Prospect Info: Shane Wright (Round 1, Pick #4, 2022 draft)

[The Marquis]

Moving Gourde to wing is the easiest option. Wright’s problems stem from the guys on the 4th line having played well lately and earning ice time.

 

[brewski420]

why the hell would we get rid of Gourde. Absolutely not. He can play all 3 spots. Its not worth making us weaker at center just for the sake of more ice time for Wright. Seattle can put gourde on the wing and put wright on 3C while still having geekie as 4C.

If you read what was said that at TDL if out of the playoff picture. Then you consider it especially in that a return for him would be better than most. You should at least consider it.

 

[Silkytentacles]

I don’t think you loose that much putting Wright over Wennberg. I’m a fan of Wennberg the guy is solid but it’s not like this team needs to make a push for a playoff run it’s better in the long term if Wright plays and if the team isn’t as good so be it it will be better in the long term for a longer period because of the development. We don’t have to trade Wennberg I just wanted to get some discussion going. What I really want is to see Shane play I don’t understand hack. Maybe they’re waiting for Kingston to trade his rights to a good ohl team for a run then sending him down idk wish they would be more clear on a path

 

[brewski420]

Wennberg has been one of the best players for the Kraken overall imo. You certainly don't sit him for Wright. I do agree Wright needs to be playing more and if that means the OHL then so be it.

 

[gstommylee]

Wennberg has been one of the best players for the Kraken overall imo. You certainly don't sit him for Wright. I do agree Wright needs to be playing more and if that means the OHL then so be it.

and he loses out working with the NHL players in practice working with higher and better training with the NHL squad. Sometimes its not always about game time ice time...

 

[The Marquis]

I agree with any opinion except the one where he never plays. That’s not great.

 

[gstommylee]

OHL or remain in the NHL has to do with the trade off btween playing in one vs the other. if he goes back the OHL will he gain more despite losing access to training with NHLers, having better facilities and trainers or not. That's the question.

 

[gstommylee]

GM Ron Francis remains encouraged 10 games into Kraken’s second season

General manager Ron Francis knows the the Kraken have given away some games but remains positive about how things have gone this season.

www.seattletimes.com

Key points on wright
1) Wright and his agent are on board with Seattle's plan
2) if in a perfect world Francis would rather keep him in the NHL than send him back
3) World jrs is an option but Francis won't comment on it for the time being.


Hes still not going to comment for sure if he remains or he goes back. Just leaving it as an option if the team decides to send him back to the OHL.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

why the hell would we get rid of Gourde. Absolutely not. He can play all 3 spots. Its not worth making us weaker at center just for the sake of more ice time for Wright. Seattle can put gourde on the wing and put wright on 3C while still having geekie as 4C.

It's not about "getting rid of Gourde".
It's about looking to gain more assets and creating playing time for Wright who wlll be very important for our future success.
Gourde has two more years left on his deal and will turn 31. That's a guy playoff teams would love to have and most likely would be willing to give up a good return for.

But like I've said, that only happens if we're out of the playoff picture and if someone's giving us something nice in return.

BTW: Reading Francis comments fron that Alison Lukan article for the Kraken homepage the one quote that was interesting was him talking about "maybe Wright get's traded and plays for a memorial cup".

If you wanted to, you could read into it that they might be looking to trade him to another OHL team before sending him down.

 

[Irie]

Key points on wright
1) Wright and his agent are on board with Seattle's plan
2) if in a perfect world Francis would rather keep him in the NHL than send him back
3) World jrs is an option but Francis won't comment on it for the time being.

Of course they are on board with that plan... It is the only plan where they both get a lot of money.

 

[brewski420]

BTW: Reading Francis comments fron that Alison Lukan article for the Kraken homepage the one quote that was interesting was him talking about "maybe Wright get's traded and plays for a memorial cup".

If you wanted to, you could read into it that they might be looking to trade him to another OHL team before sending him down.

I found this bit interesting and maybe makes some sense into how they are handling him. I do think they want to work him into the lineup but several factors are in play. Bottom six has been playing well with no injuries making it difficult to get him significant ice time. Also the schedule, something like 10 games in 18 days if I am not mistaken, makes it tough to practice and work him in.

Plaing on a competitive team for Memorial Cup is an intriguing option to keep year of control and good experience if ice time is limited in Seattle. Please just my opinion, nothing more.

 

[majormajor]

If you wanted to, you could read into it that they might be looking to trade him to another OHL team before sending him down.

