Kraken’s Jake O’Brien out day-to-day with lower-body injury
A small setback for a promising prospect out west.
The Seattle Kraken announced that forward Jake O’Brien will not be practicing on Tuesday and is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
It isn’t clear what knocked O’Brien out of action or when he was hurt. He appeared in the Kraken’s first preseason game this past Saturday, scoring a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. The former Brantford Bulldog posted a plus/minus of +2 while logging 14:47 of ice time in the contest. He wasn’t in the lineup for Seattle’s second game of the preseason on Sunday, which saw the team defeat the Calgary Flames by a final score of 4-2.
O’Brien is preparing for his first professional season after an exceptional junior career. He reached over 90 points in each of his final two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, including a career-high 32 goals and 66 assists for 98 points during the 2024-25 campaign. Last year, after notching 93 points during the regular season, the Toronto native scored 23 points in the playoffs, good for seventh among all postseason skaters. He helped Brantford reach the Eastern Conference Final, where the team blew a 3-1 lead to the Barrie Colts.
O’Brien joined the Kraken’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, during the Calder Cup Playoffs. He appeared in four games, but didn’t register a point, as the Firebirds made it to the Pacific Division Final before being eliminated by the Colorado Eagles.
In 180 regular-season games in the OHL, O’Brien posted 73 goals and 182 assists for 255 points, with another 39 points in 32 playoff contests. He won the Emms Family Award as league rookie of the year in 2023-24. He also won gold with Canada at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
O’Brien was taken by the Kraken eighth overall in the 2025 NHL Draft.
The Kraken have two more preseason games, visiting the Flames and Canucks on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Seattle opens the regular season on Oct. 1 against Calgary.
