SEATTLE | After a painful inaugural season, the Kraken emerged from the abyss in spectacular and unexpected ways in its second campaign. Seattle vibrates to the rhythm of its new Cinderella team as they embark on an inspiring playoff journey. Triumph is loud on and off the ice, regardless of the outcome of the second round of the playoffs against the Stars. Several factors have made it possible to achieve this resounding success, whose recipe consists of five main ingredients.
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1. team building
Of course, without good performances on the ice, there is no salvation. It’s a self-evident ingredient, but you still have to find the right finger in the construction of the alignment.
After an expansion design that whetted the appetite of many, general manager Ron Francis had to work hard. The rise of the young Matty Benier, but also several acquisitions in recent months have shaped the new face of the team.
Result: The Kraken went from 213 goals scored in the 2021–22 season, the league’s fourth-worst total, to 289 this season, the third-best tally. And all this, even if no player has yet made it into the top 55 goalscorers on the circuit. Pretty amazing!
Finally, in a great joint effort, 13 players scored at least ten goals and six hit the target at least 20 times.
“All of Ron Francis’ trades were good. We have players who were on the front row last year and are now on the third row this season. That gives us four pretty strong lines of attack,” one of the minority owners, Montreal resident Mitch Garber, said in an interview with Le Journal.
The businessman, like many Seattle fans, joined this group that lacked big stars but also had big egos.
“There are no superstars here like McDavid, Draisaitl, Makar, MacKinnon or Tkachuk, but it’s easy to fall in love with players who work hard for 60 minutes. Sports fans love underdogs. Even in Montreal, the people I meet tell me: Go Kraken! If I were a minority owner of the Bruins or the Leafs, I don’t think anyone would wish me luck!” he laughs.
And when you consider that a year ago only six Kraken players scored ten or more goals.
“As much as it was unexpected for everyone that we were performing this year, we were convinced in that room that we had a chance to make the playoffs and do a good job. We are confident and there are many people who have lived here,” argues Quebec striker Yanni Gourde.
2. A city with a lot of money
In addition to success on the ice, every team must also strive for financial success. There is certainly no lack of money in Seattle, be it in the pockets of the owners, in those of the fans or in the many internationally renowned companies.
This productive region of Washington state is home to numerous large corporate headquarters.
“I won’t talk about numbers, but the team is very profitable by selling tickets, but also merchandise items and company boxes to big companies. “There isn’t a city in the world that has corporate headquarters like Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon, Nordstrom, Costco, Boeing…I could go on like this for a long time,” says Mitch Garber.
“There are few cities that can attract large companies on this scale and volume. The result is a high-income team and it’s certain that every playoff game is a good thing for the organization,” he added.
In the eyes of the team’s senior vice president of marketing and communications, Katie Townsend, the Kraken is just the beginning of the wave.
“Our ownership group gave Ron Francis confidence that he could achieve his long-term vision. So the series wasn’t a short-term necessity, but it makes life a lot easier for us as investors. Now we have to capitalize.
“Our list of corporate partners is impressive and several thriving local businesses are on our radar. Seattle needed a winter sports team and they have the backbone to support it,” she said.
According to 2019 data, the Seattle metropolitan area ranks fifth in the United States with an average per capita income of $78,073.
3. A passionate sports market
The big question that could cast doubt on the viability of a Seattle ice hockey team was its relative standing on the very competitive local sports chess board.
The Seahawks have played in the Super Bowl three times since 2006. They attract over 68,000 fans every game. The Mariners have a long baseball tradition, attracting around 29,000 fans per game this season despite a very patchy performance. The Sounders have won the MLS championship twice, in 2016 and 2019, and attract more than 30,000 football fans to each of their games.
Several other teams also enjoy big box office successes outside of the professional scene, such as the University of Washington Huskies football program in the NCAA.
It’s unlike Las Vegas, where the Golden Knights were the only ones left on the pro sports scene when they first skated.
“Many wondered if the Seattle sports market was saturated and if the city could support another professional team. The answer is 100% yes and that makes us proud. With the series, we feel on par with the other teams here,” says Katie Townsend.
- Listen to the interview with Stéphane Cadorette, sports journalist at the Journal de Montréal-Journal de Québec on QUB radio:
Moreover, the team has even decided to use this competitive sports market to stimulate people’s interest in the playoffs.
“We have deployed a marketing campaign that will highlight the big moments in playoff history for the local teams. People remember those legendary sports moments and want to know more about the hockey playoffs,” said Townsend.
We now have to see if the Kraken can maintain this good momentum.
“Seattle wasn’t always home to the Seahawks. When they weren’t on the field, the Mariners were baseball town. Then the Seahawks made it to the Super Bowl in 2006 and the city became a football city. Seattle could well become the city of the octopus. This is currently the case. Now, to really build anything, you have to come back to the playoffs year after year,” said Geoff Baker, a Montreal-based journalist for the Seattle Times.
4. The development of small hockey
Although some hockey culture already existed in Seattle, there is no better way to grow the fan base than to fuel the development of minor hockey. The Kraken has not skimped on this and almost becomes a victim of its own success.
Once Seattle was assigned an expansion team in December 2018, the organization promptly announced a $90 million investment in its community-share training complex, which features three on-site ice rinks.
It’s been over 40 years since there was an ice rink within the city limits and already the supply is not meeting the demand.
“This is the third year that the training center has been in existence and although projections indicated it would be profitable after five years, it is already the case. Occupancy is already at 100% and that says a lot about the popularity of hockey since the Kraken arrived,” said former NHL defenseman Jamie Huscroft, who lives in the area and is involved in smaller hockey.
The latter played for seven teams between 1988 and 2000, including the Lightning, who were in their fifth year of existence in 1996 when he joined them.
“I came to Tampa a few years after expansion. It was still very difficult and the team was terrible. I understood what is good and bad for a young organization and I can safely say that the leaders here got it right from the top to the bottom of the pyramid. “The city took over the team immediately,” he continues.
5. A good brand image
In our press release yesterday, the Kraken marketing team confirmed that the team ranks among the top three merchandise sellers in the NHL. Just come to a game and watch the monster snake at the entrance of the official store to understand that the team’s name, colors and logo quickly won a place in the hearts of the fans.
There are the jerseys and everything else, but also the positive image of the team in the community.
“The fact that we are no longer in a period of hygiene restrictions has made a huge difference this season compared to 2021-22. Players could visit schools and hospitals and sign autographs. We were able to organize viewing parties. It was brutal for us at that level in our first season,” said Katie Townsend.
It must also be said that the gaming experience seems to be appreciated in the brand new Climate Pledge Arena, with a pre-game and in-between game band, dynamic animation and a spiced atmosphere.
Mitch Garber and the group of owners knew that to captivate the uninitiated, one had to play on that aspect.
“In a market like Montreal, the team is over 100 years old and people go to the Bell Center to play hockey. They worry about the Canadian every day.
“In Seattle, the team is in its second season and several elements are important to us, like the brand image, the merchandise, the food concessions, the music, the show, the identity of the players … In Montreal, people know the five before Juveniles recruited for years and follow them into minors. Here in Seattle, fans didn’t grow up with hockey, they start with the game experience. With the intensity of the series, the atmosphere is impressive.