Associated Press

Princeton made it official on Monday in announcing Courtney Kessel’s hiring as coach of the women’s hockey team, a week after the two sides were finalizing the agreement.

Kessel spent the past two years coaching the PWHL Boston Fleet and returns to Princeton where she spent four seasons, from 2019-23, as an assistant under Cara Gardner Morey. She now succeeds Gardner Morey, who left the Tigers in May upon being hired as general manager of the PWHL’s expansion team in Vancouver.

The 35-year-old Kessel had a 27-19-8 record in Boston, including a Walter Cup Finals appearance in 2024, which the team lost to Minnesota in a decisive Game 5.

“It is bittersweet to move on from the Boston Fleet and the amazing people building that organization and the PWHL as a whole,” Kessel said. “This opportunity was the only one that could draw me away from where I was.”

From Toronto, Kessel played at New Hampshire, where she was a 2010 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the MVP of women’s college hockey. She also represented Canada at three world championships, including a gold-medal win in 2012.

She also has Hockey Canada coaching experience, serving as a senior team assistant in 2024 and head coach of the 2023 gold-medal winning Under-18 team.

The Fleet have undergone major changes this offseason. Star forward Hilary Knight left Boston to sign with the PWHL’s expansion team in Seattle. The Fleet also have an opening at assistant general manager after Meghan Turner was hired as Seattle’s GM.

“Courtney set the tone from Day 1 and elevated our group with her competitiveness, preparation, and care,” Fleet GM Danielle Marmer said. “She’s already established herself as an elite coach early in her career, and I know she’ll continue to raise the bar as the next head coach at Princeton.”

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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

The NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Rules Committee recommended rules changes to simplify the penalty structure and improve the pace of play, beginning with the 2025-26 academic year.

The proposals must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel before becoming official. The panel is scheduled to discuss the women’s lacrosse recommendations Aug. 13.

Committee members, who met last week in Indianapolis, approved the following measures: 

• Expanding one-minute releasable penalties in the midfield to all over the field, except in the critical scoring area.
• Using an advantage signal for one-minute releasable penalties, when applicable, which would allow teams the opportunity to play on. The one-minute penalty could be negated if a goal is scored during the advantage or administered at the conclusion of the advantage period.
• Running the clock on 8-meter free positions, except for the last minute of each quarter or overtime.
• Setting up 8-meter free positions only at the two adjacent hashes on both sides of the center hash.
• Upgrading dangerous contact penalties to a nonreleasable yellow card. 
• Flagging shooting space fouls in the critical scoring area.

Committee members said they received feedback from officials, players and coaches that the penalty structure is complex and needed an overhaul. 

“Addressing the penalty structure and penalty administration is inherently also directly related to consideration of duration of games,” said Amy Foster, committee chair and senior deputy athletics director for the student-athlete experience at Cornell. “At the Division I level in particular, there was concern about games consistently extending well beyond two hours. For media purposes, that window is important, but it is also important for just the enjoyment of the game. Changes in the penalty structure and penalty and game administration could positively impact both.”

Stick checks and draws

The committee proposed ending stick checks after goals are scored. 

Currently, officials check the pocket depth of the stick of each goal scorer to see whether the stick is legal. 

Also, teams would have 30 seconds after a goal is scored to be ready for the ensuing draw at midfield. If a team isn’t ready for the draw by the end of the 30 seconds, possession would be awarded to the other team.

Overall, draws would occur only at the start of the game, at the start of overtime and after goals are scored. 

The team having possession of the ball at the end of the first, second and third quarters would maintain possession when the next quarter starts. 

“There would be a decrease in the numbers of draws, but the change is consistent with what we were doing with power plays, where we award possession at the start of the next quarter,” Foster said. “The committee felt that there should be a draw to start overtime. You want everyone to have an equitable chance to gain possession there.”

Video review challenges

Committee members proposed a change to the way video challenges would be handled next season. 

If a team has a successful video review challenge in which the original call on the field is overturned, it would maintain its challenge.

However, if the call on the field is not overturned, the team making the challenge would lose a timeout. Teams would have to have a timeout to make video review challenges.

At the request of teams, committee members also proposed expanding the categories of plays eligible for video review. Teams would be permitted to request video reviews for several areas that, in the past, were reviewable only at the officials’ discretion.

Under the new approach, officials no longer would have discretion over whether to initiate reviews, ensuring greater consistency in officiating nationwide. Officials would be required to review: 

• Clock errors.
• Whether a shot is released before the possession clock or game clock expired.
• Fouls that cause ejection.

For every video review, whether requested or required, officials would review for clock errors and cardable fouls.

We’ve entered draft week across the NHL, and as fans feverishly study up on this year’s class of eligible prospects, I thought it would be fun to look back and give grades to the Seattle Kraken’s four NHL Entry Drafts to date. Grading their drafts at this point is a little like judging a cooking competition halfway through meal prep. Sure, you can see where it’s going, but there’s still plenty of time for things to come together… or fall apart.

The Kraken are only four drafts into their existence, and many of the players they’ve selected are still in college, junior hockey, or just starting to scratch the surfaces of their pro careers. Still, with a few seasons of development in the books, we can start to evaluate trends, hits, misses, and what those drafts tell us about the Kraken’s performance to date. So, keeping in mind that there’s a lot of runway left for all the players they’ve selected, here’s a look at how the Kraken’s first four NHL Entry Drafts are shaping up.

2021 NHL Entry Draft

The Kraken’s first draft year featured the fewest picks they’ve ever had in a single draft, with just the seven standard selections. Matty Beniers looked like a smash hit after his 2022-23 Calder Trophy season but has cooled off since. He’s still very young and has another season or two before we’ll know whether he’s a true first-line center or if he’ll settle into a secondary role. Beniers did show some progress after the arrival of Kaapo Kakko, and it will be interesting to see how things play out next season. A few players from that class—Wyatt Johnston, Dylan Guenther, Matthew Knies, Luke Hughes—have shown flashes, but nobody has pulled away as a bona fide superstar just yet.

Outside of the first round, Ryker Evans is showing a lot of promise. He hasn’t established himself as a high-end defenseman, but he’s only had one full NHL season. Ryan Winterton looked to be on a great trajectory in 2023-24, and while expectations were high that we’d see more of him in the NHL, he’s technically ahead of schedule. He’s already played 21 NHL games, 19 more than the next-most games played by a third-round pick from that draft.

Both Ville Ottavainen and Jacob Melanson made their NHL debuts during the 2024-25 season, each appearing in one game. Meanwhile, Semyon Vyazovoi, a longshot seventh-round goalie from Russia, is starting to look less like a longshot after a strong year in the KHL that included some big-time performances. Lastly, Justin Janicke, another seventh-rounder, signed an AHL deal with Coachella Valley. The odds are always long for players taken after Round 2, but at this point, every Kraken pick from this draft has exceeded expectations.

Overall Grade: B+
Beniers’ future as a top center remains TBD, but the overall draft class is tracking well above average, especially for the later rounds.

2022 NHL Entry Draft

The 2022 draft was a busy one for the Kraken, and the most memorable moment was Shane Wright unexpectedly falling to them at No. 4. In Wright’s first full NHL season (2024-25), he showed encouraging progression. He finished with 19 goals and 25 assists, but the real optimism comes from his growth as the season went on—averaging just 0.25 points per game in his first 20 games, and 0.66 the rest of the way. Even with hindsight, the Kraken would still take him at No. 4.

Outside of Wright, Jani Nyman was the only other player to appear in more than one NHL game, putting up three goals in 12 games late in the season. He looked the part of an NHLer, and it’d be a surprise if he doesn’t play at least 60 games next season. Jagger Firkus, Niklas Kokko, and Ty Nelson all had strong seasons with Coachella Valley and remain on solid development paths.

Folks. Jani Nyman’s First NHL Goal. It’s a beauty set up by the captain (his third primary helper of the game) #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/caLxRtKnYo

— Alison (@AlisonL) March 13, 2025

David Goyette, meanwhile, had a bit of a rollercoaster first pro season. After two 40-goal seasons in the OHL, fans hoped to see more than six goals in his AHL rookie year. That said, nothing was particularly concerning—he’s just on a learning curve.

NCAA prospects Ben MacDonald (Harvard) and Barret Hall (St. Cloud) are both producing steadily at the collegiate level.

Overall Grade: B
Most picks are tracking nicely, and 2025-26 will be a telling year for this class.

2023 NHL Entry Draft

Even the most optimistic Kraken fan has to feel a little nervous about Eduard Šalé, Seattle’s first-rounder in 2023. Nobody expected him to have reached the NHL yet, but his 2023-24 OHL season was underwhelming, and while he had a strong start to his 2024-25 AHL campaign, his performance tapered off later in the season. To be fair, he was a 19-year-old in the AHL, extremely young for that league, so it’s way too early to write him off. He also was outstanding in the IIHF World Junior Championship, scoring six goals and two assists as the captain of Team Czechia, so there is still plenty of potential.

Seattle’s second- and third-rounders, however, are trending nicely. Carson Rehkopf capped a fantastic OHL career and is poised to take a big step this season. Oscar Fisker Mølgaard had another excellent year in the SHL and is coming to North America for 2025-26.

Further down the draft board, most players are developing as expected, but it’s still too early to make firm calls either way.

Overall Grade: C+
Rehkopf and Mølgaard help the grade, but concern about Šalé weighs heavily. You have to hit on first-rounders.

2024 NHL Entry Draft

Okay, yes, it’s extremely premature to assign a grade to the 2024 draft class. But we’re doing it anyway. Kraken fans have to love what they’ve seen from Berkly Catton. It’s not just the points or goal scoring—he’s showing signs of becoming a well-rounded, play-driving center who takes pride in his game at both ends of the ice. He’s done all he can do in the WHL, and since the AHL isn’t an option, most expect him in the NHL this season.

Julius Miettinen showed a ton of promise in the first half of the season with Everett, but an injury at World Juniors kept him out most of the second half. He looked good when he returned, but it would’ve been nice to see a full campaign.

One big early surprise is Nathan Villeneuve, a physical, fearless player who stood out in preseason. In fact, in four years of watching Kraken prospects in exhibition games, Villeneuve was one of the first who looked like he actually belonged.

Wow! Nathan Villeneuve with a rocket one-timer!

Bjorkstrand sets him up, and the youngster gets a pretty goal and a nice little “sheath the sword” celly. #SeaKraken

4-1 Flames. pic.twitter.com/MGPsw9XY0c

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) September 23, 2024

Further down the list, Alexis Bernier and Kim Saarinen took strong steps forward, while Oliver Josephson, Clarke Caswell, and Jakub Fibigr all had solid seasons.

Overall Grade: A-
Yes, it’s early. But Catton’s play and Villeneuve’s trajectory have Kraken fans rightfully excited.

Final thoughts

Four drafts in, it’s clear the Kraken are building with patience and purpose. They’ve managed to find value in nearly every round and haven’t missed wildly on any picks, though Šalé’s trajectory will be important to monitor. The foundation is there. The real question now is how Seattle can turn its impressive group of prospects into regular NHL contributors and a contending roster in the future.

As the 2025 draft approaches, the pipeline is in a healthy spot, but the next wave needs to start arriving in full. The Kraken don’t just need young players, they need young impact players. Time will tell which names from these early drafts step into that spotlight.