Four Options For The Seattle Kraken With The Fourth Overall Pick
The Seattle Kraken have almost completed their first season in the NHL. They played all their games, fell short of the postseason, and now await the upcoming NHL Draft just like everyone else.
The Seattle Kraken did not have the best first season in the league, but it can still be turned around.
The Kraken have a number of draft picks this upcoming draft. They have the fourth overall pick, four second-round picks, one third-round pick, three fourth-round picks and their own fifth, sixth and seven round picks. In all, they have the potential to add 12 prospects to their organization.
A team that is rebuilding like the Kraken desperately needs to acquire as many assets as they can, and they have done a good job of doing that so far.
General Manager Ron Francis really worked hard during the season to acquire some assets for down the line, and now they get to work on the next task of figuring out who to draft with these picks.
With their fourth overall pick, there are tons of options on the board for the Kraken. There really is no one obvious choice, so it will be interesting to see what happens when the draft kicks off.
So without further ado, let’s dive in with four prospects Kraken fans might want to know heading into the upcoming NHL Draft.
Option One: Logan Cooley – C
Logan Cooley might be a bit of a reach for the Kraken with the fourth overall pick, but it very well could be possible to see the Kraken land him depending on what the teams above them do.
Cooley looks to be a strong center that can make an impact on an NHL roster sooner rather than later. Successful teams start down the middle and the Kraken wouldn’t be making a mistake taking him should he still be available when they are drafting.
Cooley is 18 years old and is 5’10” he is not the biggest player in the world but he uses his creativity to help get his teammates open and score some great goals. This past season he registered 75 points including 27 goals in 51 games for the US National U18 Team.
Cooley is committed to the University of Minnesota for next season. He most likely won’t be around when the Kraken are picking, but then again anything can happen!
Option Two: David Jiricek – D
This is kind of interesting. The last three drafts from 2019 to 2021 have seen a defenseman picked at fourth overall in two of the three drafts. Those two defensemen are Bowen Byram with the Colorado Avalanche in 2019 and Luke Hughes in 2021 with the New Jersey Devils.
We could and most likely will see another defenseman picked with the fourth overall pick. The Kraken got their center last season when they drafted Matty Beniers with the second overall pick. In 10 games this past season he put up nine points during that time.
Beniers is their center of the future and now they have an opportunity to draft an absolute game-changer on their blue line. David Jiricek is 6’3″ and has the potential to become a top defenseman for years to come in this game.
Different outlets have him ranked at different spots with Elite Prospects ranking him second whereas Bob McKenzie of TSN has him ranked seventh. Jiricek should be available at fourth overall, and drafting him definitely won’t hurt the future of the franchise.
Option Three: Cutter Gauthier – LW/C
Maybe the Kraken look at the draft board and think outside the Bock a bit, that would be what picking Cutter Gauthier would do fourth overall. He is not really projected to go that high, but then again it just takes one team to see him play and he could go higher.
Gauthier would be a perfect left-wing for the Kraken with Matty Beniers down the middle. With the two forwards together in the future, it could be the next duo that could transform the Kraken.
Gauthier has size at 6’3″ and has spent the last year playing with the U.S. National U18 Team. During his time with the team he put up 34 goals and 65 points in 54 games. He also added 28 points in 22 games in the USHL
Option Four: Simon Nemec – D
The Seattle Kraken have another defenseman to keep an eye on going into this draft. Simon Nemec is a right-shot defenseman who registered 25 assists in 39 games for HK Nitra in Slovakia and he added 17 points in 19 playoff games.
Nemec looks like the total package. He is good defensively and also can help spark offense for his team. If the Kraken want to start building up their blue one starting with Nemec definitely would not hurt.
At the end of the day, I do think this is a two-player race. The Kraken should pick either Nemec or Jiricek with their fourth overall pick. The team needs to add that future top defenseman and either one of those guys can be that person for the team.
The Kraken added their top center last draft and now they can work on their top defensemen. There are going to be plenty of opportunities later in the draft to add more forwards who could potentially turn into something.
Related Story. Five Blackhawks that the team should re-sign. light
It is always interesting to see how defensemen who could very well be talked about in the top three end up falling out a bit due to how good a certain forward has been.
That was what happened with Bowen Byram a few years ago, it looked like he should have been picked third but he ended up falling to the fourth overall spot. The Kraken cannot afford to pass up on a top defenseman for the future of their team.