Drastic change of plan with Shane Wright for the Kraken?
Shane Wright's situation with the Seattle Kraken has been the talk of the town since the start of the season.
Receiving very little playing time in his first career game, under seven minutes, the fourth overall pick in 2022 was "healthy scratch" in his team's next two games.
Since then, he's been reinserted into the Kraken's fourth line, but he's not touching the ice any more than he did before, totaling 6 minutes 50 seconds in three games so far. Number 51 still managed to get his first NHL point during his team's last game.
According to TSN's Darren Dreger, the Kraken are currently considering sending Wright back to junior to help his development.
Clearly, playing so few minutes per game doesn't help him develop, gain confidence in his abilities and establish himself in the NHL. In this sense, since Wright has only four games left to play before his first year of contract is up, team GM Ron Francis still has the option of sending him back to junior.
While this scenario is not necessarily optimal for Wright, as he would possibly be too strong for the OHL, it is normal for the organization to think about the best plan for their young player.
The best case scenario would have been to send him to the AHL, but he's not eligible for that since he comes from the Canadian Junior League.
Of course, the Kraken's depth makes it difficult to integrate the young center in the team's top-9. However, like Martin St-Louis with Juraj Slafkovsky, even if he is currently on the fourth unit of the team, it did not prevent his coach from using him for more than 14 minutes during last night's game against the Arizona Coyotes.
Shane Wright's next four games could be crucial to Ron Francis' decision making process.
Credit: DansLesCoulisses
| POLL | ||
Who will be better? | ||
| Shane Wright | 47 | 18.2 % |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | 211 | 81.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
