The Seattle Kraken have a decision to make and until then Shane Wright will remain in limbo. 

The No. 4 pick in the 2022 NHL draft is on the roster, but he’s only played seven of Seattle’s 14 games. He’s effectively the 13th forward, which is an NHL job, but not the one meant for first-round draft picks. 

How do you remedy that if you are the Kraken? Especially with a player whose only playing options this season are either the NHL – the best league in the world – or returning to the OHL to dominate games against teenagers. There is no in-between because of the NHL-CHL agreement. 

And the first potential flashpoint is coming soon. Once Wright plays 10 NHL games this will officially count as a year of his NHL entry-level contract, that’s two more Wright appearances before Kraken general manage