by | Oct 29, 2024 | 4 comments
At just 20 years old, Shane Wright has earned a spot on the Seattle Kraken roster. The young center’s journey to the NHL has been anything but conventional, highlighted by his exceptional status in the OHL, a missed year due to the pandemic, and stints across the NHL, AHL, and OHL. You can read more about his unique development path on Sound Of Hockey by clicking here. Wright played his 25th NHL game on Oct. 26, facing the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-1 loss, and now prepares to take on the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. We at Sound Of Hockey thought this would be an ideal time to dive deeper into Wright’s game.
There’s a bit of history between Wright and the Montreal Canadiens. After all, the Canadiens passed on Wright with the first-overall pick, opting for Juraj Slafkovsky instead. Wright’s glare at Montreal’s front office during the draft remains memorable for fans and adds to the intrigue, though Wright maintains he wasn’t glaring at anyone, and this whole thing was a misunderstanding.
Was Shane Wright giving the Canadiens draft table the death stare after he ended up going 4th overall? 🤔 #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/CMle2kVC9c
As if fate had a hand, Wright’s first NHL goal came against none other than Montreal.
Here's a better look at Shane Wright's first NHL goal. Great shot, great celly, and Gourde fishes it out of the net for him. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/zg2lDjiPAr
Wright is a solid two-way center, effective on both ends of the ice, though he’s often praised more for his offensive potential. Let’s start by taking a look at his work on the defensive side of the puck.
Selected fourth overall in 2022, Wright has shown he’s not afraid to sacrifice his body, with a particular talent for blocking shots. Remarkably, entering this season, Wright led all Kraken forwards with 4.1 blocks per 60 minutes over the past two seasons, despite his limited sample size of just 16 total games (eight games per season). His shot-blocking tendencies date back to his time in both the OHL and AHL, where he consistently positioned himself between the shooter and the net.
Though he’s unlikely to lead in this area as his offensive role expands, his willingness to block shots will garner support from fans and earn him respect in the locker room.
Wright’s defensive skill set extends beyond blocking shots; he’s also consistently sound in positioning. Without the puck in the offensive zone, he applies controlled pressure, aiming to create turnovers without being overly aggressive. His strategy is to disrupt passing lanes and guide play toward his teammates. In this clip, as the puck changes hands, you can see Wright leave his net-front position, cut off the central passing lane, and steer the play up the boards towards his Firebirds defensemen.
In the defensive zone, Wright is mobile and typically takes up position in the high slot—protecting the area in front of the net and between the face-off dots—but he’ll also shift to the corners, behind the net, or up to the point, as the play demands. He pressures puck carriers while using his body to block passing lanes and shots.
During the 2023-24 season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Wright scored 47 points (22 goals, 25 assists), leading all AHL players under 20 in scoring.
Positionally, Wright is a prototypical center. He’s unafraid to crash the net and score gritty, close-range goals. Constantly moving and working to get open, he’s primed for one-timers, as seen with his first NHL goal. When he has the puck in the offensive zone, his first instinct is to put it on net and make something happen. Wright’s wrist shot is elite, and he uses it effectively in transition and on the power play.
Wright’s goals typically come in two forms: either from net-front positioning or a sharp wrist shot. Here are some highlights from his season with Coachella Valley.
These highlights give a clear sense of the goals fans can expect from Wright as he develops further. He’ll find open space and finish the shot; if that doesn’t work, he’s ready to pounce on rebounds.
Below are two plays showing Wright’s determination to drive the puck into high-danger areas—where he thrives. The first video showcases Wright diving for a puck and scoring from beyond the goal line. The second video highlights how Wright effectively gets the puck to the front of the net for Logan Morrison to score.
Wright has the ability to thrive in multiple positions on the power play. Early in his career, teams utilized his wrist shot by setting him up on the wing, where he could take shots from the face-off dot. In his first two seasons with the Kraken, he primarily played in this wing position on the power play. However, this season, the Kraken have moved him to the bumper position, which leverages his skill for finding open space in the slot and getting shots off quickly.
The Seattle Kraken typically employ a 1-3-1 power play setup, featuring a quarterback at the top, two wings and a bumper player in the middle, and a net-front presence. While Wright hasn’t slotted into the net-front position much this season, his knack for hunting down rebounds and putting them on goal enhances his versatility on the power play. The net-front role is similar to how he plays center at 5v5, allowing him to focus on a single skill set as he develops. I wouldn’t be surprised if he slots into this position at some point this season or is moved to the wing to unlock his lethal wrist shot.
During training camp, Alison Lukan asked Wright if he focuses on progressing his game or adding new elements during the offseason. Wright responded, “Bit of both. Obviously, you’re always trying to add little things and refine the overall game. I think just overall, looking for ways to improve and make yourself better.”
