Seattle Kraken recall Shane Wright from conditioning stint

The Seattle Kraken announced Monday that Shane Wright is on his way back to the NHL after a short conditioning stint in the American Hockey League.

The fourth overall selection of the 2022 NHL Draft made the jump from the Ontario Hockey League to the NHL right away after being drafted. He played seven games for the Kraken, scoring a single assist and compiling a plus-4 rating.

The Kraken didn’t like what they saw from his performance so they sent him down to play for the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s AHL affiliate. Unlike with most players who get sent to the AHL after a disappointing performance, the Kraken were very clear that this would be a precisely five-game stint because he wasn’t eligible to say there longer.

In those five AHL games, Wright scored four points, all goals. The 18-year-old center is in the early stages of his NHL development and the hope is this conditioning stint will set him on the right track.

During his first stretch of games with the Seattle Kraken, he didn’t earn very much trust from the coaching staff. Wright played an average of 8:06 minutes of ice-time per game. He was also a healthy scratch for numerous games.

The advanced stats don’t look good for him either. Among 20 Seattle Kraken skaters who have played at least 50 minutes of ice-time this year, Wright ranks 14th in Expected Goals for Per 60 minutes. He is dead last among Kraken forwards.

His 38.5 Corsi% compared to a favorable 64.5 Offensive Zone Start % is something that he needs to improve on in the coming games.

So far, three players from the 2022 NHL Draft have made their NHL debuts. Included are center Wright, winger Juraj Slafkovsky, and defenseman David Jiricek.

Wright’s Kraken linemates will likely be two of Brandon Tanev, Yanni Gourde, and Ryan Donato.