You did it! You and three of your buddies landed two full-season ticket packages to split for the Seattle Kraken’s inaugural season. But have you thought about exactly how you’re going to split your coveted Kraken season tickets?
If you are like me, then you have literally dreamed of this moment. You think about having the opportunity of seeing Connor McDavid, your childhood team, or maybe just being there on Opening Night. You then realize that you only get 11 of the 44 home games and wonder how you are going to distribute the tickets among your group.
Picking games and tickets should be considered a fun exercise and an excuse to get the group together for a few college sodas before the 2021-22 season begins. There are several approaches and strategies for sharing tickets that I have thought about. Here are some of them.
Assumptions
I’ve created a scenario of my own here. Obviously, this will have to be altered depending on your situation and your own Kraken season tickets group.
You have four people in your group sharing two full-season ticket packages. Each person gets two tickets for 11 games and for simplicity, face value of the tickets costs $100 per seat per game. Three of the four people have a hometown team that up until the arrival of the Seattle Kraken was their favorite team. Financially, everyone is stable, but one person has more stability than the others.
Distribution/Allocation Style
Here’s where your options come in for splitting up your Kraken season tickets. I definitely recommend that no matter which route you take, treating this like a real NHL Draft, with a spokesperson who serves as “Commissioner,” a make-shift podium, and a physical draft board that will keep everyone abreast as to what games remain for selection. I would also recommend that all attendees consistently boo whichever individual serves as Commissioner to keep up the image of a real draft.
Conventional Draft
You could keep it very simple and treat it as a Conventional Draft.
This is a simple, straight-forward process, exactly as we know it. Draft order of people in your group would be selected by picking numbers out of a hat or a random number generator system of your choice. Once the order is set, then that is the order in which you will complete the draft. So #1 selects one game of their choice from any game of the season, #2 selects one game of their choice, then #3 and #4, and then back to #1 for the fifth selection, and so on.
Pros:Seems relatively fair and priority order is random. Simple to pull off and simple to manage.
Cons: Person who selects fourth might feel a bit cheated since they would pick fourth and eight, giving them limited options to pick the premium games (i.e. Original Six – if you are into that – contending teams, or opponents with the biggest superstars). This would also be the least fun approach to ticket selection.
Snake Draft
The Snake Draft is similar to the Conventional Draft, but instead of the #1 draft person getting the fifth pick, the #4 would get the fourth pick and the fifth pick as the order is reversed every other round. The order of selecting your tickets would go #1 selects first, #2 selects second, #3 selects third, #4 selects fourth, #4 selects fifth, #3 selects sixth, #2 selects seventh, and so on.
Pros: Fairer than Conventional Draft. Still easy to manage.
Cons: Like the Conventional Draft, we can make this way more interesting and fun than this, especially when factoring in college sodas.
Ticket Auction
Now we’re starting to cook.
In the Ticket Auction, based on the Fantasy Auction model, different games have different values to people. It could be the matchup, the time of year, the day of week, etc. Why not allow everyone to bid on the games about which they care the most?
You could give everyone 1000 fictitious points/dollars to bid out on all 44 games. You could do this blind where everyone fills in a separate spreadsheet before selection night. They need to put at least one point on each game and a maximum of 957 bucks on any one game (1000 – 43 = 957 to factor in the minimum bid required on the other games). On selection night, you can get together and compile the results to determine who goes to each game, starting with the highest individual point bid.
Before selection night group member’s bids are consolidated by the Commissioner, who will again be booed relentlessly throughout the gathering.
On selection night the consolidated list is shared and the winner of each game is determined by the highest bidder.
Pros:Builds a system around how people value each game. It is more compelling and fun than a draft.
Cons:More complicated to organize. Tiebreakers may be needed. You would also need to ensure that each person still gets 11 games. Also, there is no going to the podium to announce your pick on this, rather the Commissioner going game-by-game through the schedule and announcing winners.
