Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis has shared that, if Shane Wright doesn’t make the NHL roster, he will be eligible for an AHL assignment. This move was recently speculated by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
CHL players are typically ineligible to play in the AHL until they are 20 years old on or before December 31 of the given season. Shane Wright won’t turn 20 until January 5, missing that cutoff by just five days. Another way to get out of the CHL-NHL agreement is to play four full seasons in the CHL, something Wright would have achieved had the 2020-21 OHL season not been canceled.
Because of these reasons, the OHL has granted Wright an exemption, following conversations between the Kraken, the NHL, and the OHL that date back months ago. These talks focused on how returning to the CHL wouldn’t benefit the former exceptional status recipient, especially after the tangled 2022-23 season that Wright had. Wright started the year with Seattle, before suffering an injury and getting assigned to the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds for a conditioning stint. After eight games, Wright returned to the NHL for a single game, then left for the World Juniors, and when he came back, his OHL rights had been traded from the Kingston Frontenacs to the Windsor Spitfires – whom he spent the remainder of the season with. But after Windsor’s early postseason exit, Wright returned again to the AHL, playing in 24 playoff games with Coachella Valley.
It was a season filled with travel for Shane Wright – something Seattle will hope to avoid this year. Francis told the Seattle Times, “We’re going to come in and commit to giving Shane every chance to make our team. And if at some point we make a decision that he’s not going to make it, then we would look to assign him to Coachella Valley and I believe at that point we would be fine in doing that.”
Shane Wright recorded two points in eight NHL games last season. He’ll enter the 2023-24 campaign looking to build on those eight games and finally see through his rookie NHL season. But if that doesn’t work, this exemption gives Seattle a contingency plan.
Great to see.
This is one of my pet peeves. That players drafted out of the CHL are typically ineligible to play in the AHL till the season of their 20th birthday. I understand why the rule was put into place: it’s to keep professional leagues from stripping the CHL of its top talents. But often there’s 19 year old players who are too good for the CHL, and not good enough for the NHL, so they’re in limbo. The CHL has benefitted for years from the 15 year old exceptional status rule, so they need to lump it, and lose players to a 19 year old exceptional status rule.
Rant off
Rant on: If the CHL does not let players go where they will develop best they will see fewer and fewer top players choose to play in the CHL to begin with. The gap between Major Junior (the CHL) and Tier One Junior (leagues like the USHL and the BCHL) is not as big as it used to be. But if you go the CHL route you can’t play in college, and you have to stay in the CHL until you are 20 unless you go to the NHL. Why would players continue to sign in the CHL unless the league starts doing what’s in the player’s bet interest more often.
Rant off:
I’m wit ya bro.
I have a feeling we’ll be seeing changes soon, since the CHL is in danger of losing what was effectively a monopoly. Top North American players can now choose the USHL/NCAA route, for example Adam Fantilli. The CHL’s hand will be forced eventually. If they lose enough talented Canadians to American colleges, they’ll wise up.
One of my pet peeves too. I get that junior hockey is big in Canada, but they shouldn’t have the power to restrain adults from gainful employment.
Even in wright makes the Kraken and has a great year, Francis didn’t address the goaltending and glaring blueline issues,And why he thought getting Yamamoto was a good idea I’ll never know, Bottom line, It will be tough for Seattle to build off of last season’s success.
I have a problem with this. Exemptions for all or exemptions for none PERIOD! There are plenty of players who were affected by the covid year and the birthday cut off is the birthday cutoff. How about the players who played overseas during Covid? should they have all been given an exemption under the 4 years rule and limit out after 3 years instead? they played a year elsewhere and the CHL choose to shut down. It was a choice.