Kraken STM Make Themselves Heard Away from Home 

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Kraken fans Kristin Huff and Kathy Heitmann were having a grand old time here in the Rogers Arena upper bowl stands Saturday night as their team laid a beatdown on the hometown Canucks. 

The hockey watching pals were part of the Kraken’s first “Season Ticket Member Road Trip Experience” in which about 500 Season Ticket Members (STM) traveled up to Vancouver as part of a package that included tickets to Saturday’s game, and a pregame party event at a local bar. They’d seen Kraken newcomer Bobby McMann put the visitors ahead to stay with a late first period power play goal and by second intermission knew an eventual 5-2 victory by their favorite squad was looking quite likely.  

“The whole experience had just been great,” said West Seattle resident Huff, sitting in the stands next to longtime Kraken decapodian-costumed fan Zoidberg and, like Heitmann, dressed in a team jersey and trapper hat. “I wondered what it would be like in another team’s building but there’s been tremendous energy all around us.”

Huff and Heitmann have been NHL fans for decades and STM since the team’s inception but had never been to a road game. They’d briefly wondered about the wisdom of going “all in” wearing their Kraken garb in enemy Canucks territory. But they were put at ease while  attending the pregame party and seeing they’d be surrounded by dozens of like-minded patrons spread across five of the arena’s upper deck sections. 

“Strength in numbers,” Minnesota native and Northgate resident Heitmann said with a chuckle. 

They’d been hyped up pregame at the bar by Kraken radio commentators Everett Fitzhugh and Al Kinisky, who informed them McMann – acquired at this month’s trade deadline from Toronto – would finally be in uniform after clearing immigration issues. Heitmann had grown up in Minnesota and had long been a Wild fan ahead of moving to Washington and watching the Seattle Thunderbirds junior team, then the Kraken. 

“I didn’t really want to see the Kraken play in Minnesota by myself when they played there,” Heitmann said. “I would have felt really uncomfortable. But being here with all of these other people, it makes a big difference.” 

On the opposite side of the room spilling over with Kraken supporters, Greg Fox and his wife, Julie, both first-year STM from Bellingham, were hanging out with a pair of co-workers, Ken Bailey and Mickey Portalatin, they’d randomly bumped into.

“We had no idea they’d be here,” Fox said. “But they also have season tickets and decided to come up.” 

Fox had never previously had season tickets for any professional team, and his “fantastic” experience thus far has led him to renew and seek upgraded seats. He and his wife had one of their first dates at a Thunderbirds game at the since-demolished Mercer Arena more than 30 years ago and ended up going in with friends for season tickets with that team for years.  

“We’ll start poking around to see what’s available, but we’re committed,” he said of Kraken seats. “We’re willing to drive in from Bellingham to see games so that kind of shows you how committed we are.” 

Events such as the road trip are one reason he’s enjoyed his STM experience thus far. 

“It’s great to be able to do this with so many of our fellow Kraken fans,” he said, glancing around the bar.  

The event at the bar wasn’t the only one taking place. 

A group of 10 suite members partook in an enhanced excursion which included a private dining room “chalk talk” lunch at the team’s Vancouver hotel with Kraken announcers John Forslund and JT Brown and watching the game from a private suite. They also got to attend a private dining room “chalk talk” lunch at the team’s Vancouver hotel with Kraken announcers John Forslund and JT Brown.

They listened intently as Brown explained his learning curve going from NHL player straight to the broadcast booth with no formal training. And looked on riveted as Forslund showed them the notebook he prepares before every game with his particular shorthand ink details on every player from the Kraken and opposing team.

“This is the way I’ve been doing it since I was a kid,” Forslund told them. “I need to know the details of every player in the game. I won’t end up using most of it, but if something happens with a player and I need it, it’s all right here.”

Forslund then explained that the act of writing out the details helps him commit them to memory. 

“It isn’t enough to have it written out, it has to be up here,” he said, pointing to his forehead. “Things happen so fast during a game that there isn’t time to start flipping through pages on-the-fly. You need to know it.” 

Suite member Matt Alexander said he and others attending the lunch were discussing Forslund and Brown’s presentation well after it was done. 

“They could run a business on just how to prepare for a meeting or an event,” Alexander said. “The amount of preparation that they put into it, I had no idea. And yes, there’s a big production crew that gets them replays and things like that. But how they prepare for it, get their mind into it and manage what they say in real time. All of it was fascinating.” 

Fellow suite member Jeff Stinnett also came away impressed. 

“I had no idea how they do it,” he said. “I thought everything was fed into their ears the whole game. I figured that maybe the more experienced announcers throw out a few tidbits about things that they know. But I didn’t think they had a scratch sheet like that.” 

Stinnett’s wife, Susan, who was also at the lunch, appreciated getting to ask Forslund and Brown about team announcers sometimes being “homers” and how they feel about it. Forslund told her he doesn’t shy away from pointing out Kraken mistakes on air – saying it helps maintain “credibility” when he has something positive to say. 

“It drives us nuts,” she said of homer-ism in team announcers. “You need to be objective. It was great to hear about how they take pride in their objectivity and how they celebrate good goals, play and work by opponents.” 

She said it was “cool” to make eye contact with announcers she sees on television all the time and hear them answer direct questions over lunch. 

“It elevated their professionalism in my eyes,” she said.  

The presence of so many Kraken fans at the game was quite audible during the contest, which was televised nationally in Canada. But despite their boisterous support, the local Canucks fans were friendly and let them do their thing. 

During the first intermission, drum-banging Canucks superfan Crazy P came into one of the STM dominated sections looking to get the crowd fired up.

“Oh, you’re all cheering for the other guys,” he said with a serious look, glancing around at the fans clad in Kraken gear. 

They looked back at him somewhat sheepishly and apologetic. 

“That’s OK, welcome to Vancouver!” Crazy P told them, breaking into a smile. “I hope you all have a good time and enjoy the game!”  

Then, he asked them to help him get a chant going, which they graciously obliged him on by clapping with each of his slow, pounding drumbeats.  

But as the second period began, the drum claps ceased and chants of, “Let’s! Go! Kra-ken!” began once the visitors killed off an early penalty. About a minute after the penalty expired, Jamie Oleksiak swooped into the high slot and scored to put the Kraken ahead 3-1 and set off thunderous cheers from the Kraken fans.

By the final period, those fans were even louder as McMann scored his second of the night to break things wide open. The Kraken cruised from there, picking up a needed two points and sending hundreds of their STM out to enjoy the rest of a Vancouver evening on a positive note. 

A local hotel offered STM a 30% discount if they chose to stay overnight. 

For STM Huff and Heitmann, who did just that, the win was merely the capper of a fun time all around. 

“I hope they make this a regular thing,” Huff said. “We’d do it again, for sure.”