Written By - Neil Becker

Nearly three years ago, the city of Seattle took a giant step towards realizing that ultimate dream of once again having their very own hockey team.

Chances are the average hockey fan doesn’t realize that Seattle was once home to the Seattle Metropolitans, who on March 26, 1917, made hockey history by capturing the Stanley Cup against the Montreal Canadiens. During this magical run, which occurred before the NHL’s existence, Seattle defeated the Canadiens in four games of what was a best of five Stanley Cup finals series. The clincher was a 9-1 defeat against Montreal who represented the National Hockey Association.

Unfortunately for Seattle fans, the team, who played our of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association folded following the 1924 season.

Seattle fans, who for nearly one hundred years have been starving for a team, received back on December 4, 2018, the ultimate thrill. On that day, history was made when the NHL officially made public that the league would be starting in the 2021-22 campaign, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of an expansion franchise in Seattle.

“Today is an exciting and historic day for our league as we expand to one of North America’s most innovative, beautiful and fastest-growing cities,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told NHL.com.

 “We are delighted to add David Bonderman, Ted Leiweke and the entire NHL Seattle group to the National Hockey League family. And we are thrilled that Seattle, a city with a proud hockey history that includes being the home for the first American team ever to win the Stanley Cup, is finally joining the NHL.”

Nearly three years later, on July 23, 2020, the Seattle franchise electrified their fanbase by finalizing their team nickname ‘Kraken,’ along with revealing the team colors of a deep sea blue, ice blue, shadow blue and red.  

About a month before the July 21st 2021 expansion draft, the Kraken officially named Dave Hakstol as their first head coach in franchise history.

Since being awarded back in 2018 with the franchise, numerous scouts and front office personal including former NHL star and current Seattle GM Ron Francis have been hard at work scouting talent and debating who they should draft.

Naturally, there was a specific structure to be followed in this expansion draft. Seattle, who incidentally paid a $650 million dollar franchise fee, could select only one unprotected player from a team.

The 31 teams must protect 11 players broken down into seven forwards, three defencemen, and a goalie with the qualifications of each individual having competed in minimum 40 games during the previous year or 70 over the last couple of campaigns.

Teams also can also exempt their first and second- year players from the draft list.

Days prior to the expansion draft, there were constant rumors that the Kraken were going to select 34- year-old Montreal Canadiens veteran goalie Carey Price who brought along a hefty $10.5 million dollar cap hit.

On that historic July 21st afternoon, Gas Works Park which is located in Seattle was full of charged up hockey fans who were excited to welcome the newly selected players.

Talented high- priced players such as James van Riemsdyk (Flyers), Max Domi (Blue Jackets), Carey Price (Canadiens) and Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis Blues) were available, but Seattle went with grinders and lesser- known names.

When the dust settled on this much anticipated expansion draft, Seattle fans had reason to be excited about the upcoming historical first season. Here are the players selected by GM Ron Francis and the Seattle Kraken braintrust.

Defenceman- Haydn Fleury was originally drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes 7th overall in the 2014 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 3, 208 pounds, this 25- year-old played 35 games last year with the Hurricanes and 12 with the Ducks, In total, he had 3 goals and 4 points.

Defenceman- Jeremy Lauzon was originally drafted by the Boston Bruins 52nd overall in the 2015 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 2 210 pounds, this 24- year-old played 41 games last with the Bruins where he scored 1 goal and 8 points.

Defenceman -Will Borgen was originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres 92nd overall in the 2015 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 3, 205 pounds, this 24- year-old played 10 games last year for Buffalo where he totaled 4 penalty minutes.  

Defenceman- Mark Giordano is an undrafted player. Standing 6 feet and 198 pounds, this 38- year-old played 56 games last year with the Calgary Flames where he scored 9 goals and 26 points.

Defenceman- Gavin Bayreuther is an undrafted player. Standing at 6 foot 1, 195 pounds, this 27- year-old played 9 games last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets where he scored 1 goal.

Defenceman- Jamie Oleksiak was originally drafted by the Dallas Stars 14th overall in the 2011 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 7, 255 pounds, this 28- year-old played 56 games last season with the Stars where he scored 6 goals and 14 points.

Defenceman- Dennis Cholowski was originally drafted by the Detroit Red Wings 16th overall in the 2016 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 1, 195 pounds, this 23- year-old played 16 games last season with Detroit where he scored 1 goal and 3 points.

Defenceman- Adam Larsson was originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils 4th overall in the 2011 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 3, 215 pounds, this 29 -year-old played 56 games last season with the Oilers where he scored 4 goals and 10 points.  

Defenceman- Kurtis MacDermid is an undrafted player. Standing at 6 foot 5 and 210 pounds, this 27- year-old who stands at 6 foot 5, 236 pounds played 28 games last year with the Los Angeles Kings where he scored 2 goals and 4 points.  

Defenceman- Carson Soucy was originally drafted by the Minnesota Wild 137th overall in the 2013 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 5, 210 pounds, this 27 -year-old played 50 games last season for the Wild where he scored 1 goal and 17 points.

Defenceman- Cale Fleury was originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens 87th overall in the 2017 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 1, 203 pounds, this 23 -year-old played 22 games last season for the Laval Rocket where he totaled 6 assists.

Defenceman- Vince Dunn was originally drafted by the St, Louis Blues 56th overall in the 2015 entry draft. Standing at 6 feet, 203 pounds, this 25- year-old played 43 games last season for the Blues where he scored 6 goals and 20 points.

Goalie- Chris Dreidger was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators 76th overall in the 2012 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 3, 203 pounds, this 27- year-old played 23 games  last season for the Florida Panthers where he posted a 14-6-3 record with a 2.07 GAA.

Goalie- