With confidence renewed, Kraken’s Shane Wright set to play vs. Canadiens

Confidence was the buzzword Monday when 18-year-old Shane Wright rejoined the Kraken after a five-game American Hockey League conditioning stint.

On Nov. 20, the Kraken’s top pick in the 2022 NHL draft (No. 4 overall) was assigned to the AHL following five healthy scratches, circumventing a longstanding agreement in which teenagers out of the Canadian Hockey League return to their junior teams if they aren’t sticking with the NHL club.

Wright had been with Seattle since the start of training camp but had been scratched more than he’d played, making it into just seven games. Coach Dave Hakstol confirmed Monday that the eighth will be Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens at Climate Pledge Arena.

Wright was back on the ice Monday at Kraken Community Iceplex, his gear in the locker next to alternate captain Jordan Eberle’s.

“He looked sharper on the ice,” Eberle said. “He probably looked like he was having a bit more fun, and I think that’s a big thing in developing players.

“Confidence is a big weapon in this league. You ask guys who are scoring goals, the net looks huge. You ask guys who haven’t, you can barely see it.

“I’m sure he didn’t want to go down. That’s always kind of a knock. But I think if you would ask him right now to look back, it’s probably one of the best things for him.”

Indeed.

“Definitely gained a lot of confidence down there,” Wright said. “It was nice to be able to play high minutes, get a lot of touches. Just kind of play my game, be myself and regain that confidence in myself and my abilities. Hopefully bring that back up here to Seattle.”

Wright said he found out about a week beforehand, through conversations with Hakstol and general manager Ron Francis, that the Kraken were interested in taking advantage of that healthy-scratch clause. He was excited for the opportunity to play more.

The past few months, Wright hasn’t had a chance to be “that guy,” the relied-upon presence and scoring threat he had been since childhood. He slid into that role with the Coachella Valley Firebirds and ran with it, scoring four goals in his first three games. He then converted in the shootout Saturday against the Henderson Silver Knights. To make the experience more enjoyable, the Firebirds won four of five games during his two weeks with them.

Wright’s first game back in Seattle is against the Canadiens, who held the first overall pick in last summer’s draft and were long expected to select Wright. Instead they took Slovakian winger Juraj Slafkovsky, who had seven points (four goals, three assists) through 19 games with Montreal entering Monday’s games.

“Not really too worried about what he’s doing,” Wright said. “[There are] two different situations with what’s going on. I’m more focused on myself and what I’m doing.”

Slafkovsky has missed a handful of games due to injury and suspension. He was averaging 11 minutes of ice time, including some power-play work, before a recent move from the fourth line to the second due to teammates’ injuries. He has a goal and an assist since that promotion.

Wright said he viewed Tuesday game as a regular game. If he does feel some kind of way about it, Hakstol didn’t seem to want to discourage it.

“Use it however it feels good,” Hakstol said. “Emotion’s part of the game.

“I want him to be excited to play for our team [Tuesday], and I know that’s how he’s going to feel.”

Wright’s sporadic Kraken game appearances have left open the possibility that he returns to the Ontario Hockey League without burning a year off his entry-level contract.

As the start of the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship approaches in late December, Wright — a Burlington, Ontario, native — was unsurprisingly interested in representing Canada. He was named to Canada’s 2022 roster but did not play in the summer’s rescheduled tournament.

Hockey Canada released a list of 29 players invited to their World Junior Championship selection camp on Monday. Wright’s name wasn’t on it, but he’s eligible as long as he is loaned to Team Canada in the coming weeks.

“No final decision has been made yet, but it’s always a tough thing to pass up if the opportunity comes,” Wright said.