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

[Fistfullofbeer]

ahhh, there it is. I guess I was just early and I didn't actually miss it. Thank you for the update.

Gotta think this season has been hard on him, but it finally feels like Wright is now where he should be along his development path.

I think Wright did fairly decent this season. Did he perform at par of being projected as being the #1OA pick. No. But neither did Slafkovsky. Nemec went #2 OA and didn't exactly light it up for the Devils or even Utica. Yes, Cooley is looking damn good but I would still be cautious till he actually starts producing in the pros.

Wright has 2 points in 8 games in the NHL. 4 in 5 at the AHL. When sent back to juniors he produced 37 points in 20 games. From my understanding, he was one of the better players for the Spitfires in the playoffs. He did everything without complaining and just looked to be better and do whatever the Kraken asked him to.

I understand that he is not a dynamic or flashy player. But anyone who followed Wright knew that he was never going to be that kind of player. He plays a different game. You give him some more risk averse but dynamic wingers, he could be a premier goal scorer. And our prospects like Firkus, Winterton could end up being those pieces.

 

[majormajor]

Gotta think this season has been hard on him

Why?

Other than the playoff disappointment I don't see it.

 

[Irie]

Why?

Other than the playoff disappointment I don't see it.

Sorry, by hard I mean in the difficult sense, not in the disappointing sense.

A whole lot of moving around. 4 different organizations, locations and teammates.

Some people thrive with change, but most tend to find it exhausting and would prefer some more stability.

 

[kranuck]

I’d rather he was back up here.

Sucks they just haven’t given him any chance.

I started calling Shane Wright "Wennberg with a shot" a year ago, long before the draft.

It's not meant to be an insult, though I suppose the people who thought he was Bergeron might interpret it that way. He's just instinctually cautious. And Wennberg is often underrated, people don't get how good he is reading ahead of the play and cutting off pucks in the neutral zone. And if he had a great shot and picked up another 20 pts that way, that's a valuable player to have.

I agree with those that think Wright's offense will scale up very well with playmaking talent on his wing. Give him a Gaudreau or Panarin on his wing and I think he'll score like a 1C.

Sounds like a total waste of a 4th overall pick.

 

[kranuck]

Ya that's pretty much how I see it too. He got a lot of early hype and so some people expect instant success but they need to realize most prospects take several years to be NHL ready. Guys like Beniers are special and unusual. In 3 years I think people will change their minds on Wright and be quite happy.

Cooley might be "special" but we only get to complain about players drafted AFTER Wright. If Gauthier or Jirichek, Savoie etc. turn out to be better then and only then you can say they made a mistake.
I still think Wright will be just fine.

Beniers was second overall. He’s great but the era of guys drafted that high taking a long time to make an impact seems to have mostly passed. It’s a young man’s league now.

I think people would be happy if wright was getting a chance to play in front of them instead of being benched for months and now being in the AHL.

 

[GrungeHockey]

Beniers was second overall. He’s great but the era of guys drafted that high taking a long time to make an impact seems to have mostly passed. It’s a young man’s league now.

I think people would be happy if wright was getting a chance to play in front of them instead of being benched for months and now being in the AHL.

I see a lot of people making that "it's a young man's league now" claim and then I look at the old guys in Boston leading the league in almost every category and think maybe not quite yet.

There actually aren't many young guys coming right in and making a huge impact. There are a few, but there are many many more that take several years to develop and then have their break through moments. Take a guy like Tage Thompson in Buffalo. He was drafted in 2016. Three years ago people in Buffalo were calling him a bust, two years ago he broke out and this year he's a top 10 in the league scorer. That's a 5 year development curve.

There are tons of other examples. Give Wright at LEAST 3 years before thinking about whether or not he's a bust.

 

[kranuck]

I see a lot of people making that "it's a young man's league now" claim and then I look at the old guys in Boston leading the league in almost every category and think maybe not quite yet.

There actually aren't many young guys coming right in and making a huge impact. There are a few, but there are many many more that take several years to develop and then have their break through moments. Take a guy like Tage Thompson in Buffalo. He was drafted in 2016. Three years ago people in Buffalo were calling him a bust, two years ago he broke out and this year he's a top 10 in the league scorer. That's a 5 year development curve.

There are tons of other examples. Give Wright at LEAST 3 years before thinking about whether or not he's a bust.

So a team that should (and will soon) suffer from massive age problems and a guy who has a bizarre development curve.

Beniers is special but he’s not unusual anymore. 20 is not an unusual age to be making the NHL. Not for a top prospect.

Wright should be a regular next year, or at least challenging for it. That would be pretty typical for a top prospect. A year, maybe 2.

 

[Irie]

Beniers is special but he’s not unusual anymore. 20 is not an unusual age to be making the NHL. Not for a top prospect.

