The Seattle Kraken selected thirty players from across the NHL on Wednesday evening in the expansion draft, one of the first steps in building their inaugural roster.
While there’s no guarantee that any of the players selected will actually suit up for the Kraken when the season begins – there are bound to be trades and other signings ahead, along with the actual NHL Draft – it’s still an interesting look at how the Kraken are building their franchise, and what Ron Francis and his colleagues are prioritizing.
In case you missed Wednesday’s expansion draft, here are the players that were selected:
- Colorado Avalanche: Joonas Donskoi
- Chicago Blackhawks: John Quenneville
- Columbus Blue Jackets: Gavin Bayreuther
- St. Louis Blues: Vince Dunn
- Boston Bruins: Jeremy Lauzon
- Montreal Canadiens: Cale Fleury
- Vancouver Canucks: Kole Lind
- Washington Capitals: Vitek Vanecek
- Arizona Coyotes: Tyler Pitlick
- New Jersey Devils: Nathan Bastian
- Anaheim Ducks: Haydn Fleury
- Calgary Flames: Mark Giordano
- Philadelphia Flyers: Carsen Twarynski
- Carolina Hurricanes: Morgan Geekie
- New York Islanders: Jordan Eberle
- Winnipeg Jets: Mason Appleton
- Los Angeles Kings: Kurtis MacDermid
- Tampa Bay Lightning: Yanni Gourde
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Jared McCann
- Edmonton Oilers: Adam Larsson (has already signed with SEA)
- Florida Panthers: Chris Driedger
- Pittsburgh Penguins: Brandon Tanev
- Nashville Predators: Calle Jarnkrok
- New York Rangers: Colin Blackwood
- Detroit Red Wings: Dennis Cholowski
- Buffalo Sabres: Will Borgen
- Ottawa Senators: Joey Daccord
- San Jose Sharks: Alexander True
- Dallas Stars: Jamie Oleksiak (has already signed with SEA)
- Minnesota Wild: Carson Soucy
The next few days will be interesting. The NHL’s regular-season schedule will be released Thursday evening, and the draft is Friday & Saturday. The league’s trade freeze lifts at 1 p.m. Thursday. Free agency is also on the horizon, setting up what should be a busy couple weeks in the hockey world.