Kraken's Julius Miettinen Leads Day 2 Draft Picks

Everett Silvertips center Julius Miettinen and Sudbury Wolves center Nathan Villeneuve were selected by the Seattle Kraken in the second round of the NHL Draft on Saturday, part of the Kraken's seven Day Two picks.

After drafting Spokane Chiefs center Berkly Catton in the first round on Friday, the Kraken picked Miettinen for their second selection. The 18-year-old from Helsinki, Finland, just completed his first WHL season with Everett, tallying 67 points in 66 games.

"Dream come true. It's awesome," Miettinen said. "It was hard, but it was a good decision to come here. Nice place and people are very nice here so it helped a lot."

Standing at 6-foot-3, 201 pounds, Miettinen adds size to the Kraken's center lineup. He was ranked 18th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. His Everett teammate, Kaden Hammell, was a fifth-round pick by the Kraken last year.

Villeneuve plays for the Sudbury Wolves alongside 2022 second-round pick David Goyette. The 18-year-old Ottawa native scored 50 points in 56 games this season and was rated the 60th best North American skater by NHL Central Scouting.

"I'm relieved," Villeneuve said. "It was a little stressful not knowing where I'm going to go, but really honored to be selected by Seattle."

Villeneuve was suspended for 15 games by the OHL for a social media policy violation, related to an incident involving a bounty placed on an opposing player.

Villeneuve is known for his physical play, accumulating nearly 60 penalty minutes each season with Sudbury.

"I'm a playoff player," he said. "I'm very physical and competitive, love scoring goals, and have a lot of offense to me too."

The Kraken's next two picks focused on defense: right-handed defenseman Alexis Bernier from Baie-Comeau Drakkar and goaltender Kim Saarinen from HPK of Liiga in Finland.

Bernier, an 18-year-old from Saint-Valérien, Quebec, brings a right-shot defenseman into the Kraken system. He was ranked 62nd among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and had 31 points in 67 games last season.

Saarinen is the third Finnish goaltender drafted by the Kraken in four years. At 6-foot-4, the 17-year-old Saarinen had a .917 save percentage and a 2.41 goals-against average for HPK's junior teams last season.

The Kraken picked Red Deer Rebels center Ollie Josephson in the fourth round. The 17-year-old from Victoria, British Columbia, scored 47 points in 68 games last season and was ranked 40th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

The Kraken traded with the Florida Panthers to move into the fifth round to select Swift Current Broncos left winger Clarke Caswell. Caswell led Swift Current in points (77) and assists (51) this season and scored nine points in nine playoff games.

Mississauga Steelheads left-handed defenseman Jakub Fibigr was the Kraken's final pick. The 17-year-old from Czechia scored 43 points in 61 games last season and was ranked 67th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

Catton, Miettinen, Hammell, Dragicevic, Portland's Tyson Jugnauth, and Kelowna's Caden Price are all Kraken draft picks who will be playing in the WHL's Western Conference next season.