The NHL’s newest expansion team, the Seattle Kraken, announced their name, logo, home and away sweaters and other branding at 11 a.m. CT Thursday.
The Blackhawks, that very minute, were beginning their practice at Fifth Third Arena. So while social media blew up with reactions — overwhelmingly positive ones, for the most part — the Hawks themselves had no knowledge of the identity of their future Western Conference opponent.
Finally, a few hours later, the Hawks left the ice and saw the news.
“I actually found out a couple minutes ago on Instagram,” Dominik Kubalik said. “I like it. It’s going to be something new, but ‘Seattle Kraken’ sounds pretty good to me. I’m excited to play against them.”
The Kraken’s new sweaters were the most highly acclaimed part of the announcement, with their contrasting dark and blue color scheme accentuated by some small, well-placed red elements.
— Seattle Kraken (@NHLSeattle_) July 23, 2020
can't wait until these officially drop @adidashockey! pic.twitter.com/HA6tp8USE0
Jonathan Toews added his name to the list of fans of the sweater design.
“Dylan Strome showed it to me on his phone,” Toews said. “It’s a good look, interesting name. Whenever you see a new jersey and a new name, it takes a few seconds for it to grow on you.”
The catchiness of the name was more hotly debated.
Seattle general manager Ron Francis told reporters “Kraken” was the most frequently brought up idea throughout the process, and it indeed was long externally considered a frontrunner.
But other names, like the “Sockeyes” and “Metropolitans” — Seattle’s original professional hockey team from 1915 to 1924 — were also popularly tossed around. Capitals forward T.J. Oshie, a native of Washington state, said Thursday he wished it was the “Totems,” another name occasionally mentioned.
The Kraken will join the Minnesota Wild as the only NHL teams with singular nicknames.
“Obviously we heard that Kraken was a big possibility, and it looks good so far,” Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. “It’s got a history with the city and the colors and all those things. So [it’s] exciting for them to be joining the league.”
By the 2021-22 season, when the Kraken are expected to join the league, the Hawks may nonetheless see their new foe differently.
“You saw how things took off in Vegas; hopefully, they’re not that good right away,” Toews said with a grin. “It’ll be interesting. It’ll be a great city to visit, to go play in and have be part of the NHL.”
Team Red finally wins
For the first time in all of the Hawks’ training camp scrimmages, Team Red upset Team Black — 2-1 in a shootout — during practice Thursday.
Philipp Kurashev gave Red the lead for most of the 20-minute scrimmage, but Dylan Strome tipped in a Slater Koekkoek shot to tie the game with less than three seconds left.
Brent Seabrook and Dylan Sikura scored in the ensuing shootout for Red, and goalie Malcolm Subban stopped Patrick Kane to seal the victory.
Hawks change travel plans
The Hawks always planned to travel to Edmonton, their hub city, on Sunday.
But originally they were to practice in Chicago before traveling. Now, the Hawks will fly in the morning and practice later in the day in Edmonton, Colliton said.
The change is part of a broader effort to get settled in the bubble as quickly and smoothly as possible.
“[We’ll have] Monday off, practice Tuesday, play the Blues Wednesday, then have two days of practice to prepare for [the Oilers],” Colliton added. “We’ll all be together in the hotel in Edmonton, so it’ll be lots of time to prepare, have some extra meetings to make sure we’re ready to go.”
