Shane (Wright) Came Back

In the closing scene of the 1953 Western classic Shane , our titular hero rides off into the fading twilight. A young lad who's come to love him cries out, "Shane! Come back!"

Spoiler alert: Shane doesn't come back.

But to the relief of both Seattle Kraken and Coachella Valley Firebirds fans, on Friday Shane Wright DID come back. He skated a regular shift, taking four of the Firebirds' 23 SOG in a 4-3 victory over Hershey in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Final.

After one dangerous snipe turned away by Bears goalie Hunter Shepard, Wright looked skyward at the Giant Center roof.

In what can only be described as a positive development, Wright in the 1st period was dumped hard onto his wallet by 6-4, 229 pound Hershey defenseman Dmitry Osipov. The encouraging part? Wright bounced right back up.

The Kraken 2022 1st round draft pick hadn't played since being injured against the Ontario Reign on May 18. Whether due to injury, precaution, or a combination, Wright sat out the last six Firebirds playoff games prior to Friday.

Coachella Valley could afford caution - they won 5 of the 6 games. New Seattle Kraken coach Dan Bylsma, who's hoping to finish his AHL tenure with a championship, indicated that Wright could have suited up late in the Western Conference Finals against Milwaukee.

“He was pushing to get back in, and he was close," Bylsma said to AHL.com's Patrick Williams. "You see him skate out there the last few days with us, and looks pretty comfortable out there.”

Before Game 1 against Hershey, Wright told Williams, “We’re expecting a long series. We’re expecting a grind of a series against these guys. They’re here for a reason. They’re an unbelievable team, so it’s going to be a battle. We’re really excited for it.”

Wright won't be old enough to legally purchase champagne until his 21st birthday next January. But he's now three wins away from being able to drink some with his teammates out of the Calder Cup, and I don't think there's any laws about that.