Wright is one of those players who seems to excel at everything. If there’s one aspect of his game to nitpick, it’s his passing during transitional play. Dating back to his junior days, he often forced passes through defenders, which worked at that level but hasn’t translated well to the NHL and AHL.
During the 2022-23 season, Wright played in the NHL, AHL, and OHL, gaining firsthand experience of what worked and what didn’t. His time in Coachella Valley showed improvement in his passing game; however, now at the NHL level, this remains an area for growth. According to moneypuck.com, Wright leads Kraken forwards in giveaways with 10. While this isn’t overly concerning, it highlights the need for continued focus on this aspect of his play.
Wright has looked the part during the first nine games of the season, but the points haven’t been rolling in. He has only two points (one goal, one assist), both coming in the game against the Philadelphia Flyers (a 6-4 Kraken win) on Oct. 17.
Through nine games, Wright has been shuffled through three different line combinations.
Head coach Dan Bylsma has experimented with various lines to find the right chemistry. It’s early in the season, so there’s no need for concern, but Wright is still adjusting to the NHL speed as well as his varying linemates. An interesting note is that Jared McCann and captain Jordan Eberle are leading the Kraken in scoring, with 12 and eight points, respectively. You would think some of that scoring would have trickled down to Wright when the three were playing together, but with him averaging just 13:47 of ice time per game, that hasn’t yet materialized.
This average ranks Wright 10th out of 12 forwards in ice time. Notably, McCann and Eberle are shooting the lights out, with shooting percentages of 26.3 percent and 40.0 percent, respectively, which has limited the number of rebound opportunities for Wright.
As Wright gains more experience, the points will come. He’s already doing the right things both offensively and defensively, and particularly in Seattle’s end, he has not been a liability. This builds confidence for the coaching staff to give him the reps he needs to succeed and grow offensively. Line chemistry will develop as he adapts to the NHL game.
While we expect a bright future for Wright, it’s important to temper expectations, especially when comparing him to players like Matty Beniers. Wright is starting his first full season as a third-line player, averaging 13:47 of ice time, while Beniers averaged 17:06 on the top line in his first season. Therefore, it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, although Wright’s offensive upside may have a higher ceiling.
I have said it before and will reiterate: I believe that within a season or two, Wright will emerge as the top-scoring center for the Seattle Kraken. This is not a knock against Beniers; rather, it highlights that Beniers is more defensively minded.
If you have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments below or reach out to me on X at @blaizg.
I often question the timing of when Shane gets his minutes, often being passed up for a line to step in out of order. Shane has the speed to be playing with faster players innstead of being put into checking situations. In fact, I think his low scoring can be attributed to his concentration on defense. He is often the first to leave the ofensive zone to help slow reacting defensemen. This is a good thing most of the time but not when the team is behind by 2 or more goals. This is a coaching decision, I am sure as he also played that way for Blysma in CV. I know his scoring will improve but not until he has linemates that understand their roles better with Shane.. I think him being saddled with consistant non-scorers shows. He has a better shot than Eli, in my opinion. I hope his game playing style will be change to a more offensive style instead of a 2-way style all the time. But, he is only friggin’ 20 years old with very little NHL experience
What I love about Wright is he’s high level hockey IQ, this isn’t something that I feel you have or you don’t and is what separates the great players from the others. Looking at you Burky.
Combine great hockey iq with talent and good things happen. He will never be elite in my opinion because he lacks the speed factor but will be a great top end player.
Not to jump off topic but I feel that Hayden isn’t getting called up to sit on the bench. As per kraken comments he’s being called up because they want more physical presence. You don’t bring up Hayden to sit Tanev Gourde or Kartye if your goal is more physical play. Is Burky riding the pine tonight? That’s my guess. I would love to see a strong message sent to Burky, something that should have been done last season.
As Brown mentioned (so it’s hockey related…) get out and vote.
Despite the lack of scoring, Shane definitely “tilts the ice” when he’s out there. As harpdog points out, he’s only 20! He also seems to get into positions to score, but doesn’t always get the puck from his linemates.
For my money, the comparison is not between Shane and Slafkovsky, because that was the Habs’ choice. It is between Shane and Cutter Gauthier, who the Kraken passed on to select Shane.
As I noted before, Shane has started any number of plays this season, where he won the draw or got the 3rd assist, so his stats don’t reflect fully his contribution.
Assuming he stays at C, I really see Catton as the future 1C, Shane as 2C, and Beniers as 3C a few years down the line. That is why I questioned his contract, but with the salary cap going straight up, maybe that is 3C money 5 years from now.
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