see Tanev doing work of any sort. “Turbo” was doing these drills on rink one with skills consultant Matt Larke. It will be something to watch if Tanev continues to do this work on the ice before the team practices, including tomorrow’s morning skate, and we’ll do our best to get that coverage out as Brandon works his way back.  

Outside of Tanev, the first few visible that players came out of the team's locker room where Philipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord as both goaltenders headed over to rink two to begin work, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare joined them shortly after. Typically, this is how practices will begin, players will head over to rink two to work on a few things before the “main” practice begins back on rink one. When it comes to who was first out on the ice for rink one, second year center Matty Beniers came out and immediately got to work shooting on net. Beniers spent several minutes shooting from the mid-range area, somewhere he excelled last season according to NHL edge. Matty then moved down into the high danger area, getting shots in from just outside the crease and then finishing off with pucks just at the bottom of the right faceoff circle. Beniers is always one of the first to come out on the ice, so it’s not surprising at all to see Matty make the conscious effort to get shots on.  

Full attendance 

Every active player on the Kraken roster was present for today’s nearly hour-long practice, outside of the two forwards (Tanev, Burakovksy) that are on injured reserve. That will be the case, most days, but regardless it’s still nice to ensure that after that grueling trip where Seattle played four teams that are playoff caliber, there was nothing to necessarily be considered about when it comes to the health of the players. There did not appear to be in any changing of lines at this current point in time, as there has been some shakeup recently, with the groups from the last few games remaining together as the Kraken look happy with how their lineup currently is working.   

Hearing from Hak 

In our media availability with Dave Hakstol, Seattle’s head coach recounted the team's difficult road trip that saw them win two games and go to overtime in three of them. Facing a Detroit team that has come out hot offensively and record wise is one of the best in the league, a Carolina team that’s considered to be a cup favorite, a Panthers team that made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final last season, and a still tough Lightning team that still has several pieces from winning two cups a few years ago, the Kraken could’ve fared much worse than they actually did. Seattle was very much in all four of those games and arguably could have won them all as well had it not been for a bad bounce against Florida in the third period and failed execution offensively in the latter part of the Carolina game.  

In the most important news of the day and somewhat still in season with Halloween taking place yesterday, Hakstol stated that his favorite candy at least as a kid is Smarties, the Canadian version. Hard hitting journalism only here, folks.

The Kraken had a two-goal lead at some point throughout all four games of this road trip and gave all of them up. It’s something that’s troubling considering that it’s been a feat for Seattle to get that offense generated in the first place, let alone this new problem of giving up those leads. Hakstol didn’t have too much to improve upon when it came to those instances, rather reminded the context of some of these games and wanting to make sure that his team doesn’t give up the second goal so quickly after the first as it can give the opponent a good boost of energy in the game going forward.  

While working on special team units is traditionally something that we see during every practice, that wasn’t necessarily a large focus in today’s work. Hakstol spoke about both special team's units with us, largely stating that he’s somewhat content with how both the power play and penalty kill groups are working at this point of the season. Dave mentioned that while “percentages” will fluctuate throughout the course of the season, he’s happy with how both squads look and he more emphasized building on the momentum that those units have and sticking with what they’re currently doing there.  

If you’ve followed the team since it’s inaugural season, you may be aware that the goaltending hasn’t always been as good as it currently is, and Hakstol hasn’t always had the kindest things to say about his netminders. To begin their third season of existence in the NHL, the Kraken have had excellent efforts just about every game from Philipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord, keeping this team in games as they have largely struggled to get their offensive footing when it comes to scoring the puck and doing so consistently. When asked about his goaltenders and how he’s felt about them, Hakstol was happy with what he’s gotten about of Grubauer and Daccord.  

Seattle Kraken goaltenders Philipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord during the teams Training Camp this year. (Photos by Corey Craig)

What’s next? 

Coming off that difficult four-game road trip that saw Seattle take five of eight possible points, including three games that went to overtime and two victories, the Kraken return home to Climate Pledge Arena tomorrow, November 2nd. They’ll get a rematch against the Nashville Predators, having lost to them back in Seattle’s second game of the season, a frustrating 3-0 shutout as Juuse Saros was dialed in. A road trip that saw them in every single game could be the right sort of momentum that has them moving in the right direction, but it’ll be a tough contest against a Predators team that’s won three of their last five with two losses coming against upstart Vancouver. Puck drop for Nashville at Seattle is at 7PM PST at Climate Pledge Arena, being broadcast locally on Root Sports and nationally on ESPN+.  

https://www.whereweconverge.com/circling-seattle-sports

Cover photo by Corey Craig