Wright Place, Right Time for Seattle Kraken's Shane Wright

Shane Wright has suited up for four different teams this season, and the Kraken’s top prospect says he’s learned something at every stop.

To borrow a line from the legendary Johnny Cash, Shane Wright has been everywhere this season, man. And while no one could have predicted all the locations the talented young center ended up, it feels like the Seattle Kraken prospect is getting precisely the reps he needs after a first half filled with different and challenging experiences.

The tale of Wright's draft day is well-worn at this point. Seen as the potential No. 1 overall pick, he instead slid to fourth when the Montreal Canadiens opted for a winger in Juraj Slafkovsky. New Jersey didn't need a center, so they took defenseman Simon Nemec second overall, while Arizona preferred Logan Cooley down the middle. And all of that was just fine with the Kraken, who were more than happy to snap up Wright for their new pipeline. 

"We looked at a lot of different scenarios," said GM Ron Francis. "And that probably wasn't the highest probability, but we did think it was a possibility, and we're excited it happened."

In Seattle's first draft, the team scored center Matty Beniers with the No. 2 overall pick. Beniers, of course, is one of the Calder Trophy favorites this season and would have played in the All-Star Game had it not been for a pre-festivities injury. But everyone knows that championships are won down the middle, so getting another high-end, two-way pivot in Wright was just wonderful for the expansion franchise. 

"To me, he was the best talent in the draft," said Kraken director of amateur scouting Robert Kron. "A 6-foot-1 center who skates extremely well? We're extremely happy that he fell to us, so to speak. We were really high on Shane. We watched him for three years and building a team from the middle, I don't think you can do better than Matty and Shane."

But playing in the NHL is very difficult for an 18-year-old, no matter how advanced they may be. Wright made the Seattle roster out of camp but played minimal minutes. At first, it seemed puzzling – the Kraken were one of the worst teams in the league last year, so why not give the kid a chance to show what he's got? 

But once the Kraken gained some traction – thanks to an infusion of offensive talent from the off-season in the likes of Oliver Bjorkstrand and Andre Burakovsky – it was hard to knock the team for slow-playing the kid when they were winning so many games. 

Nonetheless, the kid was happy to get in those early games when he got the chance. 

"It was an adjustment for sure," Wright said. "It's the best league in the world. It’s faster and the guys are bigger and stronger, but I learned a lot from the guys on my team. When I played against Pittsburgh and saw Sidney Crosby lined up against me, that was when it really hit me. He was always my idol and the fact I was on the ice with him in the NHL was a pretty cool moment for me."

Wright also spent a good amount of time in the press box as a healthy scratch, but it wasn't punitive: It was a learning experience. Sitting with his GM on occasion furthered the rookie's education. 

"That was great," Wright said. "You never want to be scratched, but at the end of the day, I was a young guy coming in, and that's part of the process. I had to improve myself even if I wasn't playing, by practising well and watching games. Having the opportunity to sit with Ron Francis was pretty cool for me."

Because Wright was scratched for five games in a row at one point, he was allowed to go to the AHL on a conditioning stint – something a major-junior product ordinarily couldn't do under the CHL's agreement with the NHL. But playing for the new Coachella Valley Firebirds allowed Wright to find the points and minutes that had so far eluded him in the NHL, where his Kraken stat line was one goal and one assist in eight games. 

Wright had three goals in his first two games with the Firebirds, ending his AHL stint with four tallies in five games before he was released to Canada’s WJC team. 

"Those five games I played there were huge for my confidence," Wright said. "The fact that, ‘Hey, I can compete against these guys.’ I really loved it, those two weeks were a lot of fun for me."

"I've been in a lot of places and had a lot of teammates. It's been a lot of fun, and I've learned a lot." - Shane Wright

Wright was named captain of the world-junior team and though the loaded outfit (led by eventual tournament MVP and top 2023 draft prospect Connor Bedard) lost their first game to Czechia and needed overtime in two of their three medal-round games – including the gold-medal revenge game against the Czechs – it was a pretty magical tournament, netting Canada back-to-back gold medals. 

Perhaps most interesting is that in that gold-medal game, it was the three players loaned from NHL – Wright, Arizona's Dylan Guenther and Los Angeles' Brandt Clarke – doing the damage on the scoreboard. In a tournament dominated by Bedard highlights, Wright had his own crucial goal in the final, one which showed off his offensive flair. 

"I thought, for a lot of the tournament, he had played a lot of good hockey, it just happened to not go his way (on the stat sheet)," said Team Canada coach Dennis Williams. "That play he made on his own showed what an elite athlete he is."

Not only did Wright get to play in another high-pressure situation, but he also got to have a lot of fun in the aftermath of Guenther's golden goal in front of a raucous Halifax crowd. 

"It was pretty crazy," Wright said. "Fans were throwing their phones over the glass for pictures, and we were taking pictures through the glass and signing jerseys over the glass."

But there was also the experience of taking on the captaincy that resonated with Wright, and that will undoubtedly help him in the future. 

"It's a huge honor, and it comes with a lot of responsibility," he said. "You gotta make sure you're doing the right things all of the time and keep the guys on track, make sure they're staying focused and staying on task. And for yourself, you have to set a good example, because those guys are looking up to you and looking at your habits."

And now, Wright has taken his talents to another locale. 

After the world juniors, he was assigned back to the OHL, where he had played his entire junior career in Kingston ever since the Frontenacs took the exceptional-status 15-year-old first overall. Kingston wasn't contending this year, so Wright became a major trade chip at the deadline. 

But where would he go? The speculation was rampant: Barrie, Ottawa and London were all mentioned as possibilities, but in the end, it was a surprise team that won when the Windsor Spitfires came out on top. Given that Wright had a no-trade clause, he had to approve the move, and the Spits made a good case. 

"He's got a lot of good players around him, which will help," said Windsor coach and former NHL star Marc Savard. "But one of the reasons he chose here is I'm an offensive coach. We want to add that element back to his game, not that he ever lost it, but we want him to create on the attack, play fast hockey and get results. The more offensive results Shane Wright gets, the better off the Windsor Spitfires are going to be. I know he wants to get back on that track so when he is with the Kraken, he's contributing and helping them win games."

Windsor even had a pretty good case study from Savard's first year as coach last season: that's when Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston exploded for an OHL-best 124 points. Islanders pick Matt Maggio rang up numbers, as did Rangers prospect Will Cuylle, who made his NHL debut this season. 

"I wanted to go to a team that was contending and could win a championship, and Windsor definitely ticked that box," Wright said. "They've also been really good at developing players for the next level, and that's where I want to be next year. I want to develop into that NHL player, and Windsor can help me."

On top of netting plenty of points for Windsor – he was averaging nearly two per game early on – he also brings a lot of intangibles to the room. 

"Shane brings an element of leadership and he's a good human being," Savard said. "That's part of the Spitfires’ motto, we want to have good people and he's definitely been that since getting here.”

Now he has a chance at an OHL title and perhaps even a Memorial Cup run. Wright got a goal and an assist in Windsor's Game 1 loss to the Kitchener Rangers on March 30, but the squad entered the playoffs as the Western Conference's top seed. 

Windsor made it to the league final last year, losing in seven games to Hamilton. But if they need a player to step up in a big moment when the pressure is on, it won't be hard to find the prime candidate. 

"It's been a crazy year for sure," Wright said. "I've been in a lot of places and had a lot of teammates. It's been a lot of fun, and I've learned a lot. I've grown a lot as a player and a person, playing in the NHL and AHL, those experiences were incredible and obviously winning a gold medal at the world juniors was a pretty cool experience. It's definitely been a whirlwind."

This feature appeared in The Hockey News' 2023 Future Watch magazine. Get this issue for free (and no shipping costs) with an annual subscription at THN.com/free.