Hockey fans all over the world have been waiting for the time to come. For almost 100 years the city of Seattle has been left in the dust when it comes to NHL hockey. For the first time since the Seattle Metropolitans of the NHA left in 1924, pro hockey has arrived in Emerald City. The Seattle Kraken held their expansion draft on July 21 giving Seattle a perspective on what their team looks like. Since the Vegas Golden Knights expanded into the NHL in 2017, hockey fans practically begged NHL management to expand to the city of Seattle. 

With players like two-time Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup champion Yanni Gourde (pictured), former Calgary Flames veteran Mark Giordano, and former Pittsburgh Penguin Brandon Tanev: Kraken fans can see what hockey has in store for the city. 

On September 26, the Kraken began their preseason playing at local junior team arenas in the Seattle area as their home Climate Pledge Arena was still being built. To start off their regular season, the Seattle Kraken faced off against Vegas Golden Knights at Tmobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada on October 12 with an unfortunate loss 3-4 in their inaugural game. Though the Kraken had played five games in the season, through nearly two weeks of games they were still unable to compete at their home arena until October 24. 

When Seattle finally took home ice versus the Vancouver Canucks, home fans were witnesses of yet another loss for the Kraken as they fell 2-4. Making their season record 1-4 after their home loss. But with the hopes of the city behind the team and management, hockey analysts still seem to have high hopes for their future as NHL.com analyst Allison Lukan writes “The Kraken didn’t take home the win, against Vancouver, but they did demonstrate the ability to quickly address what needed attention in underlying play”. As the team continually works on the mistakes and attempts to build upon the new faces introduced on the ice, Kraken players are still confident with each other.