Hybrid Auction
This is a combination of a real money live auction and a draft of your Kraken season tickets.
First step would be to identify the priority games. The number of priority games has to match a multiple of the number of individuals in your group to ensure even distribution. For example, if you have four people, then the number of priority games can be 8, 12, 16, and so on. There is no doubt some games will be more coveted than others, such as Opening Night, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Tampa Bay Lightning. You will have to do some work within your group to determine what are the priority games and how many there will be.
Second step would be to hold the live auction of the priority games. This would be with real money. Any funds collected above face value will then be redistributed to the people that did not win the auction for the tickets. For example, Jerry really wants Opening Night and he bids $300 over the face value of the ticket ($400/ticket X 2 tickets) which no one else in the group is able to beat. The $600 ($300 X 2 tickets) that is over the face value of the tickets means each other member of the group will get $200. With multiple people and multiple tickets, this could get a bit complicated. Someone with an eye for basic accounting or spreadsheet skills may be needed here.
Third step is to perform a draft (conventional or snake, as described earlier) for the remaining seats that were not part of the auction. If anyone won tickets in the auction, those tickets would apply to the 11 games each person is allowed to ensure an even distribution of games. Auction winners would sacrifice picks from the end of the draft once they’ve hit 11 total games.
Pros: It’s a fun and exciting event with your group to have over college sodas. Puts a dollar amount on the value of each game. Creates a fair market. People that lose out on games they want may get compensated.
Cons:Could create an unfair advantage for people who have more financial means to pay for the premium games. Complicated to manage.
Clauses, Rules, Considerations, and Guidelines
It is also important to set some guidelines and rules of the group that are considered and ratified before tickets are selected. These should be maintained and updated from season to season.
Commissioner– In addition to announcing picks or auction wins and getting booed, the Commissioner will have some additional responsibilities. The commissioner will pull all the feedback from people in your group, help the group decide on the methodology of how the tickets will be distributed, make sure that the rules agreed upon by the group are abided by, and then lead the execution of the methodology.
You can also divide these tasks up further where you have a “Judge” who is responsible for the rules and a “Commissioner” responsible for managing the methodology and execution.
Hometown Rule– Some people will undoubtedly have a favorite team that they want to see. You could create a “hometown rule” where people can claim their hometown team games. The group needs to consider how this is handled for people that might not have a hometown team or if multiple people have the same hometown team. In a draft scenario, you might be able to set the rule that no hometown teams can be selected by those other than the hometown claimant until round four and later. That way, the people with hometown teams can select their hometown teams in the first three rounds, otherwise they risk someone else taking their team.
Resell– How does your group want to handle reselling of your Kraken season tickets? Is it wide open where people can sell their tickets to anyone at any time? Maybe people inside the group have the first right of refusal at face value or highest bidder? Should resell be allowed for Opening Night tickets? Is there profit distribution if the tickets are sold to someone outside of the group?
Playoffs – How should the order be considered for playoffs? Maybe reverse order of regular season draft should be considered. Selection should be which game in the series. What happens when a series ends shorter than what was selected i.e. series ends at 4 games? What happens to those that selected games 5, 6, or 7 in the series? If the Kraken moves onto the next series, then maybe the previous series defines the draft order of the games in the next series. If the Kraken did not move on, then it should define how next season’s draft should be ordered. Should resell be allowed for playoff tickets?
Preseason Games– Three games of the season ticket package will be preseason games which creates a little bit of an unfair distribution. You can create some rules around the preseason games. i.e. in a draft scenario, the person who picked last, gets 11 regular season games, where the other three get ten regular season plus one preseason game.
What Do You Think?
Those are just a few of my ideas and considerations to make when figuring out distribution of your season tickets among groups, and I am sure there will be plenty of other ideas and considerations I am not thinking about.
What are your ideas and considerations when allocating Kraken season tickets?
