Spokane Chiefs notebook: Berkly Catton sticks with Kraken; power outage on power play

Monday was NHL roster cut-down day, and with that came the news that 19-year-old Berkly Catton made the opening night roster of the Seattle Kraken. The move carries ramifications for both the Kraken and the Spokane Chiefs.

As a 19-year-old, Catton is eligible to play up to nine games in the NHL before his entry-level contract with the Kraken starts, or they can return him to the Chiefs to play the remainder of the Western Hockey League season.

Should the Kraken continue to carry Catton on their NHL roster after the nine-game mark, they must keep him in Seattle all season. According to a longstanding agreement with the major junior Canadian Hockey League, 19-year-old players are ineligible to play in the minor -league American Hockey League.

That rule will change for the 2026-27 season, when each NHL team will be allowed to assign one 19-year-old to the minors.

The rule change will benefit players like Catton, who after consecutive 100-point seasons in the WHL has little to learn at the junior level and should be facing tougher, older competition in the minor leagues and adjusting to playing a professional schedule.

Catton, the No. 8 overall selection in the 2024 NHL draft, played in five of the six Kraken preseason games, totaling one goal and no assists with eight shots on goal. In Seattle’s final preseason game, Catton took three minor penalties and committed a pair of giveaways.

The 5-foot-11, 179-pound forward played at center and wing during the Kraken preseason.

Catton played in 57 regular -season games with the Chiefs last season and scored 38 goals with 71 assists. He added 11 goals and 31 assists in 20 playoff games helping the Chiefs reach the WHL Championship Series, which they lost in five games to the Medicine Hat Tigers.

“We’re excited for (Catton) to be where he is in his journey,” Chiefs coach Brad Lauer said during camp in August. “Is there an opportunity for him to be back here? There is. But we always want what’s best for him. Hopefully he makes (the Kraken).

“But you don’t replace guys like him. There’s few guys like that. They don’t come around very often.”

Power outage

The Chiefs (2-3-0-0) led the WHL in power -play success last season, scoring in 28.9% of their chances. But with each of the top -five scorers from that roster now in the pro or college ranks, this season ’s story is dramatically different.

Through five games, the Chiefs are next-to-last out of the 23 teams in the WHL at 11.8% (2 for 17). They went 1 for 5 on Saturday in a one-goal loss to Prince George, with Mathis Preston picking up his fourth goal of the season from the point.

Lauer knows it’s an issue.

“It’s not good enough,” he said Saturday after the loss to PG. “It’s their responsibility to make sure this thing is going and we’ve got to work on it, and we have been.

“Power plays have to win you games, not lose them. It’s one of those sore spots in our group where we have to work through it. When it’s not going well we’ve got to simplify and understand that it’s not about trying to make (pretty) plays anymore. It’s about getting pucks to the net and going there. And we’re not committed to doing that yet.”

Leaders

Preston leads the Chiefs in scoring with eight points (four goals, four assists). Coco Armstrong, who has made his living on the fourth line for much of his three seasons in Spokane, has five points (four goals, one assist) and is just three goals from matching his career high after just five games.

Carter Esler is among the top goalies in the WHL thus far, earning a 1.33 goals -against average and .957 save percentage through three games played – first in the league in both categories. Esler has allowed four goals in three games and shut out Tri-City on Sept. 27 with 19 saves.

Upcoming games

The Chiefs host the Wenatchee Wild in a U.S. Division game Friday at 7:05 p.m. at the Arena before embarking on a season-high six-game road trip starting in Seattle on Saturday. They will play five games in eight days on their annual swing through Alberta before returning to the Arena for a five-game home stand.