Kraken nab Berkly Catton with 8th overall selection

The Seattle Kraken drafted Canadian forward Berkly Catton with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on Friday.

Berkly Catton

Following up his strong rookie campaign in the WHL with a stellar sophomore season, Catton finished with the third-most goals in the league and the fourth-most points with 116 in 2023-24. He teed up the performance with a dominant showing at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August, where he paced the tournament with eight goals and tied for the lead with 10 points in five games to lift Canada to a gold medal.

Despite his lack of size, the 18-year-old has been praised for his abilities as a well-rounded center and talented skater. Catton won 53.4% of his faceoffs for the Spokane Chiefs this past season and dazzled as a key cog on their penalty kill, leading the league with seven shorthanded goals.

Catton moved up one spot on NHL Central Scouting's final rankings after placing ninth on the midterm list.

What they're saying

Catton makes a ton of difficult plays on the move and has a lot of pace in his game," The Athletic's Corey Pronman wrote in May. "He's not overly physical, but he competes. He wins pucks, gets to the net, and can kill penalties. He projects as an excellent top-six center with a chance to be a No. 1 center."

Pronman also likened him to Utah youngster Logan Cooley. "On the rush, Catton can slice through opponents with ease while handling the puck as well as anyone, so he likes to beat his competition with pace. ... Catton's ability to weave through traffic makes him so difficult to contain," Daily Faceoff's Steven Ellis wrote in June.