EP Rinkside 2022 NHL Prospect Pool Rankings: No. 5-ranked Seattle Kraken

The Seattle Kraken are entering their second season and just wrapped up their second NHL Entry Draft. After the expansion process failed to yield anything even resembling the bounty of futures that their predecessors in Vegas amassed and little if anything coming from free agency, it's been more or less the sole means of building their system, too.

This, of course, just makes their standing in our prospect pool rankings that much more impressive. Sure, it helps to step into the league with a lottery pick in tow and then fail your way into a second straight top-five selection after your inaugural season, but you still have to take the right players and the Kraken have doubtless held up their end of the bargain.

Seattle's scouting group has done commendable work, alternating high upside swings and safe investments on a high floor to build one of the league's most well-rounded systems. Next up, they have to develop these players to their full potential to help push their big league roster over the top and go from rebuilding to built.

All told, the Kraken boast three players in the EPRinkside Top 100 Prospects ranking -- an encouraging sign, but 22 clubs have as many or more prospects on the list. Yet no other club can boast two players in the top 10 let alone the top six. That high-end value is what really drives this pipeline up in our rankings. 

Without further ado, we present the best and brightest that the Kraken has to offer.