Kraken select Berkly Catton No. 8 overall in NHL Draft

The Seattle Kraken continued their trend of investing in offensive firepower early in the NHL Draft, selecting forward Berkly Catton from the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs with the No. 8 overall pick in the draft Friday.

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Catton, 18, is coming off two stellar seasons with the Chiefs where he proved himself as one of the more dangerous offensive players in the WHL.

Catton was the WHL Rookie of the Year in 2022-23 when he totaled 55 points with 23 goals and 22 assists. He built on that in his 18-year-old season, peppering goalies with 54 goals to go along with 62 assists. Catton posted 14 multi-goal games and was third in goals and fourth in points in the WHL last season.

🎥BERKLY CATTON – HIGHLIGHT REEL🎥

The purrfect highlight reel doesn’t exi—@spokanechiefs | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/NbvpXWhSu6

— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 11, 2024

Catton is ranked as the No. 8 overall North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft, a team captain for Canada Red at the 2022 U17 World Hockey Challenge and helped Canada to bronze at the 2023 U18 World Juniors.

A left-handed shooter, Catton measures in at 5 foot 10 and 175 pounds.

The Kraken have taken a forward or center in the first round of all four drafts in team history.

The NHL Draft continues Saturday with rounds 2-7 starting at 8:30 a.m. Seattle currently holds eight picks on the draft’s second day.

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