Bobby McMann shines in Kraken debut, scores twice in win over Canucks

Kate Shefte, The Seattle Times on Mar 15, 2026

Published in Hockey

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There was a McCann and a McMann to keep track of in Saturday’s Kraken game, but they made it worth the trouble. Both wingers scored at least once in Saturday night’s 5-2 road win over the NHL’s last-place team, the Vancouver Canucks.

Bobby McMann’s long-awaited debut sparked the Kraken, who had lost four straight games.

Rust was a non-issue for McMann, who scored in the first period and the third. He was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline on March 6, then missed a week of action due to visa issues. Before that, he sat out two games as a healthy scratch while the Maple Leafs worked out a deal.

McMann was born in Canada and aside from four years at Colgate University in New York and 18 games with the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder, he’s played most of his hockey in Canada as well.

The 29-year-old reportedly finally got word that he was clear to work for an American team on Friday. He played on the top line alongside Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers in Vancouver.

“Obviously he’s a good player. But he’s not coming in to be the savior,” Kraken coach Lane Lambert said before the game. “We have to all step up to the plate.”

Still, McMann’s three-point performance made for a memorable launch.

Jared McCann, meanwhile, has been a member of the Kraken since the franchise opened play in 2021. Someone has a funny sense of humor, because McMann’s locker stall at Kraken Community Iceplex wound up right next to McCann’s.

To make room for McMann on the top line, McCann dropped down to the second trio with Chandler Stephenson and Eeli Tolvanen and quickly snapped a season-high, 10-game goal drought.

Vancouver’s Evander Kane tied the game on a breakaway roughly seven minutes later. In the final minute of the first period, McMann put a shot on net that appeared to glance off teammate Shane Wright’s stick, but Canucks goaltender Nikita Tolopilo had in fact fumbled the low shot. It was a power-play tally and McMann’s 20th goal of the season, though the vast majority were clearly scored in Toronto. He’s reached that benchmark in consecutive seasons.

Next, Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak passed the puck off and moved up. Beniers returned it to him and Oleksiak fired a shot straight up the middle for a 3-1 Kraken advantage.

McMann’s second goal came early in the third period, when put himself in the right spot to receive Eberle’s feed. McMann tapped it past Tolopilo.

Beniers scored his third goal in four games off another feed from Eberle. McMann picked up the secondary assist.

Philipp Grubauer made 32 saves. He looked skyward in the third period after a wildly lucky sequence where a puck pinged off the far post and directly back toward him, then safely underneath him, all seemingly before he located it.

Seattle is just behind the postseason cutoff in the West. The San Jose Sharks took over the second wild-card spot while the Kraken got off to a 2-6 start following the break for the 2026 Olympics.