Kraken take defenseman Chase Reid with 7th pick of NHL draft

Kate Shefte, The Seattle Times on Jun 26, 2026

Published in Hockey

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With the seventh overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft, the Kraken took a defenseman in the first round for the first time. They selected righty Chase Reid from the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League on Friday at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center.

Reid was expected by many to go higher than seventh, but the 6-foot-2,195-pound defenseman was available nearly an hour into the draft. Reid is expected to spend at least a season at Michigan State.

Before Friday, four of the Kraken’s five draft picks since the franchise launched were centers. Matty Beniers went second overall in 2021. Shane Wright fell to fourth overall in 2022, and according to widespread reports, the Kraken are actively shopping the 22-year-old in the days leading up to free agency opening.

Berkly Catton was the eighth overall pick in 2024 and Jake O’Brien went eighth overall in 2025. O’Brien just captained the Brantford Bulldogs to the OHL’s Eastern Conference Finals. Beniers, Wright and Catton all played with the NHL club last season.

The only first-rounder who wasn’t a center was Eduard Sale, a winger, taken in 2023. Sale spent last season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Seattle’s top affiliate.

The only member of the Kraken’s current blue line that the team drafted is Ryker Evans, who is usually on the third pairing and fills in on the power play. Seattle is thin at that position. The Kraken made some progress when they drafted 6-foot-5 blueliner Blake Fiddler in the second round last year, 36th overall. Fiddler just finished with 36 points in 63 regular-season games for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League.

The Toronto Maple Leafs picked Penn State left wing Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 pick as expected. The San Jose Sharks stuck to the script as well and took Frolunda left wing Ivar Stenberg at No. 2.

Reid was second among North American skaters in Central Scouting’s final rankings, behind McKenna. Several outlets had him going third after McKenna and Stenberg.

But the Vancouver Canucks went for it at No. 3 and selected their coach’s son, Caleb Malhotra, a 6-2 center. Former NHL center Manny Malhotra was promoted from the Canucks’ American Hockey League affiliate on June 1.

With their newly acquired No. 4 pick, the Buffalo Sabres kicked off the run on defensemen with Daxon Rudolph. The New York Rangers selected Latvian defender Alberts Smits fifth, then Calgary took Carson Carels at No. 6.