Seattle Kraken Rookie Camp Notebook: September 11th, 2025
By Jayd Serdy, edited by Charles Hamaker
Northgate, WA - Hockey season approaches slowly here in the Pacific Northwest, as our Seattle Kraken began rookie camp with a practice session at the Kraken Community Iceplex, the first of two sessions open to the general public. While it’s just the beginning of the preparation for the upcoming season, it’s an exciting time for many as the Kraken are technically back in action. Here are a few notes from today’s rookie camp session that we noticed, including some observations from the “Captains Skate” held by the NHL roster.
Forward prospect Jon-Randall Avon, who was acquired in a trade just a few days ago for prospect Tucker Robertson, impressed in the first action in a Kraken sweater. Avon showcased some quick skating and appears to have solid puck control. Previous scouting reports on the 22-year-old forward have talked about his need to add strength, but in the shots we saw today, it seems as if he has been working hard to do that. Avon will be looking to use an improved shot when he most likely heads to AHL Coachella Valley after training camp, as he hasn’t quite since the scoring touch in his last two years with AHL Lehigh Valley that he saw during his OHL career.
Frames from day one of Seattle Kraken Rookie Camp 2025 at the Kraken Community Iceplex on Thursday, September 11th, 2025. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
Star prospect Berkly Catton looks stronger and faster than the last time we saw him at Development Camp back in July. He seems more confident with the rookie camp group as a whole. His development so far has been great to watch, from his first development camp with the Kraken to now, as he’s so widely viewed as a player that could be the first true star that the Seattle franchise will have developed internally besides Shane Wright. It’s going to be fascinating to see if this training camp will be the one where Catton is able to break into the NHL roster, and that’s likely the largest storyline for the Kraken coming into this preseason.
In regards to his frame, Catton said he’s “Never been the kind of guy to put on five pounds in a month. It’s just a pound here and there. I’m at 180 right now, just under. I think when I came here I was 172 or 173 just a year and a bit.” Putting on that extra eight or so pounds could be a game changer in what we see from Catton heading into the 2025-26 season. Catton certainly has the skill and general on-ice ability to perform at any level, but the strength and physicality aspect of his performance as a player obviously will dictate quite a bit. Rookie camp will only tell us so much about that, so it’ll be something to monitor more closely during training camp starting in a few days.
“I think just obviously the strength side, but it kind of ties into winning stick battles. This summer I was skating with lots of NHL guys (Connor Zary, Kevin Korchinski, Brayden Schneider) so it’s a different kind of breed going into the corner with an older guy versus a younger guy in the Western League.”
Defenseman prospect Tyson Jugnauth spent the summer in Seattle, sharing that he spent a good amount of time with fellow prospects Berkly Catton and Carson Rehkopf, as they were all working on getting ready for the upcoming season. Jugnauth credited Kraken head strength & conditioning coach Nate Brookreson and assistant strength and conditioning coach Jacob Jensen with helping him do the work needed to work on his physique and overall strength this past offseason, spending time at the Kraken Community Iceplex where he got to see how NHLers Jaden Schwartz, Jamie Oleksiak, and Philipp Grubauer put in the work and prepare their bodies for the rigors of a season at the highest level. Jugnauth also shared that when he signed his Entry Level Contract with the Kraken, he felt as though the next step he needed to take in his career was to improve that physical aspect of his game, which explains the emphasis he put on doing so this past summer.
“I think I knew that I needed to get my body in place where I could absorb the game, and the best way for me to do that was to stay in Seattle. And obviously, Nate [Brookreson] and Jake [Jensen] are great at what they do. They’re been unbelievable all summer, and I think now I’m ready. I feel good on the ice, and I think it’ll be a big step for me.”
Kraken forward prospect Jani Nyman is another player that looks like he’s spent the summer working out and bulking up, as he looks to earn a full time spot at the NHL level after flashing his ability in “the national” this past season for a stint. If you enjoyed what you saw from Nyman during his time with the Kraken last year, early reports from today’s session have him looking better, even with the ‘rust’ of the summer just being shaken off. He is a player that certainly could find himself performing back at the NHL level at some point this season, considering the way he uses his large frame, his ability to contribute on the power play, and that hammer of a shot that he’s been praised so highly for. With some of the additions/re-signings that the Kraken made this past offseason and with other forward prospects like Berkly Catton pushing for roster spots with Seattle this year, it’ll be tough for Nyman but in the long run he could be a player to watch on the wing.
A large number of the Kraken’s NHL roster, or what we at least expect to be their NHL roster, was seen on rink two for a large chunk of time and briefly on rink one prior to day one of rookie camp where the prospects took over. This was the first chance to see Ryan Lindgren, Matt Murray, Mason Marchment, and Frédérick Gaudreau in some form of Seattle uniform. Similar to rookie camp, there isn’t too much you should take away from what happened on the ice with these guys but it is fun to see the NHL level players on the ice again and it’s also encouraging that so many of them were there together getting work in. Minor takeaways to note include Joey Daccord looking strong throughout the session and Frédérick Gaudreau getting plenty of shots on net.
What’s next?
The Kraken prospects will have another session on the ice for rookie camp, but tomorrow’s session is not open to the general public. The next viewing that’s open to the general public isn’t until training camp has started, and that open session is on Thursday, September 18th running from 9:15AM to 12:45PM PDT. To stay in the loop with what’s taking place on days that aren’t open to the public, make sure you’re following Circling Seattle Sports on all platforms! Credentialed media that’s actually on site and covering the teams in person, no spectrum needed.
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