The 2024 NHL Draft continued starting with the second round Saturday, and the Seattle Kraken kicked off the day in a similar fashion to Friday’s first round by tapping into an in-state Western Hockey League squad.

Morosi: Why Dan Bylsma is ‘best possible’ coach for Seattle Kraken

Rounds 2 through 7 took place on the draft’s second and final day. Here’s a look at the seven players Seattle picked on Saturday, plus Friday’s first-round pick.

Round 1

Eighth overall: Berkly Catton, C

The Kraken kicked off their fourth draft as a franchise by taking a talented offensive prospect in Catton from the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. The 18-year-old center racked up 54 goals and 62 assists with the Chiefs last season. Catton, a 5 foot 10, 170-pounder, was the WHL Rookie of the Year in 2022-23 with 23 goals and 22 assists.

🎥BERKLY CATTON – HIGHLIGHT REEL🎥

The purrfect highlight reel doesn’t exi—@spokanechiefs | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/EMoIJ3MfkP

— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 28, 2024

The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native is a left-handed shot and the eighth-ranked North American skater in the draft, according to NHL Central Scouting.

Round 2

40th overall: Julius Miettinen, C

Seattle’s second pick came from one of Spokane’s cross-state division rivals in the WHL. Miettinen, a 6 foot 3, 203-pounder, netted 31 goals and added 36 assists for the Everett Silvertips last season.

Hey @SeattleKraken.

You’re gonna LOVE Julius Miettinen.#SeaKraken | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/6SiKXEBKq7

— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) June 29, 2024

The Helsinki, Finland, native is another left-handed-shooting centerman, but much larger in stature than Catton. Miettinen was a late riser on draft boards, moving from 49th to 18th in NHL Central Scouting’s final international skater rankings.

63rd overall: Nathan Villeneuve, C

The Kraken continued their early run on centers by taking Villeneuve from the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves with their second second-round pick. Villeneuve, an Ottawa, Ontario, native, amassed 23 goals and 27 assists in 56 games with the Wolves last season.

2024 #NHLDraft prospect Nathan Villeneuve capped the @Sudbury_Wolves‘ comeback Friday night with the OT winner! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/80ZoZy4B9C

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) February 24, 2024

The 5-foot-11, 192-pounder made it three for three in terms of left-handed shooters taken early by Seattle. Villeneuve, 18, is the 60th-ranked North American skater.

Round 3

73rd overall: Alexis Bernier, D

Bernier, 18, had four goals and 27 assists in 67 games for the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League last season. Bernier, a 6-foot-1, 189-pound right-handed shot, is the 62nd-ranked North American skater.

88th overall: Kim Saarinen, G

Saarinen, 17, is a big-bodied goaltender who played across multiple levels in Finland this past season. The 6-foot-4, 176-pounder from Finland is the third-ranked international goalie.

Round 4

105th overall: Oliver Josephson, C

Josephson, 17, was the third left-handed WHL centerman taken by the Kraken. He totaled 12 goals and 35 assists for the Red Deer Rebels last season. Josephson, who measures in at 6-foot, 178 pounds, is the 40th-ranked North American skater.

It’s a shortie for Ollie Josephson!@Rebelshockey | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/dPIfYJeeGH

— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 6, 2023

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Round 5

141st overall: Clarke Caswell, LW

Caswell, 18, scored 26 goals and dished out 51 assists for the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos last season. The 5 foot 11, 170-pounder is the 77th-ranked North American skater.

Round 7

202nd overall: Jakub Fibigr, D

Fibigr, 17, netted seven goals and had 36 assists in 61 games for the Mississauga Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League last season. The 6-foot, 171-pounder is a left-handed shot and the 67th-ranked North American skater.

Potential Sonics return may have played role in Kraken coach change

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The Minnesota Twins (45-37) and Seattle Mariners (47-37) play the middle contest of a 3-game series Saturday. First pitch from T-Mobile Park is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET (MLB Network). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Twins vs. Mariners odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: Twins lead 3-2

The Mariners exacted a little revenge for dropping 3 of 4 games in Minnesota May 6-9, opening this series with a 3-2 win as a moderate favorite (-126) Friday night as the Under (7) easily connected.

The Twins offense was cooled off, as Minnesota entered play with 115 runs scored in the previous 17 outings, or 6.8 runs per game. It had scored 3 or more runs in 15 of those 17 games while cashing the Over at an 8-3 clip in the previous 11 contests.

Minnesota RHP Pablo Lopez took a perfect game into the 6th inning in his last start against the Athletics, twirling 8 scoreless innings while matching a career high with 14 strikeouts.

The Mariners improved to 18-9 in 1-run games with the 3-2 win Friday. That’s the most wins in the majors in games decided by a single run, with the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays next best with 16 one-run wins.

Twins at Mariners projected starters

RHP Pablo Lopez vs. RHP Bryce Miller

Lopez (7-6, 5.11 ERA) makes his 17th start. He has a 1.17 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9 and 10.3 K/9 in 88 innings.

