Shane Wright lighting up the AHL after being demoted.
Shane Wright proving his doubters wrong?
It has been a rocky start for 1st round draft pick Shane Wright when it comes to the National Hockey League. At one time, Wright was a consensus to be the #1 pick at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft but as we all know he would fall in dramatic fashion at the actual draft itself, with the Kraken selecting him 4th overall in the end.
Given that context, Wright was no doubt looking forward to tearing it up in the NHL this season and proving the teams that opted to pass on him wrong. Unfortunately things haven't played out that way for the 18 year old forward and after just 7 games of NHL action this season, along with a large number of healthy scratches to start the season, Wright was finally demoted down to the American Hockey League.
You might think that another setback of this nature would be hard on Wright and could potentially even impact his motivation and development, but if anything it appears to have lit a fire under the young man. Since arriving in the AHL, where he joined the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Wright has been tearing it up offensively and has looked nothing short of dominant in the process.
In his very first AHL game, Wright would break away from the pack and would record his first career AHL goal.
That was followed up by a 2 goal performance in his second ever AHL game, good for 3 goals in just 2 games.
On Saturday night, Wright was playing in the third AHL game of his young career and wouldn't you know it... he found the back of the net yet again for his 4th goal in just 3 games at the AHL level.
Wright was only sent down as part of a 14 day conditioning loan and will be returning to the Seattle Kraken at the end of that loan. You have to wonder if the Kraken, and more specifically head coach Dave Hakstol, may find more room for Wright in his offense after seeing his offensive abilities on full display at the AHL level.
