Mutryn was drafted by Seattle in the 2nd round (38th overall) of the 2026 NHL Draft.

Casey Mutryn is just a really funny player. From his first shift the vibe I got of the RHC was just pure, unadulterated, frenetic energy. Unless he was defending in zone, or roaming in the slot for a scoring chance, the guy was just go, go, go. He’s such a high pace player for his size, my first reaction immediately went to Josh Anderson, but he seems to lean passer far more than shooter. He’s an explosive skater, who has tons of confidence carrying the puck through the neutral zone but almost immediately defers to a teammate as soon as he crosses the offensive blue line.

The passing is hit or miss. There are moments of these beautiful, snappy, cross ice breakout passes to a teammate in motion but like his playstyle, his pass also has a ton of pace to it. Sometimes too much, especially when it’s to a teammate in a close vicinity and it can lead to missed passes, bobbled passes, and icings.

I like the pace with which he plays, but the contact balance at his size just isn’t there. Mutryn will fly in, crashing into bodies, and beating opponents to loose pucks, but it didn’t always translate to winning possession back for his team. He’d often bounce off the opposing player he’s trying to lay into, and if he got to a puck, he was very easily moved off of it by smaller players. He’s a big player with super explosive skating that wants to play physical but hasn’t figured out the speed to power conversion just yet.

There’s a bit of real nastiness to Mutryn’s game, which would instantly make him a fan favourite if he finds a way to make it to the NHL, but there are some discipline concerns in my viewings, particularly when he gets frustrated. There’s lots of ironing out to do, and he hasn’t shown me much as a puck handler or net front presence given his size, but there are enough projectable traits to work with.

Overall, a fun, pacey player who clearly has a vision of how he wants to play… but the execution hasn’t been there.