FWIW they covered Wright on Friedman's 32 thoughts podcast and that was what they said was happening, that they're trying to force a trade from Kingston. As usual it is hard to tell if they had any original reporting or were just making the same informed guesses we are.

One thing that was a bit different was that they didn't say that everyone was okay with the current situation, they actually said no one is okay with it.

My personal opinion is that playing in Kingston would be fine, maybe not the best but he'll still have plenty of opportunities for growth. Wright's game stagnated there last year but that had more to do with some conditioning problems that he's now fixed. He can do a lot now and try new things at that level. Kingston isn't a bad team, their talent base is good and if Wright takes off they have a chance to make a Mem Cup run themselves.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

FWIW they covered Wright on Friedman's 32 thoughts podcast and that was what they said was happening, that they're trying to force a trade from Kingston. As usual it is hard to tell if they had any original reporting or were just making the same informed guesses we are.

One thing that was a bit different was that they didn't say that everyone was okay with the current situation, they actually said no one is okay with it.

If you listen to the video I posted on page 18 it says that it was Meric basically being forced to talk about rookies and just saying something.

I mean, it's pretty clear that everyone's unhappy given that the team and player want Wright to gain experience by playing and Hakstol certainly wouldn't mind not getting that question every day.

Anyways, I hope they find a solution that includes Wright playing hockey games, cause that's what needed to improve.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I defend Francis all the time but have to say he may have screwed the pooch on the whole Wright situation. He overloaded the team with fringe bottom-6 players like Kuhlman, Sprong, Donato and made it clear to Hakstol that we need to be competitive.

There is no way I expect Hakstol to ice Wright regularly, given that he is in the hot seat, when he can go to proven vets like Kuhlman, Sprong and Donato. This situation gets even worse when Donskoi returns.

For once, I am having a hard time blaming Hakstol on this.

 

[gstommylee]

Just a person's perspective.

 

[majormajor]

Just a person's perspective.

I agree with that argument, I wish I wrote it myself!

I have little doubt that Shane is learning a ton right now. Though to be clear, I would prefer if this NHL experience is combined with 4-5 months of junior games so he can put practice into action in an easier setting.

 

[Irie]

FWIW they covered Wright on Friedman's 32 thoughts podcast and that was what they said was happening, that they're trying to force a trade from Kingston. As usual it is hard to tell if they had any original reporting or were just making the same informed guesses we are.

One thing that was a bit different was that they didn't say that everyone was okay with the current situation, they actually said no one is okay with it.

My personal opinion is that playing in Kingston would be fine, maybe not the best but he'll still have plenty of opportunities for growth. Wright's game stagnated there last year but that had more to do with some conditioning problems that he's now fixed. He can do a lot now and try new things at that level. Kingston isn't a bad team, their talent base is good and if Wright takes off they have a chance to make a Mem Cup run themselves.

First of all, I want to make it clear that i have zero knowledge of what happened in Kingston last season, and you seem to have some insight.

You keep referring to conditioning being the issue, do you think that conditioning was an issue because his heart was not into hockey due to the situation?

I sorta got the feeling that playing there had burned him out and that he was more interested in golf and other activities than hockey last season from a couple of vaguely written editorials that may or may not have been complete nonsense.

Once again, I literally have no clue about what the issues were, but I am curious if there may have been something in that.

 

[gstommylee]

If you listen to the video I posted on page 18 it says that it was Meric basically being forced to talk about rookies and just saying something.

I mean, it's pretty clear that everyone's unhappy given that the team and player want Wright to gain experience by playing and Hakstol certainly wouldn't mind not getting that question every day.

Anyways, I hope they find a solution that includes Wright playing hockey games, cause that's what needed to improve.

Are they really unhappy or is people "speculating" just cause of what a few people said on a podcast despite more local media folks (Allison, Gbaker etc) says that everyone's on board with what seattle wants to do with Wright.

 

[majormajor]

First of all, I want to make it clear that i have zero knowledge of what happened in Kingston last season, and you seem to have some insight.

You keep referring to conditioning being the issue, do you think that conditioning was an issue because his heart was not into hockey due to the situation?

I sorta got the feeling that playing there had burned him out and that he was more interested in golf and other activities than hockey last season from a couple of vaguely written editorials that may or may not have been complete nonsense.

Once again, I literally have no clue about what the issues were, but I am curious if there may have been something in that.

