Kraken Preview: Jared McCann Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on this collectibles blog and my personal one, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being set to start in a week, several players haven't found a team yet and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

Key exits: Joonas Donskoi (RW), Daniel Sprong (RW), Carson Soucy (D), Ryan Donato (RW), Martin Jones (G), Morgan Geekie (RW), and Jesper Froden (RW/LW).

Key arrivals: Pierre-Édouard Bellemare (C), Brian Dumoulin (D), Kailer Yamamoto (RW), and Connor Carrick (D).

Top prospects: Shane Wright (C, 19 years old, went from projected first-overall pick to fourth to being sent down to Juniors to being named captain of Team Canada's World Juniors team to ending up sixth in team scoring - fourth among centres! - and a full 16 points behind Connor Bedard in seven games, still probably a future middle-six player), Ryker Evans (D, 21 years old, 44 points in 77 AHL games last season), David Goyette (C, 19 years old, a bit on the short side but dominant in the OHL), Ty Nelson (D, 19 years old, undersized speedy defenseman with nice offensive skills), Jagged Firkus (RW, 19 years old, good offensive skills but needs to add muscle to his 153-pound frame), and Eduard Sale (W, 18 years old, was named the 2022-23 Rookie Of The Year in Czechia).

I didn't have them in the playoffs last year and they ended up eliminating the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, so I'm aware I may have to eat my words at some point, but this roster is two goalies, a GM and a head coach short of making an actual permanent dent in a divisional race of the playoffs. Like the light blue on their white uniform, it's probably NHL-caliber, but... there's just something missing.

What makes their odds look good:
The Seattle Kraken have been on an upward trajectory since coming into the NHL two seasons ago, with steady progress and smart salary cap management. They had 13 players hit the double-digit mark in goals last season - six of them with 20 or more - two more at nine, and one apiece at eight and seven. As far as I remember, I have never seen this balanced an offense in practice.

Question marks: What about that goaltending, eh? Team goaltending below ,900 is simply unacceptable in today's NHL.

Outlook:
GM Ron Francis wanted depth - essentially icing four second lines - but without the elite talent that the Vegas Golden Knights have; hopefully the draft can remedy that in time. There is definitely a solid base, but Francis has not poven to be able to get to that next step as a manager, to take a very good roster and turn it into a champion, which is why he was let go in 2018 as GM of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Prediction:
Fifth in the Pacific Division.

Jared McCann led the Kraken with 40 goals last year in what may end up proving to be a career year, but he can certainly hit 30-35 goals on a consistent basis. A former first-round pick (24th overall in 2014, Vancouver Canucks), fans expected McCann to be a top-six player right away and the fact that he wasn't seemed to have hurt his confidence.

A trade to the Florida Panthers didn't fix anything, and as the league forged an opinion that he may be at best a third-liner, the Pittsburgh Penguins offered him that role on a silver platter; not only did he excel at it, but he also showed that he still had that sparkle - so much so that the Pens were convinced the Kraken would select him in the expansion draft; to at least recoup an asset, they traded his rights to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who wanted to ensure Alexander Kerfoot remained with the organization; offering up McCann nearly guaranteed he would be taken, thus semi-protecting Kerfoot for the remainder of his contract with the Leafs. He signed a two-year deal with the Arizona Coyotes this summer, as the Leafs went through an organizational shift at the bottom of their roster.

In the second of a five-year deal with a cap hit of $5M, McCann will no doubt be worth his salary for the remainder of his contract. He loves being relied upon for goals and it will be at least three or four years until Seattle can develop a finisher who will be able to challenge him for his spot. This is a perfect fit for both player and team.

Here he is as a rookie with the Canucks, wearing their white (away) uniform, on card #J-JM from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Champ's set and Relics / Rookie Relics sub-sets:

It features a blue "event-worn" jersey swatch from a rookie photo shoot.

Internationally, McCann suited up for Canada at the 2019 World Championships, winning silver and finishing the tournament with 2 goals and 5 points in 10 games.

Sens Preview: Colin White Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: I liked doing last year's format, so I'll be doing it the same way this season as well, partly because of that but also because as a father of a toddler and a baby, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. I'll copy these on each one instead. Like last year, the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being set to start, several players haven't found a team yet, many RFAs haven't signed with their respective teams, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

Key exits: Evgenii Dadonov (RW), Ryan Dzingel (F), Artem Anisimov (C), Derek Stepan (C), Marcus Hogberg (G), Joey Daccord (G), Matthew Peca (F)

Key Arrivals: Michael Del Zotto (D), Nick Holden (D), Kole Sherwood (RW)

Top prospects: Shane Pinto (C), Filip Gustavsson (G), Jake Sanderson (D), Jacob Bernard-Docker (D), Tyler Boucher (W), Roby Jarventie (LW), Lassi Thomson (D), Ridley Greig (LW), Tyler Kleven (D), Zack Ostapchuk (LW), Egor Sokolov (RW), Mark Kastelic (C), Maxence Guenette (D)

It would take a lot of things to go right with the development of the Ottawa Senators' young stars for the team to be able to contend for a playoff spot until the end of March... but chances are a lot of them will. Most of the forwards will take a step forward (although Tim Stützle may go through a sophomore slump, particularly if asked to fill the #2 centre role instead of remaining on the wing), and the defense showed during the final month of the 2020-21 season that they were ready for more responsibilities. As a matter of fact, had the Sens received just league average goaltending from Matt Murray in any of his first 10 games, they team would have been a lock for the playoffs, seeing as they fell a single point behind the Montréal Canadiens who were in a tailspin at the end of the season, because of a compressed schedule due to a Covid outbreak.