• Last start: Win, 8 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 14 K (102 pitches) in 3-0 victory at Oakland A’s Sunday
• 2024 road splits: 4-3, 5.09 ERA (46 IP, 26 ER), 1.07 WHIP, .209 opponents’ batting average (OBA), 9 HR, 13 BB, 58 K in 8 starts
• 2024 vs. Mariners: 1-0, 1.42 ERA (6 1/3 IP, 1 ER), 4 H, 0 BB, 10 K in 1 start, an 11-1 home win May 9
• Career vs. Mariners: 1-1, 2.45 ERA (18 1/3 IP, 5 ER), 1.04 WHIP, 3 HR, 12.3 K/9 in 3 starts

Miller (6-6, 3.90 ERA) makes his 17th start. He has a 1.04 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9 and 8.3 K/9 in 92 1/3 innings.

• Last start: Loss, 4 IP, 6 ER, 6 H (2 HR), 1 BB, 3 K in 6-4 setback at Miami Marlins Sunday
• 2024 home splits: 4-2, 1.82 ERA (49 1/3 IP, 10 ER), 0.83 WHIP, .159 OBA, 3 HR, 14 BB, 59 K in 8 starts
• Career vs. Twins: 1-0, 9.53 ERA (5 2/3 IP, 6 ER), 8 H, 0 BB, 7 K in 1 start, an 8-7 road win July 26, 2023

Who’s going yard? Here’s a breakdown of today’s best home run props with our top picks. Include the BetMGM bonus code SBWIRE to score a $1,500 first-bet offer.

Twins at Mariners odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:12 p.m. ET.

• Moneyline (ML): Twins -120 (bet $120 to win $100) | Mariners +100 (bet $100 to win $100)
• Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Twins -1.5 (+140) | Mariners +1.5 (-165)
• Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: +100 | U: -120)

Twins at Mariners picks and predictions

Prediction

Mariners 3, Twins 2

Moneyline

The MARINERS (+100) are a good bet to run it back by the same score as Friday’s series opener.

While Lopez is coming off a huge performance last time out, it was also against the Athletics. He is pitching with a lot of confidence, though, and he’ll give the Twins (-120) a chance.

However, Miller has been money at home. He has stark splits on the road and at T-Mobile Park, posting a 6.28 ERA in 43 IP in 8 road starts and a 1.82 ERA in 49 1/3 IP in 8 home outings.

Run line/Against the spread

The Mariners +1.5 (-165) are a little too expensive if you would prefer some insurance and just cannot back Seattle straight up for whatever reason.

AVOID.

Over/Under

UNDER 7.5 (-120) is the way to go, as Lopez and Miller should produce plenty of donuts.

The Under is now 5-1-1 in the past 7 games at T-Mobile Park for the M’s following Friday’s series opener.

The Over is 6-2 in the past 8 for the Twins, but the Under is 2-1 in the past 3 road starts for Lopez.

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Despite what one might expect, the Seattle Seahawks’ first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history is often viewed as one to forget.

In 2005, the Seahawks earned the top seed in the NFC with a 13-3 record, then powered their way through the playoffs to punch their ticket to Super Bowl XL at Ford Field in Detroit. There, they met the Pittsburgh Steelers, the sixth seed in the AFC, which on paper should have given them an advantage.

However, that was far from the case. The Seahawks fell to Steelers 21-10 in a game where nothing seemed to go their way. Some questionable calls are still talked about today, but Seattle failing to capitalize on its chances arguably did even more damage.

Even almost 20 years later, players from both teams are still talking about this game. In a recent book titled “Facing the Pittsburgh Steelers: Players Recall the Glory Years of the Black and Gold” by Sean Deveny, former Seattle fullback Mack Strong explained the inherent advantage Pittsburgh had in that matchup. Rather than harping on the officials like many before him, though, Strong instead pointed to the overwhelming ratio of Steelers fans in the crowd.

“Where it was different, though, was on game day. Detroit is like an hour flight from Pittsburgh. There were probably 60,000 Steelers fans there and about 10,000 Seahawks fans. It definitely felt like a home game for them, an away game for us,” Strong said. “That was the only time— I stepped out onto that field and I was like, ‘This is different.’

“It was supposed to be neutral. But we were just building our fan base at the time, and the Steelers, of course, had 30 or 40 years of winning and history behind them. It was weird walking into a neutral stadium and literally trying to figure out, ‘Wait, where are our fans at?’”

It doesn’t take a detective to figure out why the Steelers had such a strong crowd advantage. Like Strong said, a flight from Pittsburgh to Detroit is just over an hour, while a flight from Seattle to Detroit is over four hours. Add in that the Steelers had history on their side and that Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis, a Detroit native, was playing in his final NFL game, and it’s easy to see why black and gold dominated the stands.

Even though this game ended in disappointment, the Seahawks would finally earn their first championship eight years later with a 43-8 dismantling of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.