The Seattle Kraken selected defenseman Kaden Hammell from the Everett Silvertips in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, 148th overall.
“Yeah I mean obviously it’s a super surreal feeling kind of a dream come true,” Hammel said. “I mean a lot of guys say that kind of feels unreal moment and that’s that’s the best way to describe it is super cool experience and super happy with the organization that took me.”
Hammell wasn’t at the draft in Nashville as he said that he was at home with his family and celebrated with them. With how he’s playing for Everett, he knows the Seattle area well with all the games that he’s played against the Thunderbirds and their home games in Everett.
“It’s awesome,” Hammell said. “I’ve absolutely loved playing and yeah like I’ve been pretty familiar with the Seattle area even being from my hometown of Langley, I’ve got to experience Seattle a few times now. Awesome. Obviously a super cool city and like I said, I couldn’t be happier where I ended up.”
Hammell is contributing well for the Silvertips with him noting that he just wants to help in whatever role he can.
“I want to contribute to the team success in the biggest way whatever that be whatever role I got to take up,” Hammell said. “I’m kind of a guy that likes to be relied on in every role. So that’s kind of the like, starting in the Western League at 16 to go on to my most recent year. Now at 18, I think just a big learning thing that I found is just trying to be able to be reliable and having coaches rely on me to perform in any role that they’ve taught me and I feel like that’s been something that I’ve always tried to work on and be my best at. I think that’s been a huge part of the success.”
It’s clear that this season’s Silvertips team is close-knit and that they all enjoy being together.
“It’s obviously a great organization to start off with,” Hammell said. “All the players are super blessed to play for an organization like Everett, the coaching staff’s amazing. Working with them every day I think helps the team in general as well and then working with all the guys that are in the room. Everybody has their own character and brings it every day to the rink so I feel like we got a pretty good atmosphere, showing up to the rink. And just hanging out with each other. I mean, obviously, for myself, I’m a little bit newer coming in last year, but a lot of returning guys. A lot of guys have been able to bond over the last couple of years, I guess you could say. I think it’s a really tight group in the room and it’s super special to be a part of them.”
The US Division is competitive with how tough each team and Hammell knows that. While each player has their own personal goals going into each game, Hammell made it clear that he just wants to contribute however he can to help the team win. Hammell is looking forward to what the rest of the season has in store. But he did touch on he’s looking forward to the playoffs with how they’re a fun time. He said that the biggest thing right now is getting as many two-point nights as they can. Hammell also touched on the fan base in Everett and incredible they are.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Hammell said. “Being a visiting team, or you are talking to the visiting teams, they know that our fan base is unbelievable and it’s been awesome to be able to play behind them every night at home and I think they’re probably the best fan base in the league. I stand by that. I truly do believe that they’re they bring it every night. It’s just been such an honor to be able to have such a supportive crowd and it’s been amazing.”
It’s clear that Hammell is a workhorse, works on his game as much as possible and will continue to throughout the rest of his WHL career.
“I think the biggest thing is just to keep working on my two-way game being as effective as I possibly can be,” Hammell said. “Obviously, juniors is a big time to develop into a pro role. So I think it’s just that right there. I think that I have to keep finding, finding that role that is going to get me to the next level and to keep developing to be the best I could possibly be in that two-way game.”
Away from the ice, the team enjoys spending time together, especially outdoors.
“When the weather’s nice, golf is obviously a big one,” Hammell said. “Just kind of enjoying the lifestyle that you got to enjoy and whether that be like going on or going on a walk or going by the water. I think things like that would be the main thing is just kind of kind of utilizing the outdoors the life that we get.”
Northwest Sports Desk 