Picking the future of the Kraken: an overview of potential 2025 draft picks
By Jayd Serdy, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - Our Seattle Kraken didn't finish dead last in the NHL this season, which was a good thing for them considering how frustrating three of their first four seasons in franchise history have been, however they finished low enough to pick eighth overall, with the New York Islanders picking first overall. Despite falling to eighth overall in 2024, the Kraken managed to select Spokane Chiefs (WHL) forward Berkly Catton who recorded 116 total points (54 goals and 62 assists) over 68 games throughout the 2023-24 season, marking him as an exciting forward prospect down the middle that has the sort of offensive talent that this franchise is lacking at the NHL level. Seattle’s eighth overall pick played in 57 games with 38 goals and 71 assists through the 2024-25 season and helped lead Spokane to the WHL Championship where they fell just short.
Coming into the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, Seattle has seven picks throughout the draft with just one in the first round at eighth overall. Their following picks come in at 38th and 57th during the second round, 102nd and 126th during the fourth round, 134th in the fifth round, and finally 198th during the seventh round.
The draft will be held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 27th and June 28th this year. The draft will be decentralized, meaning that just the top 50 prospects will be in attendance while team executives, coaches and scouts will not be present, but instead gathering in their home market. You can read more about the format of the draft here, in an article posted by Dan Rosen for NHL.com.
There is quite a bit of speculation as far as the draft goes this year with no true first overall the way we’ve seen in previous years with the likes of Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard and Juraj Slafkovsky. This years draft comes with quite a few opinions as to where players will land, depending on who you ask. Let’s take a look at the top prospects in each draft position for the Kraken after another disappointing season.
Round One
#8 Victor Eklund (TSN Bob McKenzie)
Victor Eklund would be a solid pick for the Kraken as a 5’11” left-shot right-winger. He is no stranger to the way the NHL works with his older brother, William Eklund playing for the San Jose Sharks. Victor Eklund spent the 2024-25 season playing with the Djurgardens IF where he dressed in 42 games with 19 goals and 12 assists, finishing the season with 31 points. He has been known to show flashes of Carolina Hurricanes’ Seth Jarvis and Philadelphia Flyers’ Travis Konecny. Between Eklund’s physical game and strong motor, he has a solid chance at becoming a top-six winger in the NHL.#8 Roger McQueen (NHL Central Scouting North American Skaters)
Roger McQueen is a 6’5” right-shot forward who spent a large part of the 2024-25 season suffering from a spinal stress fracture, commonly known as spondylosis. He has spent four seasons playing for the Brandon Wheat Kings and was able to play in 17 games through the season with 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points on the season. He has been described as having flashes of Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin. McQueen has highly skilled puck-moving abilities, strong edges and skating abilities and is able to use his size to generate speed on the ice.#8 Jakob Ihs-Wozniak (NHL Central Scouting Internation Skaters)
Jakob Ihs-Wozniak is a 6’3” right wing for the Lulea HF J20. He dressed in 40 games for the 2024-25 season and finished the year with 57 points (23G, 34A). his-Wozniak is a power forward with a strong hockey IQ. He is a strong player when the puck is on his stick and he has a powerful shot, showing flashes of pending free agent Brock Boeser.
It’s not often that a goaltender is selected this early in the draft but given Seattle’s current goaltending doubts, I figured it’s safe to include two.
#8 Ondrej Stebetak (NHL Central Scouting North American Goaltenders)
Ondrej Stebetak spent the 2024-25 season with the Portland Winterhawks. He dressed for 47 games allowing 3.72 goals against average and finishing the season with a .891 save percentage. Stebetak has strong puck-handling skills which can be incredibly important for a goaltender, as we’ve seen with Joey Daccord. He is 6’2” making him an ideal size for a potential NHL goaltender down the road.
#8 Petteri Rimpinen (NHL Central Scouting International Goaltenders)
Petteri Rimpinen is a 6’0” goaltender who dressed for 40 games throughout the 2024-25 season for the Kiekko-Espoo. He held a .912 save percentage allowing 2.35 goals against average. His size puts him at a disadvantage as far as net minders go, though. Rimpinen was draft eligible during the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and was not selected by a team but he excels in his ability to read plays and also has strong puck-handling skills.
Round Two
#38 Hayden Paupanekis (NHL Central Scouting North American Skaters)
Hayden Paupanekis is a 6’4” right-shot forward who started the season on the Spokane Chiefs, playing alongside 2024 Seattle Kraken draft pick Berkly Catton, he was traded to the Kelowna Rockets mid-season and played the remainder of the year with the Rockets. While playing on the Chiefs, Paupanekis appeared in 39 games, scoring 11 goals and assisting on 13 goals, finishing his time in Spokane with 24 points. Once he was traded to the Rockets, he appeared in 32 games (could this be a sign?) where he assisted on eight goals and scored 11 of his own. Paupanekis is strong both offensively and defensively, he can be intimidating to play against given his stature and has been said to show flashes of Winnipeg Jets’ Adam Lowry.#38 Mikkel Eriksen (NHL Central Scouting International Skaters)
Mikkel Eriksen is a 5’11” left-shot center for the Farjestad BK J20. He finished the 2024-25 season with 43 points over 40 games scoring 22 goals with 21 assists. Eriksen is one of those players that passes the puck frequently with an emphasis on completing passes to high-danger areas. He’s a solid two-way player who plays a heavy game with a strong motor, making him an effective candidate for a bottom-six role on an NHL team.