The New York Rangers were swept out of the NHL’s play-in round this summer. While that loss felt like a setback at the time the Rangers ended up big winners by winning the Draft Lottery that followed. New York jump-started its rebuild by taking a franchise-type player in Alexis Lafreniere. How will this all impact the Rangers in the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft?
With a good mix of young stars, the Rangers rebuild is in full swing and New York general manager Jeff Gorton is going to protect his core from the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.
Gorton has obvious players he’s going to protect but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some tough decisions to be made.
He isn’t hampered by the salary cap heading into the 2021-2022 season and while his star players will be protected, Seattle will get to choose between some talented, albeit young, players. Like many teams preparing for the Seattle Expansion Draft, performances in the upcoming season will determine which of those players Kraken general manager Ron Francis will have available to him.
Assumptions
New York has just under $5 million in cap space and should be good enough to fight for a playoff spot this coming season. Could they be buyers at the trade deadline? Even with the flat cap hindering teams, the Rangers could conceivably swing a deal and add some salary at the deadline. What they give up will have an impact on who they end up protecting.
There is also the possibility that New York could sell at the deadline and try to offload higher salaried players like Ryan Strome or Jacob Trouba. Both players are over $4.5 million dollar guys and would be attractive pieces for contenders. Will the flat cap limit the number of buyers though? It’s another of the many questions that will affect the Expansion Draft for Seattle. For this exercise, we’ll assume that neither player is moved at the deadline.
Roster Wildcards
Defenseman Brendan Smith is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after this season. The veteran of 478 games is a solid, left defenseman but he’s unlikely to be attractive to Seattle either before the Seattle Expansion Draft or after.
Many of New York’s exciting young players are exempt from the draft. That list includes Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, Adam Fox, and K’Andre Miller.
Protected List
Forwards
Artemi Panerin (NMC)
Chris Kreider (NMC)
Mika Zibanejad (NMC)
Pavel Buchnevich
Filip Chytil
Ryan Strome
Julian Gauthier
The Rangers have to protect Artemi Panerin, Chris Kreider, and Mika Zibanejad due to all three having no-move clauses on their contracts. These players would be protected without the clauses so there is no surprise here.
It gets interesting for the Rangers when you look at the sixth or seventh forward they protect.
One veteran player to watch is Ryan Strome. The 27-year-old will be entering his second full season with the Rangers and has two more years left on his $4.5 million contract. If he is not in New York’s long-term plans it wouldn’t be a shock to see him exposed and dangled in front of the Kraken who would only be on the hook for one season.
Strome is a productive player. He had a career-best 59 points last season with the Rangers and is a decent possession player.
Outside of Strome, New York’s decision on protecting forwards will come down to some young players who all show some promise – which is good news for the Kraken.
One of Julian Gauthier, Brendan Lemieux, or Brett Howden will be left unprotected. Gauthier was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes and Ron Francis in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft. The Rangers picked him up in a trade deadline move this past season. He’s 23-years-old and coming off of productive AHL seasons with the Charlotte Checkers.
Lemieux, 24, is another young guy who hasn’t had the offensive output yet and is still trying to find his footing after starting his career with the Jets. Howden has two seasons of NHL hockey under his belt with New York and was a prolific scorer in junior with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL. So far in the NHL, the 22-year-old has shown some scoring touch but has been a liability in his own end. Last season at five-on-five he was a 40-percent Corsi-For player and that poor possession game most likely means he’ll be exposed here.
Any of these three can play their way into protection by producing this season. A couple of months before the start of the season Gauthier has the most upside on paper. But he also has the least amount of NHL track record so he’ll still need to prove it.
Defense:
Jacob Trouba (NMC)
Anthony Deangelo
Ryan Lindgren
The Rangers defense is less complicated in terms of protection. Jacob Trouba has a no-move clause in his contract and therefore will have to be protected. Anthony Deangelo just turned in a career-best 53-point season so the 25-year-old will also be protected. Ryan Lindgren, 22, is coming off a strong rookie campaign and will round out the protection list for New York.
