Shane Wright's NHL Future Uncertain After Brutally Honest Comments From the Kraken GM

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James Connelly
May 22, 2023 (3:41 PM)

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Kraken GM Ron Francis had some comments regarding the future of 2022 4th overall pick Shane Wright resulting in uncertainty about the young forward's NHL future.

Shane Wright's NHL Future Uncertain After Brutally Honest Comments From the Kraken GM

Ron Francis knows what it takes to be great in the NHL. He himself is 5th all-time in NHL scoring and is 2nd in assists. With Francis knowing what it takes, he clearly is not seeing top Prospect, Shane Wright, doing these things.

Wright was expected to be a full-time NHLer last year but a bumpy year resulted in Wright only playing 8 NHL games this season.

Francis commented on Wright by saying:

"It's going to come down to Shane and how hard he works in the summertime."

This implies that Francis does not think he worked hard enough last summer and it was part of why he did not stay in the NHL for an extended period.

Shane Wright's Potential

Wright was the consensus 1st overall pick in 2022 up until essentially the final stretch where he wound up falling to 4th overall.

Compared to Patrice Bergeron, Wright plays a stout defensive game and has offensive upside to pair with it. While Wright may not put up 100+ points year in and year out, he could be a point-per-game player who can prevent other teams' top players from scoring.

If Wright can fill out to his potential, he will be a great compliment to any top 6 and could terrorize opponents for years. At the very worse, Wright should be a solid third-line center but his ceiling is much higher than that.

As Francis said, it is on him to determine his place and if he works year in and year out, he will earn his greatness.