Kraken draft Cedar Rapids defender Hawke Huff after breakout USHL rise

Seattle kept betting on defense and found another USHL riser in Hawke Huff, taking the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders blueliner 148th overall in the fifth round of the 2026 NHL Draft on June 27 at KeyBank Arena in Buffalo, New York. The pick came after the Kraken moved the 102nd selection to the New York Rangers and picked up choices 131 and 148 later in the draft.

Huff’s case was built on a steep climb, not early hype. After arriving in Cedar Rapids in a trade from the Sioux Falls Stampede during the 2024-25 season, he played 21 regular-season games and posted two goals and four assists. One year later, he was wearing an assistant captain’s letter, playing 61 regular-season games, and driving the RoughRiders’ back end with three goals, 36 assists and a plus-17 rating.

That 39-point season put him sixth among all RoughRiders scorers and sixth among all USHL defensemen in scoring. His 36 assists led Cedar Rapids and ranked fourth among league defensemen, while his average of 22:11 in ice time per game showed how heavily the staff leaned on him in every situation. Huff also added two Clark Cup playoff games, a small but useful postseason sample for an NHL club that clearly wanted more than a highlight reel.

The RoughRiders had already spent the spring making the argument for him. They named Huff to the All-USHL First Team on April 21, made him a finalist for USHL Defenseman of the Year on April 14, and recognized him as USHL Defenseman of the Week on November 17 after a four-point, plus-three weekend. By season’s end, Cedar Rapids had one of the league’s most productive defensemen, and the honors matched the ice time and the production.

Huff will keep his NCAA path alive at the University of St. Thomas, where he is committed for the 2026-27 season. He was born in Mazama, Washington and played youth hockey in Minnesota, a route that fits the profile Seattle chased here: a late-blooming defender whose value grew in real time once he landed the right role. Sioux Falls said Huff was one of eight players with Stampede ties selected in the draft, while Seattle’s class ended up carrying more defensemen than the club had ever taken in a single draft.