Symetra First Shift: The 2nd Anniversary of Seattle's NHL Franchise

As the first founding partner of the Seattle Kraken, Symetra joined our franchise family in June 2019. Our partner is proud of that "first" and so are we. To honor the origin story and tell more of them, we created the "Symetra First Shift" series to highlight select team milestones and occasions for fans as we build a hockey team that sets its sights on winning Seattle's first (there's that word again) Stanley Cup since the Metropolitans achieved the feat in 1917. Today, Dec. 4, we mark and celebrate the second anniversary of David Bonderman and the Kraken ownership being awarded the 32nd franchise in the NHL.
Wait, what, it's been two years already since Seattle won the bid for the National Hockey League's 32nd franchise and the opportunity to round out the Western Conference and Pacific Division? True, time flies like a Shea Weber slapshot. Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the good news Dec. 4, 2018.

But here's what the pending 2021 calendar promises Kraken fans (hey, that happened in 2020): Home games, regular-season matchups with some if not all of those Pacific Division rivals, an expansion draft (can't wait!), selecting an amateur star in the range of No. 1 and No. 6. Oh, plus the unveiling of the team's official jersey. And none of us are forgetting the opening of Climate Pledge Arena.
Big year coming up. Before we look ahead to hockey matters galore, let's examine the NHL Seattle-turned-Kraken timeline since the commissioner made it official.
DECEMBER 4, 2019
We celebrated the one-year anniversary of Seattle being awarded an NHL franchise by looking at everything that came after - including breaking ground at Climate Pledge Arena, hiring our first-ever General Manager Ron Francis, being awarded an AHL affiliate and so much more. If you missed it or are tuning in for the first time, you can see everything that happened during year one
here
.

JANUARY 24-25, 2020
Kraken pro scout Cammi Granato is asked to coach the American women's in a game against a Canadian all-star squad during the NHL All-Star Weekend in St. Louis. One moment that does stick out to me was walking into the locker room at the arena Friday for the pre-game morning skate," wrote Granato for NHL.com/Kraken. "The American and Canadian All-Stars shared a locker room because of the spacing needs for that weekend, and so when I walked into the room, I saw 20 jerseys hung, with the NHL logo on the front.
"It hit me how significant it was. This was a statement that women were on the same stage as the National Hockey League. I finally understood the magnitude of how far we've come since I played in that first Winter Olympics in 1998. Now these Elite All-Stars were going to wear an NHL jersey and be part of the Skills competition right alongside NHL players. So fantastic!"

JANUARY 25-27, 2020
Great Puckaroo stretches over three weekends, one each in November, December and January. Thirty-eight Greater Seattle Hockey League adult teams compete overall, opening faceoffs as early as 7:20 a.m. and as late as 10:20 to fit in all the games and make time for public skating mid-day Saturday. This weekend was a huge success and included the requisite breathtaking snowfall during games.
Saturday morning snow started even before the first puck-drop at 7:20 a.m. featuring the Thrashers and NHL Seattle's own entry, the 32's, featuring sales, marketing and content staffers among others. Stickhandling was difficult and icing next to impossible. The puck simply stopped within a few dozen feet with any shot or longer pass. Heck, short tap passes traveled maybe inches. Rink manager Steve Bondi said the previous weekend it had snowed "several pucks [deep] per hour."

FEBRUARY 25, 2020
As part of a comprehensive, next-generation transportation plan for fans attending events at the New Arena at Seattle Center, NHL Seattle announces two significant actions: One, the franchise is entering into a partnership with the Seattle Monorail which includes making capital improvements. Two, NHL Seattle will offer subsidized public transit for all fans attending hockey games at the New Arena.
"The Monorail is generally thought of as a tourist attraction or ride," says Lance Lopes, Kraken executive vice president and general counsel. "We plan to re-introduce people to the idea that the Monorail is still what it was designed to be--high-speed transit. It's an existing last-mile high-speed connection from downtown to the arena that any number of sports teams would love to have in their cities."
"We expect around 25% of fans to use public transit in our first year,' said Rob Johnson, vice president of transportation and sustainability. "The use of public transit can become a unique part of the fan experience [including 90-second bursts of fun information] and will likely be the quickest and most reliable way to get to and from our games."

