# seasons – 2021-22 NHL DEBUT
Team Captains: Mark Giordano 2021-
First player: Luke Henman C signed as free agent 5/12/2021
First-ever Draft Selection: Matthew Beniers 2021, 2nd overall
Highest Draft selection: Matthew Beniers 2021, 2nd overall
2021 Expansion Draft selections
Mason Appleton WPG
Nathan Bastian NJD
Gavin Bayreuther CBJ
Colin Blackwell NYR
Will Borgen BUF
Dennis Cholowski DET
Joey Daccord OTT
Joonas Donskoi COL
Chris Driedger FLA
Vince Dunn STL
Jordan Eberle NYI
Cale Fleury MTL
Haydn Fleury ANA
Morgan Geekie CAR
Mark Giordano CGY
Yanni Gourde TBL
Calle Jarnkrok NSH
Adam Larsson EDM
Jeremy Lauzon BOS
Kole Lind VAN
Kurtis MacDermid LAK
Jared McCann TOR
Jamie Oleksiak DAL
Tyler Pitlick ARI
John Quennville CHI
Carson Soucy MIN
Brandon Tanev PIT
Alexander True SJS
Carsen Twarynski PHI
Vitek Vanacek WSH
| Did you know… … Brothers Cale and Haydn Fleury are the first set of brothers taken together in an expansion draft. … Expansion draftee Gavin Bayreuther is the cousin of former NHL D Ben Lovejoy. … Expansion draftee Jamie Oleksiak’s selection was announced from 10,000 feet up Mount Rainier. … Expansion draftee Alexander True is the cousin of Winnipeg Jets LW Nicolaj Ehlers. … Expansion draftee Alexander True was just the 15th player in NHL history from Denmark. … Expansion draftee Jamie Oleksiak was the NHL’s heaviest player at the time of the expansion draft. … The Seattle Kraken selected 30 players from 6 different countries in the 2021 expansion draft (CAN-19, USA-6, SWE-2, CZE-1, DEN-1, FIN-1). … Hall of Famer Ron Francis was named 1st GM in Kraken history. … Dave Hakstol, former Flyers head coach and former Maple Leafs assistant coach, was named Kraken inaugural head coach. … Seattle Kraken play-by-play announcer Everett Fitzhugh is the 1st African-American play-by-play announcer in NHL history. … Ryan Donato scored the 1st goal in Kraken history (10/12/21 vs VGK). … Jamie Oleksiak had the 1st penalty in Kraken history (tripping minor 10/12/21 vs VGK). |
Quotables…
“I think any time you play your first NHL game, you remember that.” – Ron Francis