Miettinen Giving ‘Notice’ at Both Ends of Ice 

Kraken player development consultant Katelyn Parker travels up to Everett a couple of times each month during the hockey season to see prospect Julius Miettinen play for the Western Hockey League Silvertips. She is never disappointed.

“He's playing really good hockey right now,” said Parker about 2024 second-rounder Miettinen. “You notice him a lot during Everett games. They had a great team last year, and he was able to produce and find his way on that team. And now he's a leader in that group. Every night I see him, I think, ‘Man, I'm really glad he's one of ours.’ There's just so much to work with him. I think his ceiling is really high.”

Miettinen’s scoring statistics are hard to ignore. He’s notched 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in 22 games, good for top 10 in the WHL. His 14th goal was a game-winner against the Vancouver Giants last Saturday. But what excites and impresses the Kraken player development group even more is the 6-foot-2, 207-pound center’s dedication to a strong presence in all zones.

“We like his 200-foot game,” said Frans Nielsen, the team’s player development consultant based in Europe. “The way he works at it, his willingness in the defensive zone. His focus on faceoffs is big to him. He wants to be that guy [leveraging faceoff wins in crucial game situations].”

Everett comfortably leads the WHL’s Western Conference with a 20-3-3 record for 43 points, nine ahead of the closest pursuer. All good for Everett fans, but such dominance can actually present a challenge for NHL prospects in that, as games get out of hand, some players reduce effort. Miettinen, who deeply appreciates frequent film sessions with Nielsen and Parker, along with actively texting them, is determined to maintain pro habits the Kraken espouse as essential for excelling at the next levels, starting with the American Hockey League and advancing to the NHL.

“I feel really good about what Frans and Katelyn are telling me to do,” said Miettinen, who turns 20 in January and will be eligible to play for AHL affiliate Coachella Valley next season. “I want to make sure even if we're ahead comfortably in a game that I am still doing those little details and keeping good habits in the defensive zone.”

Stick Detailing to It

Nielsen points to skating hard and fast all game as one habit he emphasises for Miettinen. No cruising with a big lead. Another important habit is to keep his stick blade on the ice when defending in the Everett zone.

“We talk about stick details on our calls, such as getting your stick down to close out passing lanes and disrupt more pucks overall,” said Neilsen. “You might have the stick in the air sometimes in juniors, but you can’t get away with that in the pro leagues. When Julius gets to the AHL, Lax [head coach Derek Laxdal] and his staff need to trust him as a responsible 200-foot center.”

Parker said during film sessions with Miettinen, she often references the all-zones play and effort of Matty Beniers as a role model, especially in how the Kraken’s first-ever draft choice plays without the puck to help defend and generate scoring chances. With proximity to Climate Pledge Arena, Miettinen attends select Kraken home games to see the likes of Beniers and Chandler Stephenson (including the veteran center’s faceoff prowess).

Bodying of Work

An ongoing message for Miettinen is using his body in games: “He's a bigger centerman in our prospect pool,” said Parker. “Just utilising his size and strength to his advantage, whether that's at the net front or getting inside players, or just being hard to handle. Not everyone has his size and strength. We talk to him a lot about that. Also being super reliable in the D-zone and what it takes to play at the NHL level in the middle. It's a hard job. Another way we use Matty as an example is his east-west skating [across the ice], how much you're going to have to skate as a center. That's a major point, along with how a big effort in the D-Zone allows you to play a lot more in the offensive zone.”

Parker said “the fun part of the job” is seeing how the player development group is molding Miettinen and fellow prospects into becoming successful pro and NHL players.

For his part, Miettinen loves the process just as much: “I feel like I am a lot better [season over season]. It's all about working at it. You can't really get better without doing it. The more I play, the more I feel like I'm learning and improving.”

Prospect Roundup

The Kraken’s 2025 first-round (No. 8 overall) pick, Jake O’Brien, leads the Ontario Hockey League in scoring with 10 goals and 34 assists in 24 games. He scored a power play goal Friday, but his Brantford team experienced its first loss in regulation, losing to Brampton. Seattle 2024 seventh-rounder Jakub Fibigr was a force for Brampton in all zones in helping defeat “OB” and company. Fibigr, a standout in last year’s World Juniors tourney, especially as a 17-year-old shutdown penalty killer, will likely represent Team Czechia again in the late December/early January tournament.

In NCAA Division I play, 2024 fourth-rounder Ollie Josephson continues his strong first-year season with powerhouse University of North Dakota. Last Friday, he earned a pair of assists as the power play bumper for UND, then sealed the win with an empty net goal at Bemidji State. Josephson has three goals and six assists in 14 games while increasingly earning the trust of his coaches, resulting in more time on ice.