Kraken Ready for Islanders' Matthew Schaefer Amidst Homestand

The Seattle Kraken will continue a six-game stretch at Climate Pledge Arena in the midst of an action-packed January, with their latest opponent being the New York Islanders.

January sees the Kraken playing 17 games in 31 days, with the particular matchup against the Islanders being extra pivotal. With a win on Jan. 21 for Seattle, the Kraken could split the 2025-26 season series between the two clubs as a result of the Kraken falling to the Islanders 1-0 in a shootout earlier in the year. Seattle is 6-2-1 all-time against the New York club — including a 3-1-0 record at CPA.

The matchup between the two teams also sees two of the NHL's bright young stars facing off, including Seattle's Berkly Catton (20) and the Islanders' Matthew Schaefer (18).

Kraken Head Coach Lane Lambert said that young talent is currently trending high across the league.

"There is a little bit of a trend here," Lambert said to Breakaway On SI in regards to the NHL seeing more talent at younger ages. "We have young players that we are counting on and certainly developing as we go here. You know, Matthew Shaffer is an elite talent, obviously, and he's just an elite player. Our guys are doing well. Our guys are developing well. And, we look forward to continuing to watch them grow."

Berkly Catton Excited for January Home Stretch

Islanders rookies have totaled 22 points over the team's last 11 games, with Schaefer leading the way in rookie points over that time with 10. Rookies from the Isles have also accounted for 17.7% of their goals this year — Schaefer has potted 13 pucks in the net this year alongside a point total of 34.

Schaefer was the No. 1 overall pick from the 2025 NHL Draft and has quickly become an emerging league star.