Jr. Kraken 18U defenseman Butler signs NAHL Tender

Patrick Garriepy Photography

The NAPHL’s T1ER League is pleased to announce that Seattle Jr. Kraken 18U defenseman Freeman Butler has signed a NAHL tender agreement for the 2025-26 season with the Chippewa Steel of the NAHL’s Midwest Division.

Butler, 18, recently wrapped up his second season in T1ER, skating with the Seattle Jr. Kraken at both the 16U and 18U levels. During the 2023–24 season, he played with the 16U squad, while in 2024–25, he moved up to the 18U team. Across 26 combined games between both age groups, the 6’2” defenseman registered 11 points, including 3 goals and 8 assists.

His top performance during the 2023–24 16U season came during a 3-0 victory over the Omaha Mastery, where he assisted on the opening goal and later scored the third and final goal. In the 2024–25 season with the 18U team, Butler made a notable impact during a 5-1 victory over the North Carolina Golden Bears, dishing out two assists.

Click here to see a list of T1ER tenders for the 2024-25 season

A tender is a contract, of sorts, a player signs announcing his intentions to play for that particular NAHL team and that NAHL team only. Once a player signs a tender with an NAHL team, his playing rights belong to that team within the NAHL and he may not be recruited by any other NAHL team. Each team is granted ten (10) tenders, which include two (2) tenders exclusively used on players from the T1ER - plus or minus any trades - which became active on November 1st. Tendered players are not eligible for the 2025 NAHL Draft.