Back when he was drafted, I thought Dragicevic was the steal of the Kraken draft given they landed him at a spot well below his projected draft position. RHD is a position where the Kraken prospect pool is lacking in depth so I'm glad to see him under contract. Hopefully Seattle's other 2023 draftees follow suit soon.
Back when he was drafted, I thought Dragicevic was the steal of the Kraken draft given they landed him at a spot well below his projected draft position. RHD is a position where the Kraken prospect pool is lacking in depth so I'm glad to see him under contract. Hopefully Seattle's other 2023 draftees follow suit soon.
He had a very rough d+1. I expect a long development path easily another 3-5 years as his defensive game is severely underdeveloped.
Back when he was drafted, I thought Dragicevic was the steal of the Kraken draft given they landed him at a spot well below his projected draft position. RHD is a position where the Kraken prospect pool is lacking in depth so I'm glad to see him under contract. Hopefully Seattle's other 2023 draftees follow suit soon.
Considering how long they have been in the league, I think the Kraken are setup pretty well at D prospects:
LD_______________RD
Ryker Evans_____Ty Nelson
Caden Price_____Lukas Dragicevic
Evans and Nelson look more NHL-ready as two-way players and project as top 4 pairings. Price and Dragicevic have lower floors but higher ceilings so they are good gambles to take if one or both hit.
Considering how long they have been in the league, I think the Kraken are setup pretty well at D prospects:
LD_______________RD
Ryker Evans_____Ty Nelson
Caden Price_____Lukas Dragicevic
Evans and Nelson look more NHL-ready as two-way players and project as top 4 pairings. Price and Dragicevic have lower floors but higher ceilings so they are good gambles to take if one or both hit.
Are we ready to say any of those guys are top 4 quality? They've all been dominant in Jr, but that's expected for a drafted player. None of those guys move the needle for me. Seattle's biggest weakness is their defensive side of the game, and none of those guys will likely change that.
Are we ready to say any of those guys are top 4 quality? They've all been dominant in Jr, but that's expected for a drafted player. None of those guys move the needle for me. Seattle's biggest weakness is their defensive side of the game, and none of those guys will likely change that.
It's still "projecting" but many reputable online scouts/services have Evans-Nelson in the "top 4" projection range.
"Top 4" also depends on the other players in the depth chart, team expectations, etc.
Evans has been a Top 50 Prospect on at least 3 major rankings and has made the jump from AHL to NHL on a good development curve. Now he just needs a couple years seasoning/development in the NHL which he should get when Dumoulin's contract is up; until then he'll be the #7 behind Dunn-Oleksiak-Dumoulin.
Nelson hasn't been as highly ranked but showed up at the World Juniors well and has earned a hard working two-way reputation. His size has always been his biggest knock; but at 5-10 and 196 he is solidly built and he isn't just an offensive dynamo anymore. With Schultz likely gone after this season his pathway is clearer (behind Larsson-Borgen) but he needs at least a season in the AHL IMO