MARCH 7-10, 2020
More than 1,000 Seattleites, lots of parents and kids among them, visited the NHL's Black Hockey History Tour mobile exhibit when it rolled into town at the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM). Kid played ball hockey on a concrete "rink" and everyone got a chance to meet "Soul on Ice" filmmaker Kwame Mason. The BHHT truck also traveled to Northgate Elementary, Matt Griffin YMCA and Seattle Center. Later in the spring, the Kraken published a
Black Lives Matter resource page
.

APRIL 14, 2020
The Kraken and Oak View Group donate $1 million to aid those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic: $800,000 will go to the United Way of King County's Community Relief Fund to support the Office of Sustainability and Environment's (OSE) expanded grocery voucher program, which will provide 1,000 workers impacted by coronavirus with $800 vouchers that can immediately be used at any Washington state Safeway store to purchase food and household goods. The city will continue to raise funds with the goal of providing an additional 1,000 recently displaced workers with the grocery vouchers.
The other $200,000 will provide grants to 21 Seattle Center Arts and nonprofit organizations including the Seattle Opera, Children's Museum, Pacific Science Center and International Film Festival.

JUNE 24, 2020
The new arena under construction at Seattle Center gets a name: Climate Pledge Arena, as announced by Oak View Group, NHL Seattle and Amazon in what promises to be nothing short of a transformational partnership for the city and Pacific Northwest, sports and entertainment industries and the planet. The partnership was formed to make the Climate Pledge Arena the first zero-carbon arena in the world, powered exclusively by renewable energy including both on-site and offsite solar rather than the widespread standard use of natural gas in arenas and stadiums. The arena will run solely on electric for daily operations, eliminating all fossil fuels from the building and installing the first all-electric dehumidification systems in the National Hockey League.
"Our goal is to make sure every visit to this arena will be enjoyable and memorable, and sustainability is a large part of that," said Tim Leiweke, CEO of Oak View Group and leader of the arena project. "It is not just about one arena, it's the platform. We challenge music, facilities, concert tours and sports. It is our time to step up to face the challenge of our generation. We must take steps to build arenas and stadiums that front-and-center align with our zero-carbon mission statement."

JULY 23, 2020
Say it with us: Release the Kraken! Team CEO Tod Leiweke reveals the team name and connection to city and region in front of construction crew inside Climate Pledge Arena, plus a livestream audience of fans. The wait is over. The 32nd franchise in the National Hockey League will be known as the Seattle Kraken.
"It's only right and proper to announce the Kraken name, mark and colors here with the men and women working so hard and meeting every challenge to build our new home," confides Leiweke moments before stepping to the microphone. "We were intentional every step of the way making this decision. We listened to our fans, thousands of them face-to-face and tens of thousands more on social media. We were determined to align with who we are as an organization and as a city and region. We think we got it right, the perfect fit."

AUGUST 7, 2020
Remember this day because three new additions to the Seattle Kraken will be making your days and rinkfuls of memories for many seasons ahead. The Kraken announced Friday the hiring of its first team broadcaster, Everett Fitzhugh, who becomes the first Black team broadcaster in NHL history. Joining "Fitz" aretwo highly respected and accomplished fans-first executives, Jonny Greco as senior vice president of game presentation and live entertainment and Lamont Buford as vice president of game presentation.
"After the sport of hockey itself, we want to make an indelible impression on fans when the lights go out or the goal horn sounds or what goal song plays," says Greco. "It's all about listening to Kraken fans and figuring out how to create the memories."
"Everett has established himself as a unique and leading voice for hockey," says Tod Leiweke, CEO of the Seattle Kraken. "He's going to bring tremendous energy and talent to our broadcast and content team, and we can't wait for our fans to get to know him"
"Jonny and Lamont will be a spectacular one-two punch," adds Leiweke. "It's really exciting and going to be such a cool part of the Kraken story. What they create will be unique to Seattle and our fans. They both bring so much intelligence and energy. With Climate Pledge Arena and our technology resources, there are no alibis. We will be a world-class leader in game presentation for our fans."

AUGUST 11, 2020
Hold on to your hat tricks, Kraken ticket depositors. The general seat selection process begins and it features more than 40 different seating options and prices as part of the most innovative ticket plan ever rolled out for sports fans. On March 1, 2018, 32,000 future Kraken fans worked laptops, tablets and cell phones to join the virtual queue for season tickets. The Kraken franchise notched sports history as the fastest professional franchise to reach 10,000 depositors (in 12 minutes!), plus the unprecedented and astounding 32,000 cash depositors in one day.
"This franchise is forever indebted to our 32,000 deposit holders who stood with us to show the NHL we are a hockey town with an exclamation point," said Tod Leiweke, Kraken CEO. "They gave this franchise life in one day. We created a ticket plan to reward those depositors and give them all the chance to be part of the most intimate seating bowl in the NHL. We worked on the ticket plan for months and listened to our depositors. We threw conventional wisdom aside and said what's a new and better way to do it."

