Unlikely sources Jamie Oleksiak, Adam Larsson piling up points for Kraken

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jamie Oleksiak found the net once in 72 Kraken contests last season. As of Sunday morning, roughly a fourth of the way through the 2022-23 season, he led all Seattle defensemen in goal scoring.

Kraken assistant coach Jay Leach gave him that update as he headed out for the morning skate in Anaheim.

“I didn’t believe him, to be honest with you,” Oleksiak said. “This is pretty unique.

“Usually, if I’m leading the team in goals, it means we’re not doing that well. But it’s the opposite. That’s nice.”

Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks, fellow Seattle blueliner Vince Dunn matched Oleksiak’s goal total and Oleksiak’s two-game point streak came to an end, but the stay-at-home defenseman is on pace to shatter his career high of six goals, which came the season before he arrived in Seattle by way of the expansion draft. He did finish his first Kraken season with a career-high 16 assists and 17 points. He was second on the team with 182 hits and third with 86 blocked shots.

In his career, which spans parts of 11 seasons, 6-foot-7 Oleksiak has scored about once every 16 games. His two-game goal-scoring streak in late October was just his second in the NHL. Scoring is not in his job description, but it is a nice bonus.

“Such a big body, he’s hard to control, and he’s got a good shot,” defensive partner Justin Schultz said of Oleksiak. “I try to get him the puck whenever I can.”

Oleksiak said he felt better than expected jumping back into the lineup Wednesday after two weeks away with a lower-body injury. The usual defensive pairings snapped back into place, with Oleksiak taking his place next to Schultz. The pair played together in Pittsburgh from late 2017 to 2019.

Schultz, too, is on an offensive hot streak. He has seven points (two goals, five assists) in five games through Sunday, kicked off with a two-goal outing — including the overtime winner — Nov. 17 against the New York Rangers.

He is, however, known for that production.

“With ‘Rig,’ we love his defensive game and the hardness of what he brings there,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said, shortening Oleksiak’s nickname, “Big Rig.”

Oleksiak shook himself free and scored at the back door Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks and chipped the puck out of the corner to Andre Burakovsky, who scored the game-winner Friday against the Vegas Golden Knights.

“You just have to be able to read the situation. We work as a five-man unit,” Oleksiak said. “No one really plays hero hockey on this team. I think that’s the strength of us.

“We don’t have any of the guys that score a lot of goals — we’ve got a lot of guys that’ll chip in. We’re winning. I’ll take it.”

Dunn (four goals, nine assists) is team’s most offense-minded blueliner. But defensive partner Adam Larsson, the one usually hanging back, had two primary assists against Vegas for his first multipoint game of the season, then another helper against the Ducks. That extends a trend Hakstol identified in the final 30 games of last season.

“He really loosened up and started to push the offensive side,” the Kraken coach said of Larsson. “But his value is still in his heavy play defensively. How good he is in terms of shutting down plays and getting us out of the zone. The offensive side is a real bonus.”

Through Saturday, Larsson had been on the ice for 23 five-on-five Kraken goals this season, according to Natural Stat Trick. Larsson’s plus-13 goal differential at five-on-five this year led all Kraken skaters.

The third pairing comprised of Will Borgen (two goals, three assists) and Carson Soucy (one goal, four assists), both of whom have played in all 21 games so far, chip in where they can as well.

Hakstol said his defensemen have the green light so long as they don’t add “high risk to their game.”

“We have to do it in an intelligent way, where we’re thinking with a checking mentality and a responsible mentality first,” Hakstol said.

“For the most part, we have found good balance. There have been times we’ve been a little bit over aggressive and ended up on the wrong side of things, but not all that often. We want to keep pushing the envelope.”