Seattle NHL Name Comes To The Surface

From the depths of Puget Sound, the Seattle Kraken have arisen from the deep and will make its den the refurbished Key Arena in the Queen Anne area of Seattle. Or is it their den? This is the problem I have with these irregular plurals. But that's just a minor grammatical pet peeve. It's a great name for this new era of entertainment and merchandising as the paramount concern of new franchises.

The frontrunner choices that were out there rumoured for the last year or so included the Sockeye, which was a little light on Hollywood spectacle possibilities; the Totems, which probably wasn't a wise one to go with as the Redskins, Indians, Braves, Chiefs, Eskimos all actively look for new identities that aren't some form of cultural identity; The Emeralds, Seattle's city moniker but also not terribly marketable as something animate; and the Metros, which was a nod to the Seattle Metropolitans who won the Stanley Cup back in 1917.

Hard to argue that Kraken isn't far and away the most saleable of those choices. If you want to inspire a new fan base and indoctrinate young kids for a lifetime of fandom, this is how it's done.

From a Vancouver Canucks' fan perspective, this is going to be great. Not since the Vancouver Grizzlies had the Seattle SuperSonics as NBA rivals, and competitively that was no contest, has there been a match up for Vancouver sports fans that's been only a short drive away, at least of the big four sports.

How about the jersey? When asked about it, Seattle GM Ron Francis stated, "This needs to be a sweater, that when the players put on, they feel really proud. It needs to be iconic. It needs to be noble." I appreciate that a lifelong hockey man refuses to use the word 'jersey'. That's for the other sports.

The colour choices are vibrant and quite different than any of the league's other 31 teams current colour schemes.

Let the rivalries begin and the mascot trash talk. Not bad, Gritty. Maybe they'll take your suggestion but put him in flannel: Grungy.