Seattle Kraken Farm Club Closes In On AHL Pacific Division Title
No Shane Wright. No Ryan Winterton. No Logan Morrison.
No problem Saturday for the resilient AHL farm team of the Seattle Kraken. With the trio of key players mentioned called up to their NHL parent, the Coachella Valley Firebirds still found a way to beat the Abbotsford Canucks 2-1 in overtime.
The Kraken returned a fourth player, defenseman Cale Fleury, to the Firebirds, but Fleury didn't play Saturday.
Three notable Firebirds with Kraken connections did make contributions to the victory in Abbotsford, B.C.
- Goalie Chris Driedger (pictured above) made several sensational stops among his 24 saves. Driedger improved to 23-6-9, raising his save percentage to .919 and lowering his GAA to 2.24, 4th best in the AHL.Those sparkling numbers increase the likelihood that Driedger, a free agent at season's end, will draw interest from other NHL clubs.
- Lleyton Roed, an undrafted forward out of Bemidji State in Minnesota, played his first pro game as part of an amateur tryout with the Firebirds. Roed, a Hobey Baker Award nominee, was signed by the Kraken on March 27.
- Firebirds captain Max McCormick provided the offensive heroics. McCormick tied the game 1-1 with 48 seconds left. Then he swept home the overtime winner from his belly, a goal that has to be seen to be believed - so we embedded the highlights below.McCormick was called up for one Kraken game in December, after playing 10 Seattle contests during the 2021-22 season.