2021 NHL Expansion Draft: 4 Best value picks for the Seattle Kraken

2. D Jake Bean – Carolina Hurricanes

Rewind back to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and the Vegas Golden Knights found great success in selecting unpolished gems who had not been given a chance to shine in the NHL by their previous teams, with Shea Theodore being the obvious example.

A bit-part player with the Ducks, Theodore honed his skills in Sin City and is now on the cusp of becoming a Norris Trophy caliber defenseman after carving out a couple of impressive years, including putting up 42 points (8 G, 34 A) in 53 games with a plus / minus rating of +28 in 2020-21.

And Jake Bean of the Carolina Hurricanes could be Seattle’s very own Shea Theodore.

Selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Canes – with Kraken GM Ron Francis then in charge of Carolina – Bean has huge upside and plenty of potential and he could be a real intriguing project for Seattle.

An excellent skater who can carry the puck and move it out of the zone, Bean is a multi-dimensional player who can excel in his own zone as well as providing an offensive punch, and he could be used in all situations.

He put up one goal and 11 assists for 12 points in 42 games in his rookie year for Carolina in 2020-21, while averaging 14:32 of total ice time, and he’s a highly-intelligent player who could morph into a top pairing blueliner.

Plus, the pending RFA could be signed to a team-friendly deal by Seattle, giving them a cost-controlled asset who has his best years ahead of him and who could grow into a very, very good NHL defenseman.

Just like Shea Theodore, perhaps.