Seattle Kraken
It seems like it should be obvious that the Kraken would take the player between Power and Beniers who isn’t taken by Buffalo. However, looking at Ron Francis’ draft history, that may not be the case. In his first three drafts as general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, Francis took Hayden Fleury, Noah Hanifin, and Jake Bean. All three of those players are defensemen, and it wasn’t until he had those players in house until he ventured away from that plan.
The Kraken need… well… everything. They literally have nothing on their team. The NHL Expansion Draft is literally taking place two days before the NHL Entry Draft, so Francis doesn’t have a lot of time between these two very important decisions. If he wants to go defense no matter what, Hughes might be in jeopardy here. He seems to be an executive who likes to start with defense.
What happens during the expansion draft will have a big impact on his decisions in the entry draft. If he ends up with players like Vince Dunn, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Will Butcher, Francise might like how his young defense is shaping up and might want to go forward. It is a defense heavy draft, and Francis has a history of taking defensemen early, so there is a risk here.
Is Hughes the second defenseman on Francis’ board? It sounds more like Simon Edvinsson would be a better pick for Seattle, or possibly Clarke since he’s right handed. It’s just hard to tell, and figuring out who they might take is just a guess at this point.