I'll just tell you what I know and you can come to your own conclusions.

I watched Wright before last year but mostly just in international play. Last year I watched the Team Canada stuff but also about ten Kingston games (on onhockey), mostly just to see Wright. A few of those games are on YouTube where you can watch every shift of his.

So Wright was noticeably more sluggish last year compared to the season two years prior or the U18 tournament the Spring prior to last year. He himself acknowledged last Fall that has conditioning wasn't good enough. Some folks didn't think that was it but I think it explains most of his problem on the ice. His pace and battle level were uniformly low in every part of every game. A burnt out player will give you glimpses of high battle level but a poorly conditioned player can not.

The competing explanations blaming his coach I think are off the mark. That team had many high scoring players and you could see Wright's issues in 1 on 1 battle situations that would have nothing to do with team or coaching.

I don't doubt that Wright wants out of Kingston and I can see why the Kraken are trying to accommodate that. Kingston's coach might not be good. But I think his stagnation there originates in his own game.

That's just my opinion as a draft junky and you'd learn more talking to an OHL scout. Maybe read stuff from @Brock Otten.

 

[gstommylee]

I'll just tell you what I know and you can come to your own conclusions.

I watched Wright before last year but mostly just in international play. Last year I watched the Team Canada stuff but also about ten Kingston games (on onhockey), mostly just to see Wright. A few of those games are on YouTube where you can watch every shift of his.

So Wright was noticeably more sluggish last year compared to the season two years prior or the U18 tournament the Spring prior to last year. He himself acknowledged last Fall that has conditioning wasn't good enough. Some folks didn't think that was it but I think it explains most of his problem on the ice. His pace and battle level were uniformly low in every part of every game. A burnt out player will give you glimpses of high battle level but a poorly conditioned player can not.

The competing explanations blaming his coach I think are off the mark. That team had many high scoring players and you could see Wright's issues in 1 on 1 battle situations that would have nothing to do with team or coaching.

I don't doubt that Wright wants out of Kingston and I can see why the Kraken are trying to accommodate that. Kingston's coach might not be good. But I think his stagnation there originates in his own game.

That's just my opinion as a draft junky and you'd learn more talking to an OHL scout. Maybe read stuff from @Brock Otten.

Some of htat conditioning issue comes from missing an entire year as a result of the canceled OHL season. I still think that him staying in the NHL is way more better than going back to the OHL no matter what team it is.


Anyways latest Gbaker piece on the wright situation.

The Kraken want to play Shane Wright more, but here’s why it’s not happening

For now the Kraken want top draft pick Shane Wright, a healthy scratch in four consecutive games, honing his skills in practice so he's ready when he plays.

www.seattletimes.com

 

[majormajor]

Some of htat conditioning issue comes from missing an entire year as a result of the canceled OHL season.

I totally agree but it was missing the games AND not replacing it with the proper training. Plenty of OHLers clearly found a way to train well in the off year.

 

[rsteen]

He also injured his foot at the U18 which would have affected how he was able to train for part of he missing season.

 

[ottsabrefan]

FWIW they covered Wright on Friedman's 32 thoughts podcast and that was what they said was happening, that they're trying to force a trade from Kingston. As usual it is hard to tell if they had any original reporting or were just making the same informed guesses we are.

One thing that was a bit different was that they didn't say that everyone was okay with the current situation, they actually said no one is okay with it.

My personal opinion is that playing in Kingston would be fine, maybe not the best but he'll still have plenty of opportunities for growth. Wright's game stagnated there last year but that had more to do with some conditioning problems that he's now fixed. He can do a lot now and try new things at that level. Kingston isn't a bad team, their talent base is good and if Wright takes off they have a chance to make a Mem Cup run themselves.

Kingston is putting in a bid to host the Mem Cup next year, so they will definitely be trading Wright to load up on assets for next year. The only issue is that, like most trade deadlines in sports, the big deals come at the deadline (first week in January), and not two months before it. Teams are still trying to figure out what they have and are not yet ready to go all in. So the Fronts don’t want to trade him yet if he goes back now.

 

[kihei]

McIndoe appears to be inferring that from the same info we already have, so this probably isn't news, just guesswork.

Made me smile a little. It's pretty good guesswork, eh. I mean obviously Hakstol isn't banging the drums to keep Wright in the league.

 

[kihei]

Wennberg has definitely played better this year but he is not and never has been close to being a #1 centre. Matty's line deserves that honor.