Shane Wright enjoying breakout with Kraken after ‘resetting’
Dec 15, 2024, 9:45 AM | Updated: 10:55 am
Shane Wright of the Seattle Kraken skates during a Dec. 10, 2024 game. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
There were some tough times early on, but Shane Wright is starting to find his groove in his first full season with the Seattle Kraken.
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Wright, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, was benched early this season during lengthy pointless streak. After sitting out three games, he has begun to make an impact.
Wright joined Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Friday for a conversation about reaching the NHL and his emergence over the past month.
Wright, who turns 21 years old next month, entered the Kraken organization with high expectations as a top-four selections and the franchise’s second-ever first-round draft pick. He spent most of his first two seasons in the organization with Seattle’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, and appeared in eight NHL games in each campaign.
After joining the team as a full-time member this season, Wright went pointless in his first four games. He stopped the streak with a goal and an assist against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 17, but then went 13 straight games without a point and was taken out of the lineup for three games in mid-November.
“I think just taking a step back for a second, resetting my mind and yeah, like you said, just taking a look at the game from a different angle and just resetting and just understanding that I belong here, I can be a good player here,” Wright said of what he learned from his period off the ice. “So just trusting myself, trusting my abilities and going out there and performing.”
Since returning to the lineup Wright has logged at least one point eight of 11 games and amassed six goals and six assists. The stretch includes three consecutive games with a goal and his second career multi-goal game.
shane's goal was al-wright 😌 pic.twitter.com/n6EqNEbPbJ
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) December 6, 2024
That success has come as Wright has settled in alongside linemates Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen.
“I think all three of us are just really, really playing well off each other,” Wright said. “I think we’re competing, we’re winning pucks, and we’re playing to our strengths and we’re supporting each other and just kind of building that chemistry as well between line mates, (which) I think is really, really important. And yeah, obviously it’s been a good stretch of games here and obviously (I) really, really enjoy playing with those two guys. So trying to keep these good things going here.”
There have been ups and downs early on for Wright, but he’s enjoying his first full season in the Pacific Northwest.
“It’s been a journey for sure, I think just being able to find my way and being able to stick here in the NHL level and really find my role and where I can have success at this level has been a process,” Wright said. “But it’s nice to finally know you’ll kind of be here and be able to get playing here regularly and having a full season here in Seattle and just trying to learn as much as I can, really just trying to grow and soak it all in as well. It’s a lot of fun being here, being in the NHL and being in Seattle. So just trying to enjoy it as well.”
Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Wyman and Bob Weekdays from 2-6 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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