Kraken Coach Bylsma Learned Who He Could Count On

Kraken coach Dan Bylsma feels “a lot of learning” went into the past season when it came to determining which players he’d most want to head into battle with.

Despite knowing some from his previous AHL Coachella Valley stints and watching others already on the Kraken from afar, working directly with them was a new experience. An experience he told assembled media members Wednesday afternoon was still playing out as the season progressed and hopefully has resolved itself to a point where the coming 2025-26 campaign gets off the ground more smoothly.

“I think a lot of learning happened this year,” Bylsma said, answering a specific question about figuring out which players he’d be confident heading to battle with. “I think I thought I had an idea of some of the individuals on the team. But that certainly was a part of the growth and development this year. Guys getting to know me. Me getting to know the guys. The dynamics and the growth of the team. That’s got to continue to grow here in the future going forward.”

Bylsma made his comments after a somewhat draining day of one-on-one exit interviews with players following a disappointing season in which the Kraken finished 34-41-6 and with 76 points, five fewer than a season ago that followed with coach Dave Hakstol being fired and replaced by the team’s then-AHL bench boss.

Bylsma said the players he spoke with Wednesday were “disappointed, almost to a man” but had confidence a turnaround akin to the franchise’s second year was possible as quickly as next fall.

The Kraken had 60 points their debut season, then 100 their second year in which they made the playoffs and came a win away from the conference final.

Fueling optimism of a turnaround next fall was the team’s 9-8-2 mark since the March 7 trade deadline when Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Brandon Tanev were dealt away for a slew of draft picks. Some of those picks could possibly be used as summer trade bait to bring in at least one or two impact players to jumpstart a team the Kraken felt should have been a playoff contender.

“The way we played the last 19 games wasn’t necessarily perfect in all regards,” Bylsma said. “But the way we played on the ice, the way we played for each other is how we want to do it. And evidence that it can be successful if we all buy in.”

The team’s pace since the deadline equates to a 39-36-7 mark and 85 points over a full season, which still isn’t playoff worthy just yet. That’s why Bylsma’s messaging to players was that they need to look deeper into their own play ahead of expecting outside help.

“You can’t look externally,” he said. “For it to get better, we have to get it within the group that we have and the group that’s out there.”

That group played a very tough slew of opponents down the post-deadline stretch, going 4-7-1 in games against nine current playoff teams. In their seven other games against non-playoff teams, they went 5-1-1.

So, the hope that the post-deadline play could lead to playoff contention next season isn’t just pie-in-the-sky.

Several players said they appreciated Bylsma’s direct, open communication with them.

“It’s nice to have a coach that’s a human being first and not a coach first,” said center Chandler Stephenson, who came over from Vegas last summer on a seven-year free agent deal. “I think that’s something that he is really good at. Obviously, there’s a fine line between those two but I think that’s a big thing, especially for a young team.

“To have a coach that really gets it and understands.”

But getting the team firing on all cylinders come October and November rather than March and April seems a must for Bylsma, as does improving upon a No. 24 ranked defensive performance of 3.20 goals against per contest.

There’s also a No. 23 ranked power play unit at 18.9% efficiency and a record of 0-12-0 in the second leg of back-to-back games that needs improvement for playoffs to happen.

“Consistency is going to be a big one,” Bylsma said of traits needed for promoting improvement in those areas. “I’ll just say that in our team play – and we talk about being connected, playing in five-man units offensively and defensively – we didn’t have enough consistency in that regard.”

Bylsma admitted his goal was to “galvanize this team and come together as a group” and that it clearly didn’t happen in time.

“We didn’t get that,” he said of the coaching staff. “We weren’t able to grow this team into that.”

And that’s why he hopes the lessons from the last 19 games about maintaining a “unified mindset” carry over into a full 82 come next season. For both him and the players he spent the season getting to know better – in some cases, far better than he thought he knew them heading in.

“Identity – that’s going to be huge going forward for our team and this group of guys,” he said. “When I talk about evaluation of our year and saying it’s been inconsistent, that’s not something I take easily.

“Because that’s the job as a coach. And I think we’ve made some strides, but I think clearly that’s both where this team and I as a coach need to improve to have success next year.”