Get Kraken
Kraken fans are welcome to attend the rookie and regular training camps for the club at the Kraken Community IcePlex starting on Monday. The two-day rookie camp will be followed by an off-ice day and then the start of big camp proceedings on Thursday, September 21st.
Rookie practices begin at 11:15 am while the multi-session training camp days begin at 9:40 am. Saturday the 23rd is an off day. The preseason schedule begins the evening of Monday September 25th with split squad games in Calgary and at Climate Pledge Arena against the Flames.
Simmer’s Sunday 9:
1) Show offs!
First overall 2023 NHL Draft pick Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks and 3rd-overall pick Adam Fantilli of the Columbus Blue Jackets both opened their rookie camp careers with hat tricks.
The three goals from Bedard were all unique snipes as you’ll see on this NHL social media post. Fantilli’s dirty first goal follows.
2) The Los Angeles Kings and Arizona Coyotes should be settling into life in Australia where they’ll be training and touring around a bit before taking part in the NHL Global Series exhibition games on September 23rd and 24th.
Crossing the international dateline always plays tricks on your mind and your body clock, especially when a 15-hour flight is involved. I spent six months ‘down under’ 30 years ago, arriving with $67 US, working and living until the day my visa expired, and leaving with $0. Perfect execution, except on the trip home I couldn’t afford to get from the San Francisco airport to Candlestick for a Giants double-header against the Mets and I had to sleep in the airport until my next flight. But Shirley I digress.
The people are wonderful, it’s a bit wild west in places, very patriarchal, and extremely laid back. At least it was.
The teams will have a great time, that’s for sure. It’s an unusual tune-up for a Kings club that might be the least predictable squad in the Western Conference. Prognosticators have them finishing anywhere from fifth in the Pacific to on top of the division.
I’m not sure the Kraken will have to worry about the Coyotes in the wild card race, but they’ll definitely need to top the Kings if they’re to get into a playoff spot. The Kings and the Canucks, apparently, have improved.
Both of the clubs headed to “Oz” should definitely have a level of cohesiveness and bonding under their belts that others can only dream about. Not only will the hockey elements be memorable, but for many of the players it’ll be a trip of a lifetime. Or one of them for sure.
3) Here’s the Kraken’s big training camp roster for on-ice proceedings starting on September 23rd. We presume a few names will be added coming out of rookie camp that runs Monday and Tuesday.
4) Meet these beauties. I’m dog uncle to Boomer and Maurice during the entire hockey season. They’re relentless watchdogs and fetchers and might end up Seattle Hockey Insider mascots. The guy on the right; good luck getting the toy out of his mouth.
5) With Quinn Hughes being named captain of the Vancouver Canucks and Adam Lowry the captain of the Winnipeg Jets, that leaves the Seattle Kraken and seven other NHL teams without one.
This isn’t exactly sticking my neck out, but let’s just say it’s 50/50 the club continues to go with four veteran alternate captains as opposed to naming one guy to wear the “C”. They have no shortage of candidates should they choose the latter, more traditional route.
6) This week’s trivia question relates directly to item number-5 above. In an extremely rare instance, two of the eight NHL teams without a captain have a vacancy that was created by the departure of the same player. In other words, the last captain for two of the teams was the same guy. Who that be?
7) OK. Deep breath. Here goes. I hate to say it, but the Buffalo Sabres, although much improved, will miss the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season.
I’m rooting against that prediction. Sabres supporters are some of the most dedicated hockey fans in general in the NHL.
8) Speaking of droughts, the Toronto Maple Leafs presently have gone the longest amount of time without winning a Stanley Cup. 56 years. In fact, based on the present directory of teams and overall league development, it’s easily the longest drought in NHL history.
They last won the chalice in 1967, the very last season of the Original Six.
The next longest dry spell belongs to both the Vancouver Canucks and the Buffalo Sabres. The teams joined the NHL together in 1970 and have never won the championship.
The next longest to go without Lord Stanley, which can be overlooked with the clattering of teams coming and going since … the Philadelphia Flyers, 1975.
9) Nothing else to say in this case. There’s a bit of a bonus history lesson involved, when you see some of the other players. That’s Red Wings defenseman Reed Larson standing next to Gordie …
— Trivia Answer: Eight NHL teams presently don’t have a captain. Two of the vacancies were created by the departure of the same player. The answer is none other than Mark Giordano, the last man to captain the Calgary Flames and of course the one and only captain of the Seattle Kraken. The Flames didn’t name a new captain and still haven’t since “Gio” left via the NHL Expansion Draft in 2021 and the Kraken haven’t replaced him since he left in a trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs in March of 2022.
Recent Volleys:
— Wright, Kartye, Evans headline Kraken Rookie Camp
— Kraken Goalie Competition Leads The Camp Battles
