Seattle, WA
What's new Seattle Kraken coach's insight on Shane Wright?
If anything jumps out about new Seattle Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma, it’s where he’s coming from.
After whirlwind stretch, new Kraken coach Bylsma settles in
Bylsma spent the past two seasons coaching the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s affiliate in the American Hockey League, and he had impressive success with the group of Kraken prospects, leading the Firebirds to back-to-back AHL Western Conference championships and trips to the Calder Cup Finals.
Perhaps the most talented player on those teams was Shane Wright, a center who the Kraken picked No. 4 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft and is seen as a key piece of Seattle’s future. Naturally, Bylsma has a unique insight on Wright due to the experience he has already having coached him before being promoted to the organization’s top job.
Bylsma shared that insight when he joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Thursday, and he made sure to point out that while Wright came to the Kraken with high expectations, he was still only 18 years old when he made his NHL debut in October 2022.
“I think it gets lost a little bit, we’re drafting 18 year old kids, young men,” Bylsma told Michael Bumpus and guest host Curtis Rogers, “and there’s a lot of development and a lot of process that has to go through for the player to get to be where he’s at his best. I think the first year (for Wright) we saw a lot of signs of that. The expectations of the draft and going forth, and then coming to camp, you got to remember he (was) just 18 years old. You’ve got to look back to when you were 18 years old and see where you were at at that time, both physically and mentally.”
Bumpus, a former NFL wide receiver, could relate to Bylsma’s point.
“I thought about me at 18 and I laughed at myself, thinking if I were 18 trying to play in the NFL in that locker room, I would not last,” Bumpus replied. “How do they do it in hockey?”
Bylsma, who coached the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup title in 2009 and played nine seasons in the NHL, mentioned that leadership not just during Wright’s stints in Seattle but also at Coachella Valley have been important.
“Well, I think that’s the the great thing about hockey – even though we’re doing it at 18 years old, you usually have a bunch of seasoned veterans to show you the way, to lead the way, and we certainly have that in Seattle,” Bylsma said. “But … it’s just a difficult thing to do. I was drafted too but certainly wasn’t at the level of Shane Wright, and to step into an NHL locker room when you’re 18 years old and all the eyes on you, all the expectations on you, it’s a difficult thing. I think the good thing for Shane is he just got a chance to turn pro, be a pro every day, work at being a pro. He got to do it under some great leadership we had in Coachella with Max McCormick, Andrew Poturalski (leading) the way in helping Shane realize what it what it takes to be a pro.”
So what stood out about Wright, who is now 20, to Bylsma with the Firebirds?
“The good thing the last year, I’ve just got to see Shane come to work every day and put in the time, put in the effort, and you can just continually see the growth in him as a person and him as a player,” he said. “I think you guys got to see a little bit of it when he came up (to rejoin the Kraken this April) in those six games and scored some goals. I thought that was great for him to see the maturation process in his game throughout the whole year and get some results when he came up and played.”
SHANE WRIGHT AGAIN 🤩
His second of the night and third since being called up! pic.twitter.com/NfGwSFfdfB
— NHL (@NHL) April 6, 2024
Listen to the full Bump and Stacy conversation with new Seattle Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post.
More on the Seattle Kraken
• Seattle Kraken, Eeli Tolvanen agree to two-year deal
• History made as Kraken hire Jessica Campbell as assistant coach
• Seattle Kraken make trade to follow up big first day in free agency
• 2024 NHL Draft Recap: Every pick the Seattle Kraken made
• Morosi: Why Bylsma is ‘best possible’ coach for Seattle Kraken
Thanks to Carrie Brown for the westward view of our Saturday night sunset. The high today hit 68 at the airport – eight degrees above normal – but nowhere near the record for this date, which was 89 degrees back in 2016. The forecast suggests two more days of partly sunny, almost-70-degree weather, before the chance of rain returns.
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
Mariners Injury Update: Latest on Robles, Vargas and more
The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
Mariners RHP Bryce Miller to begin rehab assignment
Seattle, WA
Brandon Nimmo hits leadoff homer, Jacob deGrom works 4 scoreless as Rangers beat Seattle Mariners 5-0
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – APRIL 17: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers tags out Dominic Canzone #8 of the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on April 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff home run, Jacob deGrom threw four shutout innings and Gavin Collyer earned his first career win as the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-0 on Friday night.
Seattle lost its fourth straight game, and was shut out for the fourth time in 21 games, falling to 8-13. The Mariners were shut out six times during the 2025 season. Texas won its third straight game.
Nimmo led off the game with a 372-foot shot to right field off Mariners starter Logan Gilbert (1-3). It was Nimmo’s 16th career leadoff homer and second of the season. He also hit a leadoff home run on April 11 in a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
DeGrom effectively maneuvered through Seattle’s lineup, and worked out of a one out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning. The two-time Cy Young Award winner recorded two of his three strikeouts after walking Josh Naylor to load the bases. Randy Arozarena fanned on a curveball, and Luke Raley swung through a fastball.
Texas added to its lead after Nimmo’s homer. Wyatt Langford’s single to left scored Corey Seager, who led off the third inning with a double. The Rangers stretched the lead to 3-0 on an RBI single from Jake Burger in the seventh.
The Mariners’ best scoring chance came in the sixth after Collyer (1-0), who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, left the game.
J.P. Crawford singled to left off Tyler Alexander with two out, and Mariners third base coach Carlos Cardoza sent Naylor from second base, but he was thrown out by Langford.
Texas added two more runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen and an RBI double by Josh Jung.
Seattle third baseman Brendan Donovan left the game early due to a left hip issue.
Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, who started the year on the injured list with a left oblique injury, was at T-Mobile Park for the first time this season. He will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
Up next
Mariners RHP George Kirby (2-2, 3.25) will face Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.40) on Saturday afternoon.
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