Coat-ed in Style: The Tradition of Playoff Jackets comes to the Kraken

It's been a season full of historic firsts for the Seattle Kraken. And now, as the NHL playoffs come to Climate Pledge Arena for the first time, there are some hockey traditions that are making their debut in Seattle off the ice as well, including "playoff jackets" for the partners of Kraken players.
Marie Gourde, whose husband Yanni is an assistant captain for the Kraken, first found out about the tradition when their family was part of four playoff runs in Tampa Bay. When playoff games begin, players' significant others -- the unsung heroes of any hockey season - design and purchase custom jackets to celebrate and support their team as they pursue the Stanley Cup.

"(In Tampa), it was a thing where we would wear jackets to represent the guys and it's so fun for us," Marie said. "We can get creative, and we also get excited to see what other people in the league are doing. We were excited to do it for the first time here."

But if you think bringing this tradition to life is easy, think again.
First, it's all about timing. You don't want a bunch of jackets lying around if a team doesn't make the post-season.
Marie started discussing the idea of playoff jackets with Vera Soderberg, whose partner Adam Larsson is a Kraken defender, and Isobel Kuchinsky, whose partner is goaltender, Philipp Grubauer, around Christmas time. There was confidence in how the team was playing, and a first-ever playoff berth for Seattle seemed likely, but it still wasn't confirmed.
"We were talking and saying, 'how can we make this happen?'" Marie said. "(Should we wait) till after we clinch? We can't do anything before. But then (since we waited) we were like, 'oh no! We're going to clinch last minute! We'll have to figure this out really quick.'"
So, while nothing was ordered, the group got together to brainstorm on designs. Current trends and personal style can be sources of inspiration. So too can looks from other sports. One thing that was important to the women regardless was to "get the essence of Seattle."
Marie said they even reached out to local artist
Angelina Villalobos who designed the Kraken's Green Night jerseys
as part of Hockey is for Everyone. But, with the timeline being as tight as it was, collaborating with her wasn't possible (working with someone local is a priority for next season).
But even though the design couldn't come from someone from the Pacific Northwest, the women still found a way to make Seattle part of the process.
After settling on art from
Pressed by Sarita
, a woman-owned business that specializes in sport-based designs, Marie, Vera, and Isobel worked with BDA, a global brand merchandise company based out of Woodinville to select and purchase the jackets they'd wear and then turned to STT Sports Lettering Company, located in SODO, for the customization.

It was easy to find STT. The company's Jessica Thornton, whose father founded the company, also works in The Lair, (the Kraken team store at Climate Pledge Arena) to feed her love of hockey.
And it wasn't just that connection that helped. STT was founded in 1982 when Jerry Thornton Jr., who had always loved sports, wanted to help a buddy out with getting some baseball jerseys for his rec league. Since then, the company has grown to work with the Mariners (MLB), Seahawks (NFL), Thunderbirds (WHL), Silvertips (WHL), Sounders (MLS) and even the Kraken.
So all Kelly Walsh, senior manager, retail operations for BDA, had to do was put Marie and Jessica in touch and STT got to work.
"(Walsh) introduced me to them so that I could explain what we could do and how it would look," Jessica said. "They were able to give us a font they wanted. They had an idea of what they wanted. And then our team started putting it together even before we had the jackets. It wasn't a bad process. It wasn't (even) the tightest turnaround we've ever had."
By the time the Kraken's first-ever playoff game came around, the women had their jackets in hand.
And about those jackets. They look pretty cool.
The primary playoff jacket is black with the last names and numbers of each player in white and Kraken ice blue, much like a jersey. Embroidered on top of that in red is each player's signature.
And because hockey is a family business, children have their own versions of the jackets. Instead of a player's last name, their nameplates simply read "daddy."

And don't be surprised if the jackets look different game to game. Another fun part of the tradition is that some of the partners and families add personal touches to their jackets. Marie says she hasn't seen any customization yet, but it might be coming.
"I know a lot of people do add some personalization," Marie said. "Vera had the great idea of getting patches that she might be sewing in like one from (the Kraken's) Pride night or Women in Hockey night, all of those. I think would be sweet, but I don't know if they've done it yet."
There's also another jacket at the ready should anyone want to change up their style. It's one the women debuted at the final game of the regular season. It's a longer black leather jacket with each player's name embossed in repeating text.

There's one more garment in the mix for the Kraken families. Even though you may not see it in person at a home game. The women immediately considered that the team started their post-season play on the road. When the players are away, their families get together to watch the games, so they wanted to get something for those moments too.
Enter cozy sweatshirts that have the image of the player in each family and their name printed on the front.
"I don't think we're going to wear jackets in our living rooms," Marie laughed. "In our sweat suits, we can be comfortable and it's fun. And we have options for the kids too."

Getting to the playoffs marks an accomplishment for everyone involved in a team's success. For the women whose partners play in the games, creating these jackets is one more opportunity to encourage and celebrate all the hard work that goes into an NHL season.
"The jackets turned out great," Marie said. "The designs are handmade, and it was really fun. It's all about coming together during playoffs."