It’s no secret that the Seattle Kraken, since the announcement of the 32nd NHL franchise in 2018, have worked hard at establishing their roots in any way possible in the Pacific Northwest.
From doing pop-up community events throughout the PNW to inking a new TV deal aimed at reaching a wider swath of fans across the region, it’s clear they’re trying to create and sustain lasting bonds within the local community.
Much of the most die-hard fan engagement in the early days came from the WHL fanbases in the U.S. Division, where the Kraken’s roots are grounded with the core group of people that drove the interest of attaining a franchise in the first place.
In their inaugural season, as a means of thanking those loyal fans from the markets that pushed for the franchise, the Kraken chose to hold their home preseason games in Spokane, Everett, and Kent while Climate Pledge Arena was in the final stages of construction. When they could have chosen one venue and stuck with it for that preseason, the team decided it was better for engagement purposes to do the games at those three separate junior hockey venues across Washington State.
We have since seen on several occasions that the organization has a penchant for bringing players into the fold with local ties. This is likely just by happenstance, but it does create some nice benefits for both the team and its fans, with whom the Kraken continue to foster relationships.
They’ve continued to nurture partnerships with the local WHL clubs and cities ever since the “Three-Rink Rush” days, but three years later, keeping a local flair in the players they employ is helping to strengthen those bonds in a more organic way.
WHL-heavy NHL Draft
The Kraken started off on Night 1 of this summer’s NHL Draft with the selection of Berkly Catton at No. 8 overall from the Spokane Chiefs. One of the most skillful and intelligent forwards in the class, he led all WHL draft-eligible players in goals (54) and points (116) in 2023-24.
The selection sent Spokane fans into a frenzy.
On Day 2, Seattle stuck with the theme by taking three more WHL forwards, selecting power forward Julius Miettinen from the Everett Silvertips, then striking in the later rounds with two solid two-way forwards in Swift Current’s Clarke Caswell and Red Deer’s Ollie Josephson.
When the draft concluded on Saturday, a total of 34 WHL players were selected throughout both Days 1 and 2, which was the most of any eligible developmental league in the world. The Kraken’s four picks were the most of any NHL team.
Add in last season’s selections of Everett’s Kaden Hammell and Tri-City’s Lukas Dragicevic, as well as Tyson Jugnauth joining Portland midseason, and the Kraken now have at least one player representing almost every team in the division. Beyond the U.S. division, Seattle also selected Caden Price from Kelowna in 2023 and Jagger Firkus from Moose Jaw in 2022.
Ron Francis in his media availability after the draft detailed why his staff leaned towards the WHL.
“Our player development staff, as it plays out, doesn’t have to travel very far to see some of our players now,” Francis said. “The WHL has always been a good league, and the cities around Seattle have always had good teams and good players.”
While all those players in their own rights were worthy of being selected, the Kraken notably avoided drafting a defenseman until Round 3, which was shocking considering many pegged them to lean heavily on the blue line this draft given their shallow defense pool. Touted defensive prospects Zeev Buium or Zayne Parekh were a couple of the names that were available at No. 8.
Of course, Seattle scouts players across the globe, so it’s impossible to claim that the team is specifically looking locally, but having youngsters develop in the team’s backyard definitely makes for easier logistics.
“Our budget just went down for travel,” Kraken director of player development Jeff Tambellini joked last week about selecting Catton and Miettinen in the first two rounds. “But to have Berkly Catton so close, to have Miettinen so close, it’s fantastic. Any chance they get to see our team play and be around our group, the better, so we’re really exeited in the development staff that we’re going to see those guys a lot.”
Is staying local a good strategy?
Staying local is certainly enticing. Why not just go with what you’re most familiar and comfortable with instead of taking a shot in the dark? If you rank two players similarly but have seen one 10 times and the other once or twice, it becomes very easy to lean toward that player you’ve seen 10 times.
But the benefits of having the player close don’t really kick in until after the player is selected, when the Kraken can take a hands-on approach to development.
Kraken prospect and Everett Silvertips defenseman Kaden Hammell emphasized having that familiarity with Seattle has been helpful for his progression as a player.
“Not many players get to play as close [to their NHL team] as I do here,” Hammell said. “With Seattle being right down the road from Everett, anything that I have needed, they’ve been amazing with.”
Portland’s Jugnauth shared a similar sentiment on the latest episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast.
“Seattle would be great [at making] an effort to see me when I was in Wisconsin, but obviously when they’re coming out there, it’s just to see me,” Jugnauth said. “But now with [Hammell and Miettinen] in Everett, and [Catton] in Spokane, all of a sudden they’re around all the time.”
While the development angle is great, there are always pros and cons when it comes to staying nearby for scouting. While both players and management can make it easier on themselves to access one another whenever they need, a drawback to this approach is it could be limiting the Kraken’s talent pool slightly.
Of course, the Kraken do not limit themselves to drafting locally, and there’s no doubt they do their due diligence when it comes to deciding on the players that enter the organization.
