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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, left, looks on as Chase Reid is drafted by the Seattle Kraken with the seventh overall pick during the first round of the NHL Draft on Friday, June 26, 2026, in Buffalo, New York.
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As they attempt to sort out where the struggling franchise is heading, the Kraken are doubling down on their youth. They haven’t been able to acquire a star player through the expansion draft, free agency or trades, and it's too soon to say with their draft selections.
But each year's draft class brings renewed hope. A main takeaway from an offseason audit — or at least one that the organization was willing to share with the public — was that they need to invest even more in developing their prospects.
They got a head start with their top forward prospect and the No. 8 overall pick in 2025, Jake O’Brien. O’Brien, the 19-year-old from Toronto, returned to the Ontario Hockey League for another season last fall. Kraken director of player development Cory Murphy checked in weekly. Same with Seattle's athletic staff, to inquire about any injuries or concerns.
That’s pretty standard. But last August, the Kraken brought in Zac Dalpe as a player development consultant. He conveniently lived in the Brantford, Ontario, area, about 20 minutes away from where O’Brien was playing for the Brantford Bulldogs.
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Florida Panthers forward Zac Dalpe (22) shoots the puck during training camp at the Baptist Health IcePlex on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The stars aligned and Dalpe became very involved. Dalpe, 35, attended 33 of O’Brien’s 70-odd OHL games, between the exhibitions, regular season and playoffs.
“I feel connected to a lot of these players, but seeing him so often … yeah, I feel like a big brother, for sure,” Dalpe said.
O’Brien returned to Brantford with the captain’s “C” on his shoulder, hoping to improve his defensive ability and become a better leader. He was a quieter, lead-by-example type of captain, but his numbers were loud — 28 goals and 93 points in 53 regular-season games. His point total was good for third in the OHL.
Dalpe came out to the rink every week or two to work with O’Brien before practice — shots and faceoffs, in particular. Dalpe, a former center, played in 184 games for six NHL teams and was a good faceoff man in his day.
“Everyone sees (O’Brien’s) high hockey IQ, the elite playmaking that was on full display this year,” Dalpe said. “He had a great year, as far as offensive production. Where I come in is just the little nuances of trying to become a pro.”
He made sure O’Brien ate well, too. They went out for dinners on the Kraken's dime. And the bits of advice that will help O’Brien become a pro aren’t limited to the ice. Dalpe warned O’Brien that the way he likes his steak — “more medium-well than medium” — isn’t going to fly in the nicer steakhouses he’d be eating in during NHL road trips.
“I’m trying to get him down to a medium,” Dalpe joked.
Dalpe said he worried about annoying the top prospect while building trust and friendship. He left the ball in O’Brien’s court sometimes, and tried not to overdo it.
“I don't want to take the stick out of the player's hand, but I want to add more clubs to his bag, so to speak,” he said.
O’Brien saw improvement as he recorded 23 points during a 15-game postseason run, and scored the winner in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Championship Series. His Bulldogs forced a Game 7, in which they were blanked 5-0 by the lower-seeded Barrie Colts. That was a bitter pill, but O’Brien thinks the long playoff run will help him.
“Next time you’re there, you won’t let that happen again,” he said.
“That's hockey. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way. But I learned a lot this year.”
O’Brien was one of five finalists for the OHL’s outstanding player award and finished third in voting. After a restful summer full of fishing at his family’s cabin, he’s looking ahead to Kraken training camp.
The landscape has changed for players his age. Just a few years ago, major-junior hockey players had already ruled out NCAA hockey, as the stipends they received playing in the OHL, Western Hockey League or Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League made them ineligible. Those days are over.
“A lot of them thought that they had made that decision already — junior, or college — and then there's a decision they have to make again,” Murphy said Thursday. “So we help them with that decision.”
Chase Reid, the 2026 seventh overall pick, is committed to Michigan State and plans to play there next season, even though the Kraken drafted him out of the OHL. He didn’t sign an entry-level contract at center ice during development camp this week — an annual tradition.
That ship sailed for O’Brien, who signed his entry-level contract during development camp last season. But O’Brien could benefit from another rule change. Teenagers who were too good for major-junior but not quite ready for the NHL used to be out of luck, because a longstanding agreement said they couldn’t play at the pro level below the NHL. Shane Wright is a locally famous example, though he eventually earned a one-time exemption to play in the American Hockey League.
That exemption list appears to be growing. The newest NHL and NHLPA collective bargaining agreement contains a provision that allows each NHL team to place one 19-year-old OHL, WHL or QMJHL player in the AHL per season, according to insider Frank Seravalli. This change will apply to the upcoming 2026-27 season, when the new CBA kicks in.
O’Brien, thankfully, is 19, and could be the first Kraken prospect to benefit from this change if he doesn’t make the NHL roster.
“It’s kind of tough for guys like, maybe, (Berkly) Catton last year, where you can only go to the NHL and he was too good for juniors,” O’Brien said. “So I feel like having that to lie back on (is good). I want to be in the NHL this year, but if I'm not, then I can go back and play in the AHL, so that'll be really good for me.”
He got a jump on his AHL career after his OHL playoff run ended this spring. He appeared in four playoff games for the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Seattle’s top affiliate.
“Definitely got my feet wet,” O’Brien said. “It'll help me next year, for sure.”
Dalpe is helping him work toward a long future with the Kraken, and Coachella Valley looks like a great, potential next step.
“It's like so close to an NHL setup already,” Dalpe said.