Goalie
Alexandar Georgiev
The Rangers had too many goalies last year, but with Henrik Lundqvist now in Washington, their decision here will be a no-brainer. Alexandar Georgiev will take over the number one spot in net and will be protected.
Igor Shesterken has not played enough to be eligible for the Seattle Expansion Draft so he will be exempt, and no protection will be needed. New York has to have a qualified goalie to expose and they signed veteran Keith Kinkaid to meet that requirement.
Top Candidates for Seattle Expansion Draft
Forwards
Brendan Lemiuex
Brett Howden
Tim Gettinger
Defense
Libor Hajek
Anthony Bitetto
Goalie
Keith Kinkaid
Thoughts
Seattle should look at one of the forwards exposed by the Rangers. If New York ends up leaving Strome off the protected list, he would be a good choice. Strome is still productive and would only have one year left on his contract. His $4.5 million salary would help the Kraken get to the required cap floor along with providing the always important veteran presence.
Gauthier would also be a strong pick if he’s available. Francis has already drafted him once and the only real question is if he can replicate what he’s done at the AHL level in the NHL. It feels more likely that the Rangers will protect a young asset like Gauthier but it may end up being a matter of how well the other forwards play.
It’s definitely possible that it will come down to a choice between Lemieux or Howden for the Kraken. It’s hard to see either as a top-six forward but both have some NHL experience and that could be key. Howden probably has the better offensive upside but will have to clean up the play in his own end and become the cliché 200-foot player.
Side Deal Scenarios
There aren’t any obvious side deal targets on the Rangers roster. Gorton played it straight during the Vegas Expansion Draft and he’ll do the same here. Heading into the coming year the Rangers have cap space and don’t have any crushing contracts that they’ll be dying to get rid of.
This week, the Sound Of Hockey Podcast goes deep into the world of the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft.
As you may have seen on soundofhockey.com, John, Andy, and Darren (with help from Josh and Jim) have been taking deep dives into NHL teams to try to understand which players each one may expose in the 2021 Expansion Draft. On the pod, the guys have a hearty discussion about the teams covered so far and whether or not some of the bigger names out there may actually be feasible for the Kraken. There are definitely some interesting nuggets, and a fair dose of #Minnutiae.
Also on this week’s episode, the guys do a Mailbag segment to answer listener questions.
They then move onto You Don’t See That Every Day (view the clips they discuss here and here), Weekly One-Timers, and finally Tweets of the Week.
Starting an NHL franchise from scratch? You’re going to want to first find a top-line center who can score, drive the play, and make those around him better. The Seattle Kraken are hoping to find someone to fill that role right away in next summer’s Expansion Draft. But the need for a star center goes beyond just the team’s inaugural season. With so much focus on the Expansion Draft, it’s easy to forget that that will quickly be followed by the NHL Entry Draft. The Seattle Kraken hope to find their star center for the long term in that Entry Draft, and Kent Johnson could be their man.
Johnson will be on the Kraken radar as the season progresses towards Draft day as offensive threat and dynamic scorer. The University of Michigan freshman recorded four assists in his first collegiate game and eight points through the Wolverines first six contests.
It’s a great start for Johnson and comes after a monster junior season in 2019-2020 with the Trail Smoke Eaters of the BCHL where his 101 points in 52 games led the league by an impressive 30 points.
I know I'm supposed to be focused on 2020, but get excited for North Van-native, Kent Johnson in '21.
Johnson’s scoring prowess in Trail was noticed, and the 18-year-old showed up on last month’s NHL Central Scouting initial watch list as an ‘A’ ranked skater. That rating projects Johnson as at least a first-round pick, but other NHL Draft prognosticators rate him as a potential top-ten pick in 2021.
The 2021 NHL Draft will be the first for Seattle, and the Kraken will get the same odds in the lottery as the third-worst team this upcoming season. This means they will end up with a pick somewhere within the top six overall selections. By comparison, Vegas had the sixth overall pick in its first Draft.
