He came up to fill an empty roster spot. Forward Jesper Froden has earned his keep.
The 28-year-old Stockholm, Sweden, native is four games into his first Kraken recall. He’d appeared in just seven NHL games, all with Boston in 2021-22, his first pro season in North America. Froden was second on the Kraken’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, in points (25 goals, 22 assists through 44 games) at the time of his summoning from the minors.
“He earned his way up. Offensively, he was obviously very effective throughout the year,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “But along with that, we talked to the staff down there — he’s a very responsible, competitive player.”
Froden stood out in training camp and appeared in multiple preseason games. If the big club hadn’t been so consistently healthy, he probably would have been recalled sooner. There just haven’t been many opportunities for Firebirds players to prove themselves at the NHL level this season.
John Hayden has appeared in the most games between his recalls. He’s scored twice in five appearances. Froden is right behind him with four games, followed by defenseman Gustav Olofsson (three) and goaltender Joey Daccord (one).
“Right now, with our lineup the way it is — [Andre] Burakovsky out of the lineup — we need a little different element than we needed a month ago, when [Hayden] was up,” Hakstol said.
On Sunday against the Avalanche, Froden had the second-lowest ice time on the team and no special-teams opportunities. He’s been used in late-game situations from the first game of his recall, however.
His shifts have tapered off during the third period, as Hakstol shortened his bench, but on Feb. 23 Froden was out there in the final 10 minutes against the league-best Boston Bruins, while the game was tied 4-4 the and the Kraken were pressing for a wild win. He notched his first NHL assist in that game against the Bruins, on Jamie Oleksiak’s second-period goal.
He’s gotten the nod recently over Daniel Sprong, who still sits third on the team in goals this season with 15 even though he’s been scratched as often as he’s played in the 14 games since the All-Star break.
Froden hasn’t made waves, which isn’t a bad thing. He slid right into the Kraken’s (36-21-6, third in the Pacific Division) structure. The coaching staff likes what he brings at this moment.
“He’s a guy that’s competitive, he’s confident, he’s in the right spots,” Hakstol said. “The other piece that we’ve seen consistently with him is that he can play in traffic. The play doesn’t die with him there.
“Every guy that’s come up is different. [Hayden] came up and did a tremendous job in his role. We know what kind of player he is and what he brings to our team.”
Many players have thrived on Yanni Gourde’s line, which is where Froden played Sunday at Colorado opposite Eeli Tolvanen. The coaching staff singled them out in its postgame conversations.
“That was the line that was driving us as we came out of the first period into the second period,” Hakstol said. “They were good. They had great energy. They worked down low really well.”
The roster spot Froden is in will likely close up at some point. Burakovsky (lower-body, week to week) recently resumed skating. For now it’s quietly working.
“He plays fast. He plays with a lot of pace. Very simple,” Gourde said of his linemate after Sunday’s game.
“He did a very good job tonight. He was all over the place and made the little plays. He was good in the D-zone, [made] stops in the D-zone, all the little details you look for when someone gets on your line.”