Seattle Kraken select Spokane center Berkly Catton with eighth pick in NHL Draft
PARADISE, NV - JUNE 28: Berkly Catton of the Spokane Chiefs is drafted by the Seattle Kraken in the first round during the Upper Deck NHL Draft on June 28, 2024 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Jeff Speer / Icon Sportswire / Getty Images)
The Seattle Kraken selected Spokane Chiefs center Berkly Catton with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on Friday night, marking the fourth-straight year the Kraken have taken an offensive player in the first round.
"We really liked him," general manager Ron Francis said. "He's a gifted offensive player. He's got elite hockey sense, real good speed, high compete level, and he's got a skill set that he can score and make plays. We think he's a very high-end offensive player and we're excited to add him to the fold."
A Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native, Catton was the fourth-leading scorer in the Western Hockey League last season before fellow Kraken prospect Jagger Firkus, and Prince George teammates Zac Funk and Riley Heidt. Catton scored 116 points on 54 goals and 62 assists for Spokane last season. As a part of Team Canada's U-18 team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Catton totaled 10 points on eight goals and two assists in just five games played as Canada took home the gold medal.
"It's so cool, especially playing in Spokane too where I'm always in Seattle and stuff, got to play at the Climate Pledge (Arena) and just so cool ," Catton said of being drafted by the Kraken.
"It adds that sense of comfort, I guess a little bit, because I'm always there and in that region. And for all the Spokane fans, I'm sure they're pretty pumped right now, so it's awesome."
Catton has been a center at the WHL level with the Chiefs, but could project as a winger at the NHL level due to his size at 5-foot-11 and 163 pounds. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft and has lived up to the billing through two full seasons with Spokane. Catton won 53.4 percent of his face-offs, and led the WHL with seven short-handed goals last season.
"I'm a smart, dynamic hockey player," Catton said. "When I have the puck on my stick, I believe whatever I do with the next play is going to be in a better position and I have the power to change the momentum of a game."
WINNIPEG, CANADA - DECEMBER 09: Berkly Catton #34 of the Spokane Chiefs skates during first period action against the Winnipeg ICE at Wayne Fleming Arena on December 09, 2022 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Jonathan Kozub / Getty Images)
The Kraken had every chance to select one of several highly regarded defensive products with the eighth overall pick.
Zeev Buium (University of Denver), Zayne Parekh (Saginaw - OHL), Sam Dickinson (London - OHL), and Anton Silayev (Nizhny Novgorod - Russia) were all on the board if Seattle had elected for a blueline option instead. With Ryker Evans set to graduate to the NHL full-time likely next season, Ville Ottavainen is the only top defensive prospect option close to cracking into the NHL in the pipeline.
But the Kraken instead elected to chase more offense for the future with a dynamic scoring option. Per Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects, Catton is just the fourth CHL draft-eligible skater to produce 50-plus goals and 115-plus points in the 21st Century, joining Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, and Connor Bedard.
"For us going in we thought we had a chance of getting him and when we got to eight, he was sitting there," Francis said. "That was the guy we wanted so we're excited.
"Centers are critical. We've had a couple guys we've drafted at center, (Carson) Rehkopf and (David) Goyette, that have since moved to the wings, so we just felt with where we were that the depth at center was important for us and that's what we were looking to get."
Catton joins center Matty Beniers (2021), center Shane Wright (2022), and right wing Eduard Šalé (2023) as first-round selections by Seattle.