Berkly Catton’s status and 2 other things we learned from Kraken’s loss | Analysis

Here’s what we learned from the Kraken’s 3-1 preseason loss Tuesday to the Vancouver Canucks:

One and done

This year’s No. 8 pick in the NHL entry draft, Berkly Catton, seemed destined to return to juniors rather than make the Kraken. It’s rare for a player to make the jump at 18, and at 5-foot-11 and 167 pounds, Catton is on the smaller side. He dazzled in development camp and showed flashes of real promise at training camp, but he needs more time to marinate.

It did sound like he’d get more than one preseason game appearance, but he wasn’t in the lineup in Tuesday’s road loss to the Canucks and was reassigned on Wednesday. He played in just the opener, a 6-1 loss to the Calgary Flames in which he came close to scoring during the third period. The Kraken won’t have to look far to see what he’s up to — he’s headed across the state to rejoin the Spokane Chiefs, whose Western Hockey League season is already underway.

Coach Dan Bylsma said his early impressions of Catton were “awesome.”

“I thought he showed great with his training camp,” Bylsma added. “High degree of skill and compete, with great hockey sense. Great offensive mind for the game.”

Nathan Villeneuve, who did score in that 6-1 loss, was reassigned to the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves. Carson Rehkopf will join the OHL’s Brampton Steelheads, who traded for him in August.

There are 41 skaters and six goalies left in camp with 12 days left before the regular-season opener. Per NHL rules, the opening-day playing roster can’t have more than 23 names on it.

Rivalry in the works

Bitterness came naturally with the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche, through hard-fought games and season-altering events. A rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks felt more assumed, more inevitable, but manufactured.

Then Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers’ hit knocked Matty Beniers out of the 2023 All-Star Game, and the teams’ relationship grew testy. The Kraken’s John Hayden was the one to make Myers answer for that hit, fighting him in the preseason a year ago. He got into another scrap Tuesday night in Vancouver and was in the middle of most of the on-ice unpleasantness.

Both coaches were pleased with how their players stood up for one another.

“That’s what happens in rivalry games,” Vancouver’s Rick Tocchet said.

The Kraken will host the Canucks on Friday night. It will probably be a different lineup for both teams, but if Hayden or Will Borgen are in for the Kraken, we could see some spillover from Tuesday.

Lessons in chemistry

Ben Meyers’ line, with Andre Burakovsky and Jaden Schwartz on either side, generated the best chances of the night in Vancouver and the Kraken’s only goal. Meyers is likely bound for the minors, but it was good to see Schwartz and Burakovsky, who could easily find themselves on the same Kraken line again, working well together.

Meyers slid into that center spot usually occupied by new addition Chandler Stephenson in training camp. With Stephenson, it has the look of a future Kraken trio.

“We three guys sort of like each other,” Burakovsky said. “I think our games fit each other’s, too.”

Bylsma called Meyers’ lineup insertion “an adjustment” and not a deeper concern. Stephenson hasn’t appeared in either of the two preseason games.

Burakovsky himself took a maintenance day Wednesday and stayed off the ice. This could be a more common occurrence for the winger, whose two seasons in Seattle have been greatly affected by groin and upper-body injuries. He’s said in interviews that he’s learned to take precautions, even when he feels fine physically.