Seattle GM Ron Francis Updates All Things Kraken (Part 5 Of 7)
The name of hockey icon Frank Calder is about to feature prominently in the fates of Seattle's first two number-one draft picks.
2021 2nd overall choice Matty Beniers is a finalist for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL rookie of the year. The winner will be named at the NHL Awards in Nashville on June 26.
Meanwhile, 2022 4th overall pick Shane Wright is still playing hockey. His AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds tonight play against Hershey in Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals.
As he ponders what to do with the #20 overall pick at the NHL Draft later this month, Kraken general manager Ron Francis reflected on his prior number-ones.
Early Success Didn't Change Beniers
"Beniers was able to jump in at a perfect time for him (at the tail end of the 2021-22 season). He took advantage of that and had success for those ten games. He was able to roll that into a good summer and then a really confident training camp.
"As a GM, you're always worried, okay, the kid comes in, he has that kind of success, is he going to take it easy in the summer? But from day one in training camp, I think he only knows one way, and that's to push hard. His pace in practices is high every day. Every time he gets in a game, his work ethic is outstanding.
"Is his game perfect? No, but there's things that he's going to continue to work on and get better. The player you see now is going to be different from the player you see three years from now. He's going to get bigger, stronger, harder to play against. He's going to learn some tricks of the league and he's going to continue to improve.
"So, really thrilled with his performance. Getting two playoff rounds is just a huge learning curve for a young guy like that, to see how things ramp up in the playoffs and how tough it is. He handled himself well. So we're excited about the future with Matty next year."
Firebirds Return Home, Face Elimination In Game 6
Coachella Valley is back home for tonight's Game 6 of the AHL Calder Cup Finals against the Hershey Bears. With Hershey leading the series 3-2, the Firebirds need a win to force a deciding 7th game Wednesday night.
Teenage center Shane Wright will be doing his best to keep the home teams undefeated in this year's Finals (7 pm PT at Acrisure Arena).
The Wright Path
"We forget these guys are 18-19, and it takes time to understand and learn the league. There's parts of his game he needs to continue to work on. We'll have Jeff Tambellini and our player development staff working closely with him over the summer and into next year, continue to help him find his way to being the player he wants to be.
"We have to let Wright go through his own path, and he has to be the driving force. He has to have a great summer, and he's in control of that. Then he has to bring himself into training camp with the mental part and the physical part both together, ready to have a successful camp. That's going to be his pathway."