Devin Shore's First Seattle Kraken Goal Showed Remarkable Skill

Hustle, Coordination, Deception All Factor Into Memorable Shore Score

Devin Shore of the Seattle Kraken reminded us Thursday night that even those on the borderline of major league rosters are elite athletes with breathtaking skills.

In the first period of Seattle's 3-2 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, Shore performed a series of actions requiring supreme abilities. 

Any one of these would be impressive on its own, but performing them all under game conditions within less than 10 seconds is remarkable.

Prior to detailing this stunning sequence, consider that Shore wasn't even supposed to be playing with the Kraken. He started the season with their AHL farm team in Coachella Valley. 

He was called up as the "spare" or "13th" forward when Brandon Tanev was injured. 

When Andre Burakovsky was also injured, both out several more weeks, Shore went from insurance policy to inserted in the lineup this week for the first time.

Signed over the summer to a one-year contract, Seattle became Shore's fifth NHL team. 

To date, he's pieced together a 424-game NHL career, which is almost certainly 424 more than anyone reading (or writing) this. However, only twice in nine seasons has he played more than 49 NHL games with the same club; the last time was with Dallas in 2018. 

For many years, his role has been to be ready when called, be a positive dressing room presence, and otherwise support teammates. In 2021 with Edmonton, he played just three games over a five-week stretch.

"There's a lot of ups and downs in a career," Shore admitted to the Edmonton Journal. "Hopefully not too many more, but it's inevitable. The best thing is to just enjoy the journey."

Make no mistake: like most in his situation, Devin was a stud of a player growing up. 

The Portland Press Herald recounted a game Shore played, "facing an undefeated team, trailing by a goal and with two players in the penalty box. Undaunted, Shore picked up the puck in his own end and went the length of the ice to tie the score."

He was 10 years old.

Later, Shore was a star and captain at the University of Maine - and studied finance, maintaining the highest GPA on the team. (That's not a hockey stat; it stands for "Grade Point Average.")

Which brings us back to this week, and Shore's insertion on the Kraken 4th line. Tuesday in Detroit, Shore experienced one of those "lows" he had hoped to avoid. During a 3rd period shift, his stick clipped the Red Wings' Christian Fischer in the face. While Devin served his four-minute minor for high-sticking, Detroit tied the game.

The Kraken went on to win 5-4 in overtime, then headed to Raleigh, NC for Thursday's game with the Hurricanes. In the first period came one of the "ups" Shore spoke of, and redemption he earned through hustle and skill.

First, Shore's alert backcheck prevented Carolina's Brendan Lemieux from getting a shot off. As Oliver Bjorkstrand collected the loose puck, Shore sprinted up ice.

Bjorkstrand, from inside his blue line, lifted a stretch pass to Shore as he broke over the Carolina line. 

While skating at full gallop behind the defense, Shore marshalled the hand-eye coordination to not only knock the puck out of midair with his stick, but have the puck drop right at his feet.

The job only half done, Shore skates in on Hurricanes goalie Frederic Andersen. While moving the puck from backhand to forehand to backhand, he subtly shimmied his torso. These are moves they wouldn't attempt on "Dancing With The Stars."

With Anderson hypnotized, Shore slid the puck five-hole for a well-earned first goal as a Kraken. From the backcheck to the goal: eight seconds, 150 feet of ice.

"Ollie did a good job of waiting for me to get behind him," Shore explained in a ROOT Sports interview. "It was in the air so you just kind of get your stick out there and hope you can get a piece of it. Luckily I did, so it was nice to see it go in."

This is why we love hockey. And why we should always root for players like Devin Shore.