The Seattle Kraken have announced their opening night roster, which features youngsters Berkly Catton and Jani Nyman.
The Kraken kick off their regular season on Thursday with a home showdown against the Anaheim Ducks at 7 p.m. PST.
Ryker Evans and Kaapo Kakko are both featured on the opening night roster but are currently placed on the injured reserve, according to Puckpedia. Kakko will be out for six weeks with a broken hand, and Evans will be out 6-8 weeks with an upper body injury.
Coincidentally, Vince Dunn, Brandon Montour, Jared McCann and Chandler Stephenson have been battling injuries in pre-season, but were all named to the roster and haven't been ruled out for the opener.
The Kraken roster features three goaltenders, those being projected No.1 Joey Daccord and backups Philipp Grubauer and Matt Murray.
On the backend, there aren't any surprises, but Cale Fleury was able to beat out Ville Ottavainen, who was sent down to the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
Up front, Catton, Nyman and Ryan Winterton were able to lock down spots on the roster. Nyman and Winterton are still on entry-level contracts, and one of the forwards would have been sent down if Kakko were healthy.
Nyman was impressive in pre-season and will likely get the first crack at playing in the NHL this year. Catton, unlike Nyman and Winterton, will have nine games to prove he deserves to play the 2025-26 season in the NHL. After nine games, a year will burn off of his ELC. If he is unable to prove to coach Lane Lambert that he can play this season in the NHL, he'll be sent back to the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL.
The full roster can be found down below:
Goaltenders: Joey Daccord, Philipp Grubauer, Matt Murray
Defenseman: Vince Dunn, Ryker Evans, Cale Fleury, Adam Larsson, Ryan Lindgren, Josh Mahura, Brandon Montour, Jamie Oleksiak
Forwards: Matty Beniers, Berkly Catton, Jordan Eberle, Freddy Gaudreau, Kaapo Kakko, Tye Kartye, Mason Marchment, Jared McCann, Jani Nyman, Jaden Schwartz, Chandler Stephenson, Eeli Tolvanen, Ryan Winterton, Shane Wright