The two fifth-round selections delighted the two scouts who’d watched and reported on those prospects the most this past season. Finn Kearns, a defenseman from St. Andrew’s College high school in Ontario, went 131st while another D-man, Luken “Hawke” Huff from Cedar Rapids of the junior-level United States Hockey League (USHL) was the 148th overall pick. Fun fact about Huff: He is the first Washington-born prospect, hailing from Mazama, WA, near North Cascades National Park, about a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Seattle. 

Hearing from the Scouts, North American Version

Kearns was scouted most frequently by veteran Mike Dawson, who smiled ear-to-ear when the draft room clapped hard and long for the Kearns selection. Dawson was in on Kraken D-man Ryker Evans back in 2021 and his grin was even wider Saturday. 

“A year and a little bit ago, at the end of the Ontario Hockey League season, Finn got into a playoff game for Sudbury in Kingston, where I live,” said Dawson during a break. “He laid a guy out with a big hit, got in a big scrap and got everybody’s attention. I started tracking him this year. I knew his dad growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, where I’m from. We went to the same elementary school, but I hadn’t seen the dad in probably 30 years … Tony [MacDonald], Chris [MacDonald, no relation] and I took Finn out to lunch. We had a really great visit, a three-hour lunch with him and his dad. We all walked away saying we’d love to get this guy. He’s exactly what we think our team needs.”

Dawson expanded on that team need for a player like Kearns. 

“He knows what his strengths are,” said Dawson. “He knows he’s not a power play guy, but he knows he can be a shutdown and physical defenseman who brings toughness and sticks up for teammates. He’s allergic to his teammates being pushed around. He takes great offense, personal offense, if anybody tries to bully one of his teammates and he deals with it. That’s hard to find these days … you could drop this kid in any era of hockey and he’d be just fine.”

When Huff was the pick at No. 148, Kraken scout Thomas Plante was most decidedly fired up, standing and pumped about a player whom he watched many times. Plante was so excited he had to pace for minutes afterward before stopping to share the moment with fellow USA-based scouts Eddie Olczyk and O’Connor. Plante, part of the Kraken scouting staff since the founding of the franchise, was still elated an hour later in the player lounge, 

“He is kind of a hidden gem,” said Plante. “It was his third year being eligible for the draft. He wasn’t at any of the major prospect showcases in the U.S. He wasn’t even on the NHL Central Scouting rankings. Watching him the last few years, he was in Minnesota high school and then made a rough transition to junior hockey. This year he just exploded.”

What happened is, after a stellar performance in heralded Minnesota high school hockey, Huff joined a USHL team loaded with older defensemen, all six on track to play for major NCAA programs. Huff didn’t get much ice time. When traded to Cedar Rapids, he won the admiration and trust of Mark Carlson, the USHL’s all-time winningest coach (pointed out by Olczyk, who noted Kraken prospect Zaccharya Wisdom, 2023 seventh rounder, played for Carlson too). 

“Behind the scenes, talking to his old coaches, the people around him, we liked the character part of [Huff], said Plante. “This kid’s got resilience, he’s got drive, he’s basically got everything we look for from a character perspective. You kind of fall in love with the individual. But he was a first-team USHL defenseman this year. The stars aligned [for Saturday’s pick] and I couldn’t be happier.”

When Botterill stepped out of the draft to call Huff, the GM queried Plante on whether to use Huff’s given first name or nickname. 

“Oh, definitely call him ‘Hawke’,” said Plante. 

“Hawke!” said Botterill, laughing as he walked off phone in hand. “Love these calls!”

In the hallway, the Kraken hockey boss told Huff how much he was looking forward to seeing him at development camp, which starts Sunday off-ice and Monday on-ice. He added: “We’re happy to have you and really impressed how much you have improved over the last couple of years.”

Hearing from the Scouts, Europe Version

As the sixth round started just after 12 noon, the Kraken went European, selecting Swedish-born Ola Palme, yet another defenseman (the draft haul finished with five D-man prospects and three forwards).  Palme’s choice drew loud hoots and claps for Sweden-based scout Marcus Fingal. 

Let’s just say Fingal was not as demonstrative as the aforementioned Plante, but still thrilled to see a player he’d followed closely this past season. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound defender played in Sweden’s top juniors league and added five games with the Vaxjo Lakers club in Sweden’s top pro league, where he’ll likely play next year. He has been training with the big club this summer. 

Fingal was happy to talk about Palme and joy was all over his face discussing the Swede’s rise to become an NHL prospect. 

“I’ve seen [Palme] many times this season,” said Fingal. “He plays not far from my hometown. His season started out a little slow, I would say, but he grew as the season continued. In the end, I really liked what I was seeing. First of all, he’s not a small guy. He’s got a good frame and he built a lot of confidence. He likes to be creative with the puck. He’s not just robotic. He’s still a raw D-man who needs some time to fill out, but there’s something there. He likes to jump into the offensive play, but he doesn’t cheat … It’s fantastic for him to already be up there [with the top pro club]. The big team, they’ve been winning a lot lately. He’s going to be up there with a lot of veterans and can learn from them.”