Remember a guy named Shane Wright? Just kidding, all Canadian fans remember Shane Wright, the one who was tipped to be the first pick in the 2022 draft and who many would have liked to see the Canadian select first overall instead of Juraj Slafkovsky.
However, I don’t think many people today regret the choice of Slafkovsky, because Wright had a rather ordinary start to his career, to put it mildly.
The one who was finally drafted fourth overall by the Seattle Kraken has only two points, a goal and an assist, on the clock so far this season.
In twenty-eight career games, Wright has only nine points, including six goals. Can we start talking about a bust?
It’s still early, but so far, these statistics should not reassure the Kraken leaders that they made the right choice. At least the forward has a positive differential, which shows that by not putting his name on the scoresheet, he is not harming his team.
However, when we compare him to the players he preferred, we can think that the Canadian made the right selection with Slafkovsky who has 25 goals and 68 points in 130 games.
Same thing for the New Jersey Devils with defenseman Simon Nemec (3 goals, 17 points in 69 games) and for the Arizona Coyotes (now HC Utah) with Logan Cooley (22 goals, 54 points in 94 games) .
It must be said that the 2022 draft gave one of the hardest vintages to evaluate for the teams in the League, in particular because of the context of Covid-19 which complicated the development of young players as well as the scouting of these.
Nevertheless, I am sure that the Kraken will advocate patience with Shane Wright in order to give him the maximum chance to develop and become an impact player in the NHL.
Moreover, his situation is reminiscent of that of Alexis Lafrenière with the New York Rangers who, after three rather modest first seasons, blossomed in the last year. He has established himself as a top six forward on the team, he has just signed a lucrative 52.15 million contract for seven years and already has ten points including five goals in eleven games this season.
In short, while it is still early to talk about a bust In the case of Shane Wright, the Kraken must be eager to see their young player contribute more regularly to the score. And only the future will tell us.
In burst
– Record start to the season for the Rocket!
– The Lions are on a mission!
– Five in a row for the Eagles!
– Victory for the Cards.
– The Crew is eliminated.
– Sixth victory in a row!
