Shane Wright still has what it takes to be a big contributor for Kraken

After being taken No. 4 overall by the Seattle Kraken in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, many felt that Shane Wright was the steal of the draft. Widely expected to be the No. 1 pick, Wright fell into Seattle’s lap, with many expecting the motivated forward to hit the ground running.

But Wright struggled with his first taste of professional hockey, scoring one goal in eight NHL games and was he was sent back to the OHL. The following season, he wasn’t able to stay in the Kraken lineup, ending up with Seattle’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. He would score 22 goals and 47 points in 59 regular-season games, followed up 13 points in 12 games during their Calder Cup Playoff run.

Now 20 years old and expected to play a full season with the big club, Wright is hoping to flash some of the talent that made scouts salivate over him when he was in junior.

On Thursday’s episode of "Daily Faceoff LIVE," Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk are joined by Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis to discuss Wright’s growth as a professional and what to expect going into 2024-25.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I wanted to ask you a little bit about Shane Wright. He’s coming into another year with the Kraken, and we’re always obsessed with the shiny new toy, so maybe he’s a guy who’s easy to forget. But is there still high-end upside with a guy like Shane Wright, even if he hasn’t hit at the NHL level yet?

Steven Ellis: I’ve been really impressed with his last two seasons. I remember watching him, and this is gonna make me sound old, but I watched him when he was 13 years old playing with the Don Mills Flyers and Burlington Eagles, and you always saw a player who was a step ahead of everyone.

The big thing for him that’s going to allow him to have a successful career is his mind. I do think he’s one of the smarter prospects. He might not put up a ton of points every night, although he had around 47 points in 59 regular-season games with Coachella Valley last season, which is very impressive for a player his age.

I think with Wright, you’re looking at a guy who is going to be a very good two-way player. He was a goal scorer at a young age, goes to the OHL and puts up a lot of points, but they will mold him into a player who can do a bit of everything. He can be the hardest two-way player to play against, he’s going to be on the penalty kill, he’s going to be on the power play. With Seattle, we’re not talking about a guy who’s going to put up 75-80 points a season, but he’s got that two-way value.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…