Projecting the Seattle Kraken's Opening Night Roster

We're now less than two weeks from the start of the NHL season. Teams are finalizing their rosters and signing their RFAs, and players are beginning their training camps and gearing up for pre-season action. In Seattle's case, this is their first foray into an NHL season, so there is a ton of uncertainty surrounding their prospective success. Will they be another Vegas, who came out of the gate as one of the NHL's best teams? Or will they go the route of most expansion teams, with some middling success that they can build on going forward, with the hope of eventually building a contender in the league's newest city? They added a lot of good players this summer, be it through the expansion draft or in free agency. Let's see what Seattle's first-ever lineup will look like, starting with the forwards:

Jaden Schwartz - Jared McCann - Jordan Eberle

Marcus Johansson - Alex Wennberg - Calle Jarnkrok

Brandon Tanev - Morgan Geeke - Joonas Donskoi

Ryan Donato - Riley Sheahan - Mason Appleton

Colin Blackwell

Carsen Twarynski

Alexander True

This isn't a bad lineup, especially considering McCann's showing so far at training camp. The top 6, while nothing spectacular, looks like a capable NHL lineup. That's without even taking into account that Yanni Gourde is currently sidelined with an injury. He'll likely slot into that top centre spot upon his return, shuffling the other players down the roster and making the forward group even deeper. Many of these positions are in flux given the lack of visible NHL games to examine for chemistry between the players. Wennberg, who was initially pegged as the 1C in Gourde's absence, could still jump up the lineup, as could Appleton and Tanev. As it stands at this point in pre-season though, this looks to be the Kraken's go-to setup for the time being.

On defence, the Kraken went with size over style in their expansion draft:

Mark Giordano - Adam Larsson

Vince Dunn - Jamie Oleksiak

Carson Soucy - Haydn Fleury

Jeremy Lauzon

Dennis Cholowski

Cale Fleury

This is a shutdown-focused group of defencemen, which flies in the face of what most NHL teams are building for these days. Not many of these players are "offence-first" types, particularly not on the top pair. Speaking of the top pair, Larsson hasn't been a 1RD in almost four years, and Giordano is turning 38 in a couple of days. Vince Dunn may eventually bounce Giordano to the second pair, but that top spot is Larsson's to hold down, with not a lot of competition threatening to leapfrog him. One of the Fleury brothers may have more game to give and could shift some things around, but for the most part, this is the setup Seattle will be relying on. They may effectively limit chances in their own end, but generating offence will be a struggle for this blueline.

The goal crease is the Kraken's strongest position at the moment, with a Vezina nominee and a breakout star from last season making up their tandem:

Philipp Grubauer

Chris Driedger

Joey Daccord

The addition of Grubauer in free agency means the Kraken have a legit starter from day 1, and he'll be on the team for the foreseeable future. The question is: how much did Grubauer benefit from playing behind Colorado's extremely talented blueline, and can he replicate that in Seattle? He is still undoubtedly a starting goalie, but is he a Vezina candidate playing for this team? Regardless, the Kraken won't have to rely solely on Grubauer, as Driedger showed last year in Florida that he can capably play half an NHL season and carry his share of the starting duties. He basically took over for Sergei Bobrovsky last season, and if needed, he may do something similar with the Kraken. As for Daccord, he is still young but will need to clear waivers before Seattle can send him to the AHL. They may decide to run with three goalies for the whole season, just to keep Daccord on the team.

What do you think of this lineup for the Kraken, and what would you change?

Photo credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports