Former Hamilton Bulldog & London Knight Ryan Winterton, and former Kingston Frontenac & Windsor Spitfire Shane Wright, have been called up to the Seattle Kraken from the AHL.
Last night, former OHL stars Ryan Winterton and Shane Wright were called up by the Seattle Kraken. Winterton and Wright began the season with the Kraken's AHL-affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds where they each played seven games.
Ryan Winterton split his OHL career between the Hamilton Bulldogs (now located in Brantford) and the London Knights. He won the OHL Championship with the Bulldogs in 2022, where they went on to lose in the Memorial Cup final.
Winterton has had unfortunate luck with injuries throughout his entire junior career. He played partial seasons with the Bulldogs in 2021-2022, and with London in 2022-2023 due to injury. Now playing at the professional level, he is getting his big opportunity.
On the ice, Winterton has a variety of offensive tools that make him dangerous. The combination of his quickness and vision allows him to attack in a variety of ways. His game makes it easy for his teammates to play alongside him. On the other end of the ice, he is reliable in his own zone and makes sure the puck is getting out efficiently before he charges on offence.
He has five points through seven games with Coachella Valley in the AHL, playing alongside Shane Wright on the top line. The NHL may have seemed out of reach for Winterton with all of his injuries through his junior career, but his determination, and Seattle's recent struggles have given him this opportunity.
2022 4th overall NHL Draft pick, Shane Wright gets another crack at the NHL, his first of the season. The former OHL exceptional status player has had trouble keeping a spot in the Kraken lineup, despite being selected first overall. He spent the majority of his junior career with the Kingston Frontenacs, before being traded to Windsor when Seattle sent him down last season.
Wright's first and second OHL seasons were very promising, crushing a point-per-game in both seasons. He played his minor hockey with the Don Mills Flyers, where he played with other top NHL prospects, Brennan Othmann and Brandt Clarke. This is when Wright was determined as an exceptional status prospect for the OHL Draft.
When the draft came, it was surprising to many that Wright fell to Seattle at 4th overall. Since June 2022, Wright has been battling to stay in Seattle's lineup. In Coachella, he has been very successful and he helped them in last year's playoffs once the OHL season concluded. There is still promise with Shane Wright, and potentially this will be the time when he can make his role stick.
On the ice, Wright is a complete, two-hundred-foot player with a lethal release. He is able to fill a lot of roles and is suitable as a bottom-six centre at the NHL level. Most young prospects need maximum exposure in the top-six to be effective, but Wright can play a vital role on the third or fourth line. The question lies in whether he is able to be a top-six player in the NHL, and produce at that rate.
Hopefully for Wright, this will be the last time that he needs to be called up from Coachella, and he is able to find a permanent roster spot in Seattle.
Winterton and Wright should both be in the lineup tonight, as the Kraken play the Colorado Avalanche on the road.
