Murphy overall liked what he saw from the team’s 25 invited prospects, especially the new draft class that included first rounder Chase Reid and second rounder Casey Mutryn. The main goal beyond gauging their fitness and skill level is familiarizing them with the team’s staff and expectations.
“We want them to come into the building, meet the staff, familiarize them with everything that we have here so that when they do come back again, it’s not new to them,” Murphy said. “But we also want to give them something to take away on the ice. Something they can take into their training. Areas of focus.”
Defenseman Blake Fiddler, a second round, 36th overall pick in last year’s draft, said his first development camp last summer led to a strong performance this past season with the major junior Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League. Fiddler, who won’t turn 19 until next week, overcame an early knee injury and finished with 11 goals, 25 assists and three more points than last season in one fewer game.
“As I left training camp the coaches just wanted me to keep getting better with my habits and keep working on everything,” said Fiddler, who’ll play for the University of Denver this season. “So, I think my defensive game has grown in closing plays, defending off the rush and my skating’s taken stride so it’s helping me in the offensive zone as well.”
First-time development camp attendee Mutryn, who turns 18 on Sunday and was chosen 38th overall in last week’s draft, said he’ll try to apply what he learned this week to his coming first season playing for Boston College.
“The resources we have here are second to none,” he said. “They’re invested in us and it’s up to us to kind of take what they give us and develop and become the best players that we can.”
That’s what Swedish seventh rounder Krantz, who was on a golf course in his homeland during last year’s draft and didn’t know the Kraken had picked him until getting a phone call telling him to get on a plane to Seattle, has been trying to do with his hockey future ever since that improbably late NHL selection.
After putting up 20 points in 18 games for his domestic junior squad, Krantz was promoted for 30 games with Linkoping HC in the top-level pro Swedish Hockey League. He’ll head back there this fall as a 19-year-old looking to build off that and make it to North American pro hockey after that.
Krantz is the first to admit that playing well at last year’s Kraken camp helped shatter some of the mystique around draft selection and showed him he could stick with other top prospects his age. But it also gave him the tools he needed to maximize his performance at Sweden’s top amateur and pro levels.
“Yea, yes, absolutely,” Krantz said. “It just gives you more of a good overall picture of yourself and where you stand. Between all the testing and your work with the coaches, it helps you prepare for where you need to be.”