Kent Johnson will be in the mix when the Seattle Kraken pick.
“He has high-end stick skills and creativity,” one NHL scout says about Johnson. “Great offensive instincts and for a young forward in the BCHL, had an impact every shift. I have seen his offensive flair only a few times in my 18 years of scouting.”
Johnson Dominated the BCHL
On his way to leading the BCHL in points, Johnson scored 41 times to go with 60 assists. His rookie campaign the season before was also efficient as he scored 20 goals that year.
While the BCHL is considered a small step down from major-junior leagues like the Western Hockey League, it is filled with high-end prospects, and Johnson’s numbers should not be discounted. Alex Newhook led the league with 101 points for the Victoria Grizzlies the season prior.
Newhook would go on to be a first-round Draft pick in 2019 by the Colorado Avalanche, and Johnson will be the next first-rounder to come out of the BCHL.
“I think the BCHL was a great league for me,” Johnson, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 165 pounds, said during Michigan’s media day. “Nice and close to home as a 16-year-old. Just to get my feet wet. My coach was really good and helped me improve my offensive game. (It gave me) more confidence and I worked on my offensive skills and tactics. Just being on the ice on so many offensive situations. A lot of work on goal scoring. There’s nothing like doing it in a game so that league was good for me.”
Johnson was coached in Trail by Jeff Tambellini, a veteran of 242 NHL games and a former first-round NHL Draft pick himself. Tambellini, who now scouts for the Tampa Bay Lightning, helped Johnson hone his already high hockey IQ and skills, giving him the freedom to cash in on his creativity.
That creativity included multiple lacrosse style goals Johnson scored with Trail.
“I think just like any other skill, it’s just practice,” Johnson said of the lacrosse goals. “I did it first in a roller hockey league I play in and that gave me the confidence to do it in an actual game.”
Johnson played in every situation for Tambellini and 14 of his goals came on the Smoke Eaters power play. He ended the season with 39 points on the manpower advantage, along with one short-handed goal. He’s already become a staple on Michigan’s power play unit this season.
From Port Moody to Ann Arbor
Johnson grew up in Port Moody, British Columbia and found the NCAA route an easy choice after his Bantam team took a trip to Penn State.
“I thought the Big 10 and college hockey was really cool,” Johnson said. “My brother went through that so I’ve always liked college hockey.”
Johnson’s older brother Kyle came up through the same Burnaby Winter Club that Kent did as a youth and also played in the BCHL. He is now in his third season at Yale. Kent Johnson says the two brothers are close, albeit competitive, and Kyle had a big influence on his game and the decision to play college hockey.
The younger Johnson’s interest in the NCAA route was well known, and that led to WHL teams staying away from him during the 2017 Bantam Draft. The Everett Silvertips took a flier with a 10th-round pick just in case the high-scoring center changed his mind.
Johnson honored his commitment to Michigan and is part of an impressive freshman class of Wolverines. Along with Johnson, Michigan defenseman Owen Power and center Matthew Beniers are also ‘A’ ranked prospects, according to NHL Central Scouting.
Like most players, Johnson was unable to get the ice time he’s used to during the quarantine. Knowing that he was making a big jump in competition, Johnson said he spent a lot of time shooting pucks in his garage this summer and feels that he has improved his wrist shot and backhand as a result. His stick skills and shot were already a strong part of his game, and he’s been showing off the improved tools early on this season.
The Seattle Kraken will have to find ways to get live viewings of Kent Johnson and other Draft prospects. NHL scouts are not allowed at Michigan home games due to Covid protocols but there will be chances to see Johnson on the road or on television. If the Kraken are impressed with what they see, he could hear his name called as the first ever Seattle pick.
Michigan is must-see television this season, and you can watch Kent Johnson and his fellow highly-rated prospects for yourself this week as the Wolverines take on Penn State.
The hockey news has been dominated over the past month with cancellations of seasons, teams, and tournaments. But, there was good news this week as the NWHL announced it will conduct an abbreviated season starting in late January, and the games will be played entirely in a bubble.