What makes their odds look good:
Finishing the season with a 10-4 record was impressive, but it may be a mirage, due to teams resting players or being unprepared to face them because they were at the bottom of the standings. Illusion or not, these young players learned to win and can now bank that experience for future use.

Question marks: Can sophomore Josh Norris continue progressing to keep a stranglehold on the #1 centre role? Will Murray bounce back, or has he simply lost his way? How many games will Brady Tkachuk miss as a contract holdout, and will it cost him the captaincy (I, for one, would give it to Thomas Chabot at this point, who has bought into what the team is looking to build by signing the eight-year deal that GM Pierre Dorion hopes to build other contracts around)?

Outlook:
This team will be a powerhouse three years from now, it's just a matter of gaining more experience, some of the current contenders taking a step back, and Tkachuk deciding if he wants in or if he'll conspire with brother Matthew to eventually land with the St. Louis Blues together.

Prediction:
Tied for 4th in the Atlantic Division, with the Boston Bruins and Habs.

One key player in the Sens' rebuild had been Colin White, a 2015 first-round pick (21st overall) who plays well in all three zones, once thought to be the team's next first-line pivot (which is why he was given a six-year deal averaging $4.75M after a strong rookie season in 2019) but who can go up and down the lineup without hurting the team while amassing anywhere between 25 and 45 points, perhaps with a peak of 60.

Unfortunately, he will miss the entire 2021-22 season after falling awkwardly and dislocating his right shoulder in a pre-season game.

The good news for the Sens is the Canadiens and Bruins also have plenty of injury troubles to start the season, as do the Pittsburgh Penguins who will be competing for the same Wild Card playoff spot - and Ottawa has the most depth and best prospects of the lot.

Here is White, wearing the Senators' white (away) uniform from a few years ago, on card #DD-CW from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Black Diamond collection and Diamond Debut Relics sub-set:

It features a matching white swatch from a photo shoot.

Patrik Laine Jersey Card

A lot of folks were writing him off last summer, as the sneaky/streaky Patrik Laine had an 18-goal November last year, making him only the 10th player in NHL history to accomplish the feat and the first one since Pavel Bure in 1994. Goal #17 also happened to be his 100th career goal, scored at 20 years and 224 days of age, making him the fourth-youngest in NHL history to accomplish the feat, after Wayne Gretzky (20 years, 40 days), Jimmy Carson (20 years, 116 days), and Brian Bellows (20 years, 179 days). Of course, Gretzky spent his 18-year-old season in the WHA, so you might take his first place with even more awe (as a matter of fact, I seem to recall reading he reached the 200-goal mark in his age 20 season...).

Also, Alex Ovechkin reached the NHL at age 20, so that's the only reason why he's not on that list.

I thought we could look at Laine's output this season, as he stands at 12 goals, 21 assists and 32 points in 32 games ahead of tonight's games, on pace for an 82-point season if he doesn't go through a similar drought as last year after the Holidays. It seems his underlying numbers show his stats are bound to dip like last year, but he is playing with Mark Scheifele this year, so he's going to grab points left and right whether he tries to or not.

This year might be a better indication of who Laine really is: the 44-goal scorer from two years ago -  which was good for second-overall - who could peak at 60 a couple of times, or a perennial 30-goal scorer who may reach 50 once. It took Ovi a while (and a Stanley Cup for some) to get the respect he rightfully deserved as one of the best snipers of all time, so maybe Laine has to keep maturing until he develops a more rounded game that his team can build around. Or maybe he's at the very least a Max Pacioretty-type of player who scores goals and does little else but eat time. There's something to be done with that as well, it's just that high-scoring second-liners make 70-80% of what elite sharpshooters make.

The kid's 21, we won't be able to fully judge him for at least another five years.

Here he is wearing the Winnipeg Jets' white (away) uniform on card #ST-PL from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Black collection and Star Trademarks Relics sub-set:

It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch.

Aaron Ekblad Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

The Florida Panthers received some bad news earlier tonight, as both Aaron Ekblad and Denis Malgin were diagnosed with concussions following their hard-fought game against state rivals Tampa Bay Lightning.

Gabriel Dumont is the Bolts' forward who finished his check and made Ekblad's head connect with the boards. It was a play that happens a lot in hockey, many times per game; injuries like Ekblad's happen every week. The problem with Ekblad lies in the fact that this is the second time he's received such a diagnosis this season, as it had also occurred at the World Cup in September, although it was later re-classified as a "neck injury".

Be that as it may, there will always be concern when a promising 21-year-old, former Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) winner and future superstar - and quite possibly the Cats' future captain - suffers two similar injuries that are a risk to a player's career. He's the cornerstone they're building their entire defense around, and whom they awarded an eight-year contract to that carries a $7.5M cap hit annually that kicks in next season.

Of course, we wish Ekblad the best going forward.

Here he is wearing the Panthers' best (and former) red (home) uniform, on card #J-AE from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Champ's set and Relics sub-set:

It contains a dark blue game-worn jersey swatch from somewhere on the arms.