Seattle Kraken's Shane Wright reacts after scoring a goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period of an NHL hockey game on December 6, 2022, in Seattle. TStephen Brashear/The Associated Press
At just 19 years of age, Shane Wright may not fit the dictionary definition of ‘journeyman,’ but given the 2022-23 season he has experienced, the literal interpretation of the word seems a fairly accurate description.
Since unexpectedly dropping to fourth overall in last year’s NHL entry draft in Montreal, the Burlington, Ont., native has been on a whirlwind tour of the North American hockey pyramid. From his NHL debut with the Seattle Kraken and finding his goal-scoring touch with the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL, to captaining Canada to world-junior gold in Halifax and now chasing an OHL championship with the Windsor Spitfires, Wright has been all over the map.
That journey may be nearing an end, though. Down 3-0 in their opening-round playoff series against the eighth-seeded Kitchener Rangers, Wright and the Spits need a win in Thursday night’s do-or-die Game 4 at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium to keep their season alive.
But given the ups and downs that he’s experienced since he heard his name called by Kraken general manager Ron Francis last July, being thrown a curveball by a team that finished 22 points back of his first-place Windsor squad is in many ways par for his hockey career.
“It’s definitely been a roller coaster of a year,” he says. “I’ve been to a lot of different places and being on a number of different teams … different teammates. So definitely a different year than what I’m used to.”
If the highlight of that year was captaining his country to a second successive gold at the world juniors, the manner of that championship victory could also be the thing that enables Wright to lead Windsor out of its current predicament. To win gold, Canada had to prevail in three consecutive elimination games, two of which went to overtime, including the championship game against Czechia.
“Any time you go through an experience like that, facing adversity and having to play against the best players in the world in a win-or-go-home tournament like that, you’re always going to learn a lot about yourself and how to handle adversity,” he says.
With just three points through the opening three games of the series, Wright is off the pace he set in 20 regular-season games with Windsor, registering 15 goals and 22 assists for an average of almost two points a game. After seeing his first two OHL seasons curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Wright had 14 points in 11 games last year for the Kingston Frontenacs, his only other OHL playoff experience before this year.
“Definitely haven’t had a lot of opportunity to go far in the playoffs,” he says. “So definitely a goal of mine is to win a championship and that’s ultimately what I want to accomplish here.”
However these playoffs turn out, Wright’s ultimate goal is to get back to the NHL – and stay there. Described as the “best talent in the draft,” by Kraken director of amateur scouting Robert Kron in an interview with the Hockey News, Wright played just eight games in the NHL, scoring two points and averaging less than 8.5 minutes a game. To make matters worse for Wright’s development, in just their second season of existence, the Kraken are on the verge of making the playoffs for the first time, and could clinch a wild-card spot Thursday night.
“You want to be a guy who is relied upon and trusted and sometimes, if you’re not in the lineup and the team’s winning games, it’s tough to get back in,” Wright says. “The coach wants to roll with the same lineup … the same line combinations. So it’s definitely tough.”
At one point, he spent five consecutive games alongside Francis as a healthy scratch in the press box, which opened the door for him to undergo a conditioning stint in the AHL, where he notched four goals in five games. But with a Hall of Fame player such as Francis running the show, Wright finds it a little easier to, as the cliché goes, trust the process.
“I think he’s obviously a guy who knows a lot about hockey and has experienced a lot in the game,” Wright says. “So he knows what’s best for players and what’s best to develop them. Whether … that was the plan to start I’m not really sure but I think at the end of the day I trust in him and trust in Seattle.”
That process continues Thursday night with a game in Kitchener, and then who knows? Having experienced almost all that hockey has to offer this season, there’s only one place Wright plans to be come the fall.
And while he says being snubbed by the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes – the three teams that picked before Seattle last year – is “in the past,” he is fully focused on his future with a young franchise that may well be a playoff team by the time he next suits up for them.
“I think it’s a really good fit,” he says. “I think it’s obviously a new team with a lot of new opportunities to step in and be a top player there, be an important piece of that franchise for a number of years to come. And that’s something that really excites me about Seattle.”