The Seattle Kraken have found their Reid Duke. The newest NHL franchise has signed the first player in franchise history, inking Luke Henman to a three-year entry-level contract. Henman was originally drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2018 but was never signed, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Kraken GM Ron Francis was actually already gone from the Hurricanes organization when they picked Henman, but he is obviously familiar with the player. He released a short statement on his first signing:
Our scouts have been watching players all year. In this case, Mike Dawson has been a strong supporter for Luke. Robert Kron and Tony McDonald like him too.
Luke has put up the numbers in the ’Q’ and he is team captain. He has solid character. We do think he needs to get stronger. We are excited to sign him as our first player.
The 21-year-old Henman scored 43 points in 32 games for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada this season and is currently in a quarter-final playoff series. He has registered six goals and eight points in seven postseason games so far, continuing his solid junior performance. Though slight, Henman has put up great numbers for the Armada throughout his QMJHL career and obviously caught the eye of the Kraken staff.
Of course, this doesn’t mean Henman is headed for the NHL. Just ask Duke, who has played entirely in the AHL so far in his professional career since being the first player signed by the Vegas Golden Knights, suiting up solely for the Chicago Wolves and Henderson Silver Knights. In the coming months, the Kraken will add dozens and dozens of players to the organization, pushing Henman down the depth chart.
Thirty-one other teams are now kicking themselves… Luuuuuke! The force will be with you, until you get demoted down to the fourth line…
and there ya go
@DarkSide830 – He didn’t get demoted already, did he? Or is he going to get the Calvin Pickard treatment and get shipped out before he can get his hands on that prized souvenir swag? ;)
This dude is a 25 year old nobody and this is who they want to sign first? Lmao. I really hope they take Burns off the Sharks hands bc we need salary space
I think you may have clicked on the wrong player.
I was thinking Martin Jones instead….
@Gavin – I think @tylerknowsbaseball and @Iceman15 each had temporary hearing loss after I uttered “Luuuuuke!” Even my digital voice carries… :)
@lapcheung39 – Martin was probably hoping for the same thing!
Dude was -47 in 2012/13. How is that even possible?
His mentor was no other than Nail Yakupov. The man whose plus minus was always further below zero than Edmonton’s weather..except that one pesky day of the year where it breaks records…
#yakattak
Huh….he was probably about 13 years old in 2012…..I doubt his plus/minus at that age matters much