The Kraken captain announcement was pushed to the absolute last possible moment before the official start of the 2024-25 season, but in the end, it was who we expected. Jordan Eberle officially became the second player in franchise history to don the “C” when he was the last player to be introduced prior to Seattle’s Opening Day game against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
“Jordan’s been a leader for our franchise since Day 1,” said Kraken general manager Ron Francis via press release. “He has the full respect of his teammates and is a tremendous role model for our younger players. Jordan’s everything you’d want in a captain.”
Eberle, 34, is in his fourth season with Seattle and follows Mark Giordano, who was Kraken captain for less than a season before being dealt at the 2021-22 trade deadline, as the only players to wear the “C.”
Said Eberle: “It’s an honor to be named captain of the Seattle Kraken. I’ve been able to learn from some great leaders throughout the course of my NHL career. I take pride in being a good teammate and mentor for teammates, and I’m humbled to wear the ‘C’ for this franchise.”
This choice comes as no surprise to us, though there were cases to be made for several other players. The three others who served as alternate captains with Eberle last season, Yanni Gourde, Adam Larsson, and Jaden Schwartz, all maintained their status as members of the leadership group. But third-year center Matty Beniers also joined that group as an “A” for the first time.
Beniers’ elevation to alternate captain does give legs to my theory that Eberle is meant to be a “bridge” captain until Beniers or (perhaps) Shane Wright is ready for the responsibility. I wrote about this theory here, so give that a read.
I’ve always been so impressed by Eberle and the presence that he brings on and off the ice. When he speaks, it’s obvious the other players on the team listen and that he is well respected in the dressing room. If you haven’t heard our recent Sound Of Hockey Podcast interview with him, give it a listen, and you will understand why he was the right choice.
Also, kudos to the Kraken organization for making the announcement in this way, in front of their home fans. It was a really special way of doing that. They held firm on this approach and kept it a secret, even as fans and media members were pestering.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.