The six NWHL clubs are heading to one of the most iconic hockey locations in the United States for its bubble, starting on January 23rd, to play a five-game schedule. That will determine the four playoff teams who will duke it out for a chance to advance to the Isobel Cup Final, which will be played on February 5th.
All games in the NWHL bubble will be played at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, NY — the same rink where the US Olympic team made us all believe in miracles during an upset of the Soviet hockey team on the way to gold in 1980.
A game schedule is still to be released. The same is true for broadcast information, and hopefully the NWHL can find a partner to carry these games because a two-week run to the Isobel Cup is must-watch television.
A big issue for the NWHL has always been its ability to pay players a livable wage. This challenge still very much exists, but the league has made it clear that despite the very short duration of this campaign, the players will receive what they normally receive for a full season.
Here is the full statement on this topic, which definitely sounds like a step in the right direction for the NWHL.
“All of the professional players who signed contracts this year for the NWHL season will be compensated in full, despite the condensed game schedule. Players were given the opportunity to opt-out of the tournament and still receive their complete salaries. At this date, more than 95 percent of the players have committed to the competition, giving each team a full playing roster for Lake Placid – the site of the iconic “Miracle on Ice” by the U.S. Olympic Team in 1980. Following local and national health guidelines, NWHL teams began voluntary workouts in September and started official practices and workouts in October.“
Fred Sasakamoose played 11 NHL games for the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1953-1954 season. He didn’t register a single point over that time but is a revered hockey legend because of the barriers he burst through.
A member of the Cree nation, Sasakamoose was the first Indigenous player to make it to the NHL. He overcame many obstacles along the way and served as an inspiration to Canadian First Nation youth for the rest of his life. Sasakamoose would later return to his Saskatchewan, Ahtahkakoop reserve where he would use hockey to inspire Indigenous youth throughout Canada.
Young Indigenous players today are aware of Sasakamoose and his journey, and he is considered a legend in that community. His passing won’t change his status.
After 725 NHL games, Johnny Boychuk called it a career this week. Boychuk played with the Islanders over the past six seasons after a stint in Boston that saw him win a Stanley Cup.
Boychuk’s retirement was due to a scary eye injury just prior to the NHL’s pause. On the play, Boychuk was struck by the skate blade belonging to Montreal Canadiens Artturi Lehkonen. He was able to return for the NHL’s postseason, but only played three total games due to yet another upper body injury.
Johnny Boychuk gets emotional when talking about his time with the Islanders:
"There's been so many good memories that it's just tough to process everything at one time" pic.twitter.com/YOuNpVdjsv
Liked by every team he played for, Boychuk’s retirement solicited a number of responses from his former teammates. Anders Lee summed it up pretty well.
Anyone who knows JB knows he is one of a kind in every way. He is a selfless teammate, who never backed down, shot every rimmed puck, has a heart of gold, and touch of moderns top customer. But above all he is always there for you.I’m lucky you call you my friend, Love you Beezy pic.twitter.com/qhS8Kkkm5g
The University of Wisconsin swept Penn State this past week and Montreal prospect, Cole Caufield, was front and center. The 2019 first-round pick sparked the Badgers to the sweep with a hat trick in the second game.
You need more proof that Caufield is good? How about the four-goal, eight-point start he has over Wisconsin’s first six games? That’s decent.
Michigan Dresses Cones and Loses, Boston College Wins
After a 4-0-0 start following sweeps of Arizona State and Wisconsin, Michigan took its first loss of the season against Notre Dame on Friday. The 3-2 loss at famed Yost Arena came after the Fighting Irish jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second period. The Wolverines fought back, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
The loss doesn’t discount the fact that the Wolverines are the real deal this season, buoyed largely by their young stars. Sportsnet lists three of Michigan’s players as potential top-ten picks in next year’s NHL Entry Draft.
