There is no rest for the weary. Less than a day after getting stumped at home 5-2 by the Anaheim Ducks, the Seattle Kraken are acquiring reinforcements from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Happy Thanksgiving, Ryan Winterton, the Kraken need you.
Seattle In Need of a Spark
As of Nov. 28, Seattle’s 2024-25 season can go either way. At 11-11-1, the club is essentially remaining afloat. Nine Western Conference teams have accumulated more points, and the St. Louis Blues have tallied the same number (23).
Related: Ducks Defeat Kraken 5-2
But inconsistency has plagued the group since the start of the season. A recent, impressive homestand that lasted six matches, for which head coach Dan Bylsma’s ensemble went 5-1-0, was followed by two defeats in three games. The latest stain was the defeat to the Ducks at home on Nov. 27, just two days after besting Anaheim as the road team.
Rather than take the U.S. holiday off, management stayed at work and opted to add some youth and spunk to the lineup. Winterton is a 2021, third-round draft selection by the Kraken. He finally put his skating blades onto NHL ice last season for nine games. During that time he registered no points and was a minus-1 rating.
He has played in one match this season. It was on Nov. 5 away to the Colorado Avalanche, a clash that ended in a 6-3 loss. The forward was a minus-3 that night.
That said, his AHL statistics are solid. He totaled 35 points in 58 games in 2023-24 (22 goals, 13 assists) and has already notched 15 points in 16 contests this season (seven goals, eight assists).
How Bylsma plans to use him is unknown at the time of writing, although including him on the same line as former Firebird teammate Shane Wright would make sense.
The Kraken are next in action away to the San Jose Sharks on Friday (Nov. 29).