Wright should be a regular next year, or at least challenging for it. That would be pretty typical for a top prospect. A year, maybe 2.

Beniers is very mature for his age and his hockey sense is way ahead of most 20 year olds. (and remember, Beniers played two years at the university of Michigan where he received stellar coaching before entering the NHL).

Wright missed a complete year due to the covid lockdown and came directly from a somewhat questionable Junior situation at 18. Wright has a shot and puck skills that are far ahead of most 19 year olds, but his physical maturity and hockey sense are way below an NHL level.

Every prospect has their own unique development curve and they will all develop at different time rates. The AHL is exactly where Wright should be right now given the available options.

 

[kranuck]

Beniers is very mature for his age and his hockey sense is way ahead of most 20 year olds. (and remember, Beniers played two years at the university of Michigan where he received stellar coaching before entering the NHL).

Wright missed a year completely due to the covid lockdown and came directly from a somewhat questionable Junior situation at 18. Wright has a shot and puck skills that are far ahead of most 19 year olds, but his physical maturity and hockey sense are way below an NHL level.

Every prospect has their own unique development curve and they will all develop at different time rates. The AHL is exactly where Wright should be right now given the available options.

Nah let him get a taste of playoffs.

 

[Irie]

Nah let him get a taste of playoffs.

He hurts the Kraken when he is in the lineup. Putting Wright out on the ice lessens the teams chances, which is not fair to the rest of the team. He just is not ready.

He'll get plenty of post-season play in Coachella. It's just a step on the long path of his development journey. Have patience, he will get there and be better off for the longer route to the league.

 

[Scomerica]

Nah let him get a taste of playoffs.

Yeah in Coachella

 

[kranuck]

He hurts the Kraken when he is in the lineup. Putting Wright out on the ice lessens the teams chances, which is not fair to the rest of the team. He just is not ready.

He'll get plenty of post-season play in Coachella. It's just a step on the long path of his development journey. Have patience, he will get there and be better off for the longer route to the league.

Yeah in Coachella

I don’t give a f*** about coachella, I can’t watch him in Coachella.

Team isn’t going deep either way.

 

[Scomerica]

I don’t give a f*** about coachella, I can’t watch him in Coachella.

Team isn’t going deep either way.

I'm not dropping anyone that got us to the play offs or giving up ice time. Wright will get his chance eventually. He's not ready yet

 

[RainyCityHockey]

I don’t give a f*** about coachella, I can’t watch him in Coachella.

Team isn’t going deep either way.

1) You could actually watch him in Coachella.
Just need to buy the AHL package.

Or, well, you could go to Coachella Valley and also just visit burning man given the festival's on during their playoffs as well.

2) Absolutely no one knows that.
But yeah, if you just throw him in and force Hakstol to play him a lot(after he wasn't great in the OHL playoffs) a short postseason for the Kraken would be nearly guaranteed.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I don’t give a f*** about coachella, I can’t watch him in Coachella.

Team isn’t going deep either way.

I think if coaches and management started icing prospects based on the fans demands, we would be pretty screwed.

We may not go anywhere in the playoffs but the team cannot go in with a negative attitude with that. You ice the players that give you the best chance to succeed right now.

 

[kranuck]

I think if coaches and management started icing prospects based on the fans demands, we would be pretty screwed.

We may not go anywhere in the playoffs but the team cannot go in with a negative attitude with that. You ice the players that give you the best chance to succeed right now.

But that’s the problem, they don’t have much chance to succeed.

If they had better goaltending then maybe they could on a run, but as it is they probably aren’t going deep.

So why not ice a team includes guys you want taking you deep in a few years?

I don’t like a mediocre team because they aren’t really building well but they aren’t winning either. Bad place to be.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

But that’s the problem, they don’t have much chance to succeed.

If they had better goaltending then maybe they could on a run, but as it is they probably aren’t going deep.

So why not ice a team includes guys you want taking you deep in a few years?

I don’t like a mediocre team because they aren’t really building well but they aren’t winning either. Bad place to be.

I will not argue with you about us going deep because I am on the same page. But, what this team needs is to experience the playoffs as a group. Despite this team being "mediocre" they are still good for 100 points this season. What the players deserve is the management to give them the best chance to do well in the playoffs.

Putting the likes of Wright, Ottavainen, etc. does the opposite of that. What it does is shows the players that their efforts are meant for naught and the accomplishment of this season does not mean much because management does not have any faith in them succeeding. Sends a really bad message in my opinion.

And I am not even counting the fact that playing Wright would unnecessarily burn another year of his ELC.

Next season in the AHL looks promising. Wright, Winterton, Melanson, Morrison are a good group of talented kids to get to play (hopefully) a whole season together. If we sign Robertson and Jackson that is 2 more kids who get to grow together as a team in Coachella.