If you’re reading this on Saturday, you can watch the second game of Michigan’s series with Notre Dame on Big Ten Network at 4PM Pacific. There may not be fans in attendance, but Michigan faithful will still find a way to harass the opposing netminder.
Boston College finally opened its season with high hopes on Friday, carrying a pre-season ranking of second in the country. The Eagles skated to a 4-3 win over seventh-rated UMass, thanks to three combined goals from Minnesota Wild prospects Jack McBain (2) and Matt Boldy (1), and one from Mike Hardman.
BC is starting the season without its best offensive player – Colorado Avalanche prospect, Alex Newhook – who is taking part in Team Canada’s World Junior Championship selection camp.
Spicy Sauce
Speaking of Boston College, check out this sauce from Willow Corson over on the women’s side. Hannah Bilka received this exquisite dish and made no mistake in depositing it in the back of the net in BC’s season-opening 4-1 win over UNH last weekend.
It was very unnecessary by BC’s social media person to leave in Bilka’s fall at the end of the video, though.
Seattle Kraken Aim to Help Washington State Ice Rinks
On Wednesday, the Seattle Kraken launched a fundraising campaign to help out Washington State ice rinks impacted by the global pandemic. It should be no surprise that a lot of the local hockey rinks have been hard hit by the economic impacts of Covid, and the hockey community certainly feels the strain as well.
The Kraken are offering up an autographed jersey signed by general manager Ron Francis for $1500. If you think that price is a little steep for your blood, you can also donate in smaller amounts.
Our local rinks are the heartbeat of hockey in WA and, like so many in our community, have felt the impact of COVID-19.
It’s the holiday season, so hoop dee doo and dickory dock. Don’t forget to purchase some socks. Welcome to the Seattle Hockey Shopping Guide, presented by the very good people at Sound Of Hockey.
If you’re reading this, it means you did not get trampled trying to get your hands on the same off-brand TV that is available for purchase all year round at your local Wal-Mart, so kudos to you! Although having said that, with Covid raging across America, getting trampled at a Wal-Mart was probably a bit less likely on the 2020 version of Black Friday, so with that in mind, your kudos have been revoked.
BUT! You get those kudos back again because you’re here reading this definitive guide to holiday shopping for the hockey fan in your life, regardless of if they are the most seasoned of puck watchers/players or just picking up the game for the first time.
This Seattle hockey shopping guide may not be the result of hours of scientifically crafted market research, but rest assured that the writer of this article knows a thing or two about receiving hockey gifts. He also knows which hockey gifts he would like to receive this year, so if you’re looking for something special to get him, you can choose pretty much anything from the list below. (Well, you can get him anything except the baby robe. The author of this article would have no use for a baby-sized robe.)
For the Young Hockey Player (or Young-At-Heart Hockey Player)
Mini hockey, knee hockey, mini sticks, whatever you want to call it, it’s great. Like all things in hockey, though, the technology has improved dramatically in the last twenty years.
Gone are the days of the little plastic paddles, emblazoned with team logos, that more closely resembled fly swatters more than they did useful pieces of hockey equipment. Here are the days of the perfect replica one-piece composite sticks designed for peak knee-hockey performance.
The version we’ve chosen here is a Bauer-branded stick, but every popular stick manufacturer sells these for about the same price.
**A quick personal story from the author** I coached a squirt team in Coney Island, New York one season. We did a few out-of-town tournaments, and knee hockey was omni-present at the hotels amongst the kids. When they hit their curfew, we coaches would send the kids to bed, but make them leave behind their knee-hockey sticks. Then it was parents versus coaches in a no-holds-barred fight to the mini-hockey death that resulted in bruised knuckles, rug burns on every inch of our respective bodies, and multiple calls from the front desk asking us to keep it down at 4AM. I’m telling you, knee hockey is for everyone.
For the Passionate Hockey Player
From HockeySauceKit.com, it’s the Original Sauce Hockey Game! It’s basically cornhole with sticks and pucks.