AUGUST 17, 2020
The traditional "topping out" ceremony on construction sites is a day of celebration for the workers. BN Builders, the general contractor leading construction of the three-year Kraken Training Center at Northgate, marked the occasion by inviting workers and select VIPs to watch the last beam being put in place-all following COVID-19 health and safety videos. The beam, painted white to accommodate permanent-marker signatures from the construction crew and select Kraken officials, represented the "topping out" of the last piece of the ice center's outer framing.

AUGUST 21, 2020
In another installment of the franchise's Summer of Major Milestones, the largest assortment of Seattle Kraken merchandise goes on sale at 9 a.m. when the team opens its first retail store. Major milestones deserve stunning backdrops (as per announcing the team name on the construction floor of Climate Pledge Arena in late July) and Friday's retail opening does not disappoint. Fans headed to Chandler's Cove in South Lake Union, by appointment only, to shop for all-new apparel and other "merch" (buzzword alert) amid a spectacular panoramic view of Lake Union while checking out Kraken t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, soft-shell jackets, golf shirts, hats, backpacks, baby items and a full roster of novelties.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020
The Seattle Kraken announces it donated all net proceeds from its inaugural "Release the Kraken" apparel and gear line to three local nonprofit organizations that support homeless youth and young people of color.
"We were mindful that we were launching our brand in the middle of multiple pandemics, and wanted to find a way to leverage our launch and engage our fans to provide some relief to those most impacted," said Mari Horita, Kraken vice president for community development and social impact.
As a result of the exclusive line of "Release the Kraken" merchandise sold at a dedicated releasethekraken.com website between July 23 and Aug. 21, the Kraken donated $285,000 to YouthCare and $60,000 each to Community Passageways and the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.

OCTOBER 25, 2020
The Kraken announced the hiring of head athletic trainer Mike Booi, head strength and conditioning coach Nate Brookreson, head equipment manager Jeff Camelio and head video analyst Tim Ohashi. Each will lead a staff to be hired in coming months that ranges from how to keep players healthy and in peak condition to making sure all equipment serves every player's potential to breaking down each shift in a video file that can reviewed by coaches and players between periods or even by iPad on the bench during play. T
"Today marks another milestone for the Seattle Kraken as we bring on core components of the hockey operations staff who will help to shape our team as we get ready to welcome players in 2021," said Kraken general manager Ron Francis.
"What fans may not fully understand is the people in these roles as just as important as the players to our success," says Olczyk. "I mean no disrespect to the players and their talents. Everyone we hired this week will be in the trenches with the players and coaches every day. They are all committed to maximizing the potential of the players."

OCTOBER 30, 2020
"I am thrilled to join the Kraken," says Kron. "We will be developing a wealth of knowledge about the prospects for the draft on the amateur side. We will delegate responsibilities across our experienced and talented staff. Everybody's voice will be heard."
Those voices include several with NHL credentials: Mike Dawson, ex-head North American amateur scout for Carolina; Darren Yopyk, former co-director of amateur scouting with Minnesota; Jeff Crisp, a 21-year NHL scout and assistant director of amateur scouting departing from Buffalo; Tom O'Connor, ex-Buffalo scout; and Tony MacDonald, who has 27 seasons of NHL scouting experience with the Los Angeles Kings, Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes.

NOVEMBER 15, 2020
Local "Hockey Fights Cancer" event show giving back and paying it forward is deeply rewarding for both the givers and receivers. Consider it a circle unbroken

NOVEMBER 26, 2020
While not a recommendation to replace the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, football on the screen or, especially, turkey and the trimmings (don't forget the pumpkin pie!), Kraken fans were invited the team's "Fansgiving 2020" livecast on the menu. The
Kraken Fansgiving
does in fact provide ideas for making a mixed berry "Kraken Krisp" recipe to add to the dessert table and suggesting a "The Perfect Storm" cocktail compliments of both the franchise and team partner and livestream sponsor Kraken Rum. Plus, fans can get insights from Kraken GM Ron Francis on what red wine might pair perfect with Thanksgiving and upcoming holiday dishes.

DECEMBER 4, 2020
We celebrate our second anniversary with an epic oceanic cake and an all-new twitter handle!