Kraken training camp survivors bask in their opening-night inclusion

Jason Botterill got to do the honors this time, informing the players who had to play their way onto a Kraken roster spot that their efforts had been rewarded. The first-year general manager summoned Berkly Catton, 19, and Ryan Winterton, 22, to give them some of the happiest news of their careers so far.

“‘For the foreseeable future, you’ll be here,’” Winterton recalled him saying. “‘Don’t take it for granted. Work hard.’ And that’s what I’m gonna do.”

Winterton and Catton were not training camp longshots, but they certainly were not sure things. They had to jockey for their places on the 23-man roster, which was announced Monday. Joining them on the list of semi-surprises was young forward Jani Nyman, plus 26-year-old defenseman Cale Fleury and 31-year-old goaltender Matt Murray.

Winterton was the last cut of training camp last fall but is, “for the foreseeable future,” playing on the Kraken’s de facto second line with newcomer Mason Marchment and veteran center Chandler Stephenson.

“I think I’m ready this time,” Winterton said. “When you get called up the first couple of times, in-season, it’s a little different. You try and get the feel of everything again. But I’ve been skating with the guys for all of camp, so feels a little bit easier this time. And more confidence, obviously.”

He is also practicing with the Kraken’s penalty kill, which is aiming for better than the 77.2% (21st NHL) success rate it achieved last season. Coach Lane Lambert saluted Winterton’s preparation and work.

“In my mind, he’s shown a good ability to understand and read the defensive side of the game,” Lambert said. “He’s got great speed. For me, he fits into an area where (we’re) schooling him on penalty killing and trying to find a role for him that is best suited for him, and we think we’ve done that, and now it’s just about continuing to grow.”

Catton was used as an extra forward in Tuesday’s practice, two days before the Kraken open the 2025-26 season. He was not with any particular linemates, which is an indicator the top prospect could be scratched in the opener and make his NHL debut later. He did see some power-play work.

Catton is listed at 5-foot-9 and 179 pounds heading into what might be a cup of coffee at the NHL level, or it could be his rookie season. After observing the young playmaker at center and winger during five preseason games and many more days of drills, Lambert noted Catton’s quickness and ability to “elude” and “escape.”

“Let’s just be honest, he’s not going to outmuscle (6-foot-7 Kraken defenseman) Jamie Oleksiak in a battle in the corner,” Lambert said “So those first few steps really help a player like him.”

Catton’s standing with the team is the most complicated of the bunch. If the services of Winterton, Fleury or Nyman are no longer needed, they can go back down to the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Catton is too young to play there so he has to return to the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League to play against his fellow teenagers. If he appears in 10 games for the Kraken, his entry-level contract begins.

If Catton is scratched initially and has to wait for an opening, it delays a big decision. It would not be a first for this franchise. Shane Wright was in a similar situation before he became a full-time Kraken center last year. He was barely too young for the AHL, so he hung around the Kraken, playing infrequently, for several months at the start of the 2022-23 season. They ultimately returned him to the Ontario Hockey League before the 10-game mark.

Catton, the eighth overall pick in 2024, got a long look in the preseason and scored one goal.

“I thought there was a game or two where I felt really, really good, then a couple where I was OK,” Catton said. “Definitely take the positives from those, (that I) have the ability to make plays and do that at this level. But still lots to work on.”

Catton’s situation is the most complicated, but Fleury’s might be the most tenuous. As soon as Brandon Montour returns from minor ankle surgery after missing all six preseason games, the Kraken will have an extra defenseman. Montour was out in a regular practice jersey Tuesday, though he skated off by himself during several drills as Catton did.

“We’ll see … how he feels after today,” Lambert said of Montour. “I thought for the most part, he did pretty much everything, and that was a good sign.”

Still, Fleury was delighted to make the initial roster. He has started the season in Coachella Valley each of the past two seasons and played more than twice as many AHL games as NHL games in each.

“I’m on the opening-night roster, but at the end of the day, I know I’m still fighting every day to stay here, and that’s kind of how I’ve been treating it,” Fleury said. “Just go day by day, skate by skate, game by game.

“You hate to see guys go down (with injuries). But for me, it kind of helps. If (Montour) wasn’t out right now, I wouldn’t be practicing on the power play, stuff like that. Just more opportunity.”

With six points in 12 NHL games under his belt already, Nyman looked more like injured winger Kaapo Kakko’s replacement at one point. But he’s being used on the fourth line on the moment, with homegrown grinder Tye Kartye and recent trade acquisition Freddy Gaudreau.

Nyman, 21, reflected on a long, hard summer that’s paid off so far.

“This is my goal,” Nyman said. “I’m so happy right now.