Shane Wright scratched for a 3rd straight game; Hakstol is going to get himself fired if he's not careful
When the Seattle Kraken had Shane Wright slip to them at the 4th overall spot of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, it was originally looked at as an absolute steal for the Kraken, who just one year ago, added Matty Beniers with the #2 overall pick.
Wright had spent multiple years as the projected consensus #1 pick only to be surpassed by big Slovak Juraj Slafkovsky, after a strong showing at the Olympics in Beijing for the 6'4 winger.
After the Kraken took Wright with the 4th pick, they got right to work on his development and after his first NHL training camp, GM Ron Francis revealed that the plan was for Wright to remain in the NHL for the 2022-23 season. Well, with just 5 games to his credit and only 1 assist so far, it would appear as though Kraken head coach (and former Leafs assistant coach) Dave Hakstol does not agree with his GM's assessment of Wright, as he announced on Saturday that Wright would be a healthy scratch for the third straight game.
It's important to note that Wright also missed a full year due to COVID-19 and a key developmental year at that. The major concern here is that if Wright isn't going to be getting reps at the NHL level, they should have sent him back to Kingston for another season with the Frontenacs so he could play big minutes in all situations and continue to get those all-important reps.
The way Hakstol is going right now, he's well on his way to botching the development of a player who has franchise center potential. If that comes to fruition, that's a fire-able offense, in my opinion.
A player of Wright's talent should be put into a position to succeed and to build confidence. One of just a handful of players to be granted exceptional status to play in the OHL at just 15 years of age, a full year before he would have been eligible, Wright has absolute game-breaking ability. He was the best 200-foot center in the entire draft. What Hakstol is doing right now is mismanaging a major asset. One has to wonder how long it will be before Francis steps in and tells the coach to play the kid or just takes the initiative to send him back down to dominate his junior league for one more season.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 29 | 150 ANSWERS Shane Wright scratched for a 3rd straight game; Hakstol is going to get himself fired if he's not careful Are the Kraken botching Shane Wright's development? | ||
| Yes, he needs to play | 67 | 44.7 % |
| No, this is good for the kid | 16 | 10.7 % |
| They should have just sent him down | 67 | 44.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