Fans like local talent
We do believe it will be a long-term challenge to retain season ticket holders and keep the casual game-attending audience engaged in Seattle. Having players that were either born in Washington or developed their game in Washington seems to help create connections between fans and players, as the fan relates to the player more.
There’s no better example of this than with the home-state signing of Kailer Yamamoto last summer. While it was a low-risk deal for the Kraken to make at just one year, $1.5 million, Yamamoto was never a great fit for Seattle. We have to think that he was more interested in playing for the Kraken, and the Kraken may have become interested in him at least in small part because of him being born and raised in Spokane and previously playing for the Chiefs.
Sure, there was some upside he could have tapped into, having that first-round pedigree from 2017, but Francis even alluded to Yamamoto’s local ties in the initial press release following the acquisition.
“He played junior hockey in his hometown of Spokane, Washington, and we’re happy to welcome him to the Kraken,” Francis said on July 1, 2023.
Yamamoto wound up appearing in 59 games as a Kraken, scoring only eight goals in his tenure and averaging five fewer minutes than he previously grew accustomed to in Edmonton. Still, there was a fervent group of fans that was not shy in telling us how much they loved Yamamoto and how furious they were any time he was left out of the lineup.
On the other side of the local coin, Oliver Bjorkstrand doesn’t necessarily belong in the same category as Yamamoto given how much more productive he has been as a member of the Kraken. But it’s important to note that him being a former Portland Winterhawk allowed the large and rabid audience down in the ‘Rose City’ to have an in when it came to keeping a rooting interest in the team.
The Kraken aren’t unique in selecting players from their own implicit biases, as many teams boast either hometown or local products of their own. Correlation isn’t always causation in this case.
But with the talent pool being less concentrated in the Pacific Northwest compared to the combined other regions on the continent, and for them to acquire the talent from around here as often as they do, whether it be via the draft or acquisition, it’s easier to see the patterns start to emerge and wonder if there’s reason for their choices beyond impact on the ice.
While I agree with this article I still feel that we missed the player available at 8 and also at a position that we need prospects. I really don’t have a problem with Catton and believe he’s going to be a very good NHL player but he’s a player that we could have picked up at least four picks later, there if a very strong possibility that we could have traded down and still gotten “our man with local ties”.
Side note I feel one of the worst draft picks ever was the Vancouver Grizzlies selecting Big Country Reeves as their first ever draft pick… passing in local boy born and raised in Victoria BC Steve Nash. That selection was probably the reason the grizzly’s never lasted in Vancouver. So yes having local talent can be a great strategy but really be smarter about it and make a trade if that’s what you want.
Reeves drafted in 1995; Nash in ‘96. That said, taking any of Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant or Nash instead of Shareef Abdur-Rahim would have been prudent in hindsight.
Yes you’re right, I was living in Vancouver at the time and thought they were in the same draft. Regardless people were very unhappy that we didn’t draft Nash….. long time ago.
And how exactly do you know this? Are you employing the same convoluted logic when (a few articles back) you suggested the Kraken would have been a much better team had they drafted different players in the expansion draft? I followed up the link you provided to support your logic, and if anything the link refuted your logic as most of the players highlighted didn’t have any meaningful impact at the NHL level.
Great article as always. I think there is one drawback from drafting locally and that is travel. In another great article recently about the Kraken’s travel as one of the top teams for traveling distance., Local players do not learn the ins and outs of traveling. Jet lag, mental strength and physical strength come into play. I know they are just kids but this can be a problem. The excitement of playing farther from home can lead to sleeplessness and not eating properly and can effect a player at game time. The Firebirds can help with that but then again, you may not be able to use a younger player with the Kraken if they have not learned to travel.
Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t almost all under 18 prospects in the same boat? Yes possibly different league but still condensed travel compared to a National wide league.
Another factor worth considering is the quality of the talent pool in the WHL. If the WHL is developing players who are on par with those coming from the OHL, which appears to be the case, then, given that Wales Conference teams are as likely as Pacific Division teams to favor scouting prospects who are closer to home, one might expect there to be more undiscovered talent to find in the WHL. Thus favoring WHL prospects possesses a certain strategic sense.
I really hope this article is wrong and the Kraken are trying to assemble the best possible team and not the most local team. The latter would be sad and counterproductive. Fortunately, I think it’s the former, and these alleged “patterns” are mild coincidences.
Yamamoto is the “best example”? He was a disaster, the team plummeted in the standings, and they are hemorrhaging season ticket holders. It’s nice he’s from Spokane, but mostly people are unaware or disinterested in that geographical curiosity and just want a winner.
The mention of Bjorkstrand was puzzling. Do you really think the fact that he once played for the Winterhawks years ago factored into the trade whatsoever, or had even the slightest impact on ticket sales? You can’t be serious.
Bottom line is they need to prioritize winning and I hope they are. That is what we want, that’s what puts butts in the seats.