#57 Tommy Lafreniere (NHL Central Scouting North American Skaters)
Tommy Lafreniere is a 5’11” right-shot center. He spent the 2024-25 season with the Kamloops Blazers. He played in 68 games with 24 goals and 32 assists. (I’m starting to see a pattern here…) Lafreniere is a creative player with silky hands and a strong hockey sense. He can play a strong transition game, but like quite a few young players, he has room to improve in the defense department. Lafreniere has strong offensive abilities to make up for his defensive mistakes, that along with his consistent pace and energy make him a solid candidate in the fourth round.#57 Onni Kalto (NHL Central Scouting International Skaters)
Onni Kalto is a 6’2” left-shot forward, he played in 44 games for the TPS U20 scoring 14 goals and eight assists through the 2024-25 season. He is able to create quality shots but struggles a bit with his overall hockey sense. He’s shown flashes of 1-on-1 puck handling and board skills, but has also proven to be somewhat inconsistent.
Round Four
#102 Owen Conrad (NHL Central Scouting North American Skaters)
Owen Conrad is a 6’3” right-shot defenseman who played for the Charlottetown Islanders through the 2024-25 season. Conrad finished out the season with seven goals and 19 assists over 64 total games. He has true NHL size and composure. Conrad has spent quite some time working on his offensive game, which is continuing to grow. He consistently shows the ability to break the puck out when under pressure and reads forechecking well. Conrad has a strong hockey IQ but lacks the physicality that you’d expect from a 6’3” defenseman, leaving room for development over the next few years.#102 Maxim Schafer (NHL Central Scouting International Skaters)
Maxim Schafer is a 6’4” left-shot forward who spent most of the 2024-25 season with Eisbaren Berlin. He ended the season playing in 31 games with just one goal and two assists. Schafer also played in 15 games for the Eisbaren Berlin Juniors U20 team where he had significantly more success with 12 goals and eight assists over 15 games. Schafer tends to steer away from utilizing physicality in his game, instead opting for his speed and mobility. He has been known to have a powerful shot and can be difficult to push around when he’s net front.#126 Shea Busch (NHL Central Scouting North American Skaters)
Shea Busch is a 6’2” left-shot forward who started the 2024-25 season with the Vernon Vipers, but was traded to the Everett Silvertips mid-season where he played alongside fellow Kraken prospect Kaden Hamell. While with the Vipers, Busch played in 22 games, scoring 12 goals and five assists. Once he was traded to the Silvertips, he played in 39 games and finished the year with 11 goals and eight assists. Busch has a strong level of compete and shows strong leadership skills. He is a physical player but is also a quick skater, various scouting reports say that he could be utilized as a pro-level checker.#126 Mitja Jokinen (NHL Central Scouting International Skaters)
Mitja Jokinen spent the 2024-25 season with the TPS Liiga where he appeared in 38 games, finishing the season with just five points (two goals, three assists). He was eligible for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, but was passed over. Jokinen is a solid puck moving defenseman. He blocks shots and has decent hockey IQ. He played a large part in getting Finland to the gold medal game during the 2025 World Junior Championship. He’s a physical player but has been playing against significantly older players, which plays a part in his slight lack of success in the regular season.
Round Five
#134 Ethan MacKenzie (NHL Central Scouting North American Skaters)
Ethan MacKenzie is a 6’0” left-shot defenseman that spent the 2024-25 season with the Edmonton Oil Kings. He finished the year with five goals and 27 assists over 54 games. He tends to get under opposing players skin and utilizes his physicality with a purpose. MacKenzie was also eligible for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft but was not selected. He doesn’t allow contact from the other team to stop his play, but he does get tripped up by his own aggression once in a while.#134 Andrei Kuryanov (NHL Central Scouting International Skaters
Andrei Kuryanov is a 5’9” left-shot center who played in 44 games for the Omskie Yastreby, finishing the season with six goals and 20 assists. He is a secure puck mover but has a quiet offensive game. He succeeds at covering his own defenders but can get stuck to the boards relatively easily.
Round Seven
#198 Joshua Glavin (NHL Central Scouting North American Skaters)
Joshua Glavin is a 6’2” left-shot defenseman who spent the 2024-25 season with the Saginaw Spirit where he played in 67 games with just 15 assists on the season. He tends to play a straight, low-risk game but has been effective on the penalty kill. Glavin is a reliable, competitive defenseman but he lacks puck-skill and is not a stand-out skater. He could benefit from footwork and mobility development but could be a bottom-pair or seventh defenseman in the future.
If you’re still with us, be on the look out for some in-depth pieces regarding potential draft prospects that the Kraken could choose!
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social
〰️
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social 〰️
Check out our previous Seattle Kraken articles here.
Check out our previous articles with writing by Jayd Serdy here, and follow her on twitter here.
Check out our previous articles with photos by Rio Giancarlo here, and his portfolio here.
Support the work of Circling Seattle Sports by checking out our merchandise!