 

[Irie]

But that’s the problem, they don’t have much chance to succeed.

If they had better goaltending then maybe they could on a run, but as it is they probably aren’t going deep.

So why not ice a team includes guys you want taking you deep in a few years?

I don’t like a mediocre team because they aren’t really building well but they aren’t winning either. Bad place to be.

I was living in San Jose for the Sharks first playoff appearance. They were a fledgling expansion team and made the playoffs with a losing record. They beat the #1 seed Redwings in 7, and then took the Maple leafs to 7 games(they had a 3-2 game advantage and lost game 6 in OT.)

That playoff run boosted interest in the NHL and the team in that city ten-fold.

Although they didn't even make the conference finals, the two series playoff was monumental for the franchise and building recognition in the community.

Honestly, beating the Redwings that year was almost as exciting as winning the cup to the fans down there, given the previous years team only won eleven games.

It shouldn't be cup or bust for the Kraken. Small playoff successes will go a long way both within the community and toward convincing UFAs that Seattle is a destination with a chance to win.

 

[rsteen]

The "it's a young man's league now" is more at the other end of the career. We realize now that players peak physically at 24-25 and maybe think twice or thrice about handing a 7-year contract to that 27-year-old.

Zero 18 year olds played a full season in the NHL this season. Jack Hughes struggled in his rookie season (don't know why he didn't do a one and done NCAA season like other top NTDP kids, he was just too small), Lafreniere was probably rushed at 18, Sillinger was good last season but had a sophomore slump and is currently in the AHL.

Yes it's more common for 19 year olds to make the NHL but don't downplay Matty's impact. Both the Athletic and Evolving Hockey WAR models have him as the second best forward on the team after McCann.

 

[kranuck]

The "it's a young man's league now" is more at the other end of the career. We realize now that players peak physically at 24-25 and maybe think twice or thrice about handing a 7-year contract to that 27-year-old.

Zero 18 year olds played a full season in the NHL this season. Jack Hughes struggled in his rookie season (don't know why he didn't do a one and done NCAA season like other top NTDP kids, he was just too small), Lafreniere was probably rushed at 18, Sillinger was good last season but had a sophomore slump and is currently in the AHL.

Yes it's more common for 19 year olds to make the NHL but don't downplay Matty's impact. Both the Athletic and Evolving Hockey WAR models have him as the second best forward on the team after McCann.

WAR is a shitty metric and you shouldn't use it.

 

[majormajor]

It shouldn't be cup or bust for the Kraken.

Or for any team. You try to win every game you can, that's the point of the game.

 

[Irie]

Or for any team. You try to win every game you can, that's the point of the game.

There are definitely varying expectations between different franchises that influence what level of success is deemed the minimum acceptable level.

Sacrificing the future for some teams definitely puts them in the "cup or bust" mode.

The Bruins are a cup or bust team this season, especially given what they have traded away for aging vet rentals and their upcoming cap situation. Losing in the conference finals would be a big disappointment for them. Seattle losing in the conference finals would be a solid win for the franchise and considered a pretty great success.

 

[GrungeHockey]

So a team that should (and will soon) suffer from massive age problems and a guy who has a bizarre development curve.

Beniers is special but he’s not unusual anymore. 20 is not an unusual age to be making the NHL. Not for a top prospect.

Wright should be a regular next year, or at least challenging for it. That would be pretty typical for a top prospect. A year, maybe 2.

It's not "bizarre" it's just an example of how some players take longer than others. That's a simple fact. Same team look at Dylan Cozens. This was his break out year. That's the 2019 draft and that's a draft filled with players breaking out right now, as is normal.

Beniers hasn't fully developed yet though. Yes, players like him can make it, they can contribute, but they should still get better. You can expect peak level Beniers in 2025 or 26 and onwards for the next decade after at which point he might start to trail off.

Wright should be on the team next year but if he's not ready I still wouldn't panic. It also partly depends on how deep and good the Kraken are next year.

 

[kranuck]

It's not "bizarre" it's just an example of how some players take longer than others. That's a simple fact. Same team look at Dylan Cozens. This was his break out year. That's the 2019 draft and that's a draft filled with players breaking out right now, as is normal.

Beniers hasn't fully developed yet though. Yes, players like him can make it, they can contribute, but they should still get better. You can expect peak level Beniers in 2025 or 26 and onwards for the next decade after at which point he might start to trail off.

Wright should be on the team next year but if he's not ready I still wouldn't panic. It also partly depends on how deep and good the Kraken are next year.

Tage Thompson had a weird development curve.

 

[The Marquis]

Tage Thompson had a weird development curve.

Late bloomer, but not unprecedented