Kraken pondering a major decision on Shane Wright
After the Kraken's 2-3-2 start, some notable players are off to a slow start. Specifically right-handed center Shane Wright. Jason Bukala of Sportsnet pondered on Monday whether the Kraken would consider sending down the 4th overall pick to the Kingston Frontenacs to continue in his development.
Wright, who was granted exceptional status in the OHL at the age of 15, has one point through seven NHL games. His one assist came against the St. Louis Blues on October 19th, the team's fifth game of the season. Aside from the first two games of the season, Wright has faced limited ice time early on. Here is the TOI in his last five games:
Seattle @ Anaheim: 6:14
Seattle vs Carolina: 6:50
Seattle vs St. Louis: 6:36
Seattle @ Colorado: 8:42
Seattle @ Chicago: 5:51
His lack of aggression in the offensive zone has shown, as Wright has a total of two shots on goal through seven games. So far, this has not been the player the Kraken were expecting when drafting him 4th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. With limited ice time, it's hard to imagine that the transition to the NHL has been easy for Wright. One must wonder, if the Kraken continue to sit Wright, should he just be sent back down to the OHL?
Wright's playstyle has not translated to success in the NHL thus far. In comparison to another rookie, Matty Beniers has five points through seven games for the Kraken this season. Last season Beniers found success with nine points in ten games in his brief, late-season appearance for the Kraken, so he does have a 10-game head start on Wright - but he also experienced some immediate success.
If the Kraken organization wishes to keep Wright in the NHL this season, they need to provide him with more of an opportunity. This could be done by giving him more ice time or even pairing him with more offensive-minded players, at least to get him going. In the pre-season, we saw glimpses of what Wright was capable of. Wright found success on the power play and with his new team right away. But, since the regular season has started, Wright hasn't been given the best developmental opportunities - especially since the Kraken are not expected to be a playoff team.
If the Kraken are not going to utilize Wright nor work to develop him this season by providing him more ice time, the best option may be to send him back down to the OHL. A player of Wright's caliber doesn't come along very often. Sending him down could further provide him with the chance to produce, dominate, be the go-to guy and rebuild his confidence for his future NHL career.
In two seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs, Wright played 121 games and had 160 points. He was the alternate captain in his first seasons and was then promoted to captain in just his second season.
Credit: hockeydb.com - Shane Wright, hockeydb.com - Matty Beniers
| POLL | ||
25 OCTOBRE | 129 ANSWERS Kraken pondering a major decision on Shane Wright Should Seattle send Wright back to Kingston (OHL)? | ||
| Yes | 86 | 66.7 % |
| No | 14 | 10.9 % |
| They just need to give him more ice time | 29 | 22.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