The beauty of this game is that not only is it extremely fun and can be played anywhere, but it also improves your ability to handle the puck and drop it on your teammate’s stick from afar. This is the most costly item in our guide, but we think it’s worth the pennies and your hockey player will love it.
When the receiver of this gift gets back on the ice, he or she will be serving up the spiciest of sauce.
From office décor to pajama pants, this website has it all, so a new-found love of the Seattle Kraken can always be put on display.
As far as what specifically to buy off the site, well, let’s just say that if you buy your new lover of all things Kraken *anything* with a Kraken logo on it, they will like it, because their logos are incredible.
Oatmeal Crewneck Sweatshirt – Who doesn’t love a good crewneck? Plus, the off color on this one is a nice touch.
Kraken Scarf – **A quick personal story from the author**I once received a scarf as a gift, and thought, “That’s silly. I never wear scarves.” Then I wore it, and I’ve been a scarf man ever since. The scarf is the thing that everyone needs but nobody knows they need it. A classic “Don’t knock it ’til you try it” scenario.
For the Brand-New Hockey Fan
THE PERSONALIZED BABY KRAKEN ROBE! As long as we’re at the Fanatics site anyway, we wanted to make sure you knew about this insanely cute robe for the newest of hockey fans out there. The infant in your family will not look more adorable than he or she does when he or she gets out of the bath and throws on this cuddly little number.
**A quick personal story from the author** My wife and I bought this as a baby gift for our friends who are new parents, and we can confirm that said baby looks incredibly cute when wearing this robe.
For the Next Cammi Granato
The NWHL has had an interesting couple of years, but there is some fantastic hockey that gets played in that league. They’re also going to be playing their upcoming season in a super-short bubble format at the end of January in Lake Placid. So, here’s a great opportunity for the hockey fan in your life to rep his or her favorite women’s team.
Four of the six member teams – the Buffalo Beauts, Metropolitan Riveters, Connecticut Whale, and Minnesota Whitecaps – are now selling shirseys of all their players, and they are awesome.
Help the next Cammi Granato in your life find a role model. At $25, you can’t go wrong here.
For the Old Hoser
Those that know will know. Basically, if you have a hockey lover in your life that has played or watched the game with any kind of consistency since… say… the 90’s, you can pretty much buy them anything off the Koho Pro Shop site and they will think you’re the coolest.
Koho, Jofa, and Heaton (Heaton made goalie gear only) are all defunct equipment manufacturers that once outfitted everyone who was anyone in the NHL from Peter Forsberg to Martin Brodeur.
By the way, if you have a goalie in your life, they will love you forever if you buy them this hat.
For the Student of the Game
Why not consider gifting a good book?
**A quick personal note from the author** I haven’t read a hockey-specific book in a LONG time, so I enlisted the help of John Barr and Andy Eide on this one.
It’s a fun read that will take you through the most bizarre stories rarely told in the NHL. There are so many comedic nuggets in this league’s history, it is your duty to read this book and share with the masses. You will read about earmuffs, how the Black Hawks became the Blackhawks, the true humorous origins of the NHL, and many many more stories that you will be telling for years. – John Barr
Whether you’re new to the game or a lifelong fan, ‘Hockey Plays and Strategies’ is for you. It dives into explaining the swirling chaos on the ice, which will change the way you watch the game.
The two authors are experienced hockey guys and each has a Northwest connection. Ryan Walter scored 54 goals for the inaugural Seattle Breakers club in 1977 and would go on to play 1000 NHL games. Mike Johnston serves as head coach, general manager, and president of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, and has turned them into one of the most consistent junior franchises in North American hockey. – Andy Eide
For All Hockey Fans Everywhere
SOUND OF HOCKEY MERCH! The Seattle hockey shopping guide obviously would not be complete if we didn’t include our beautiful new threads, available now in the SOH store.
What’s not to like? Seattle references, shopping local, cool style, and the shirts are super soft and comfortable. It’s win-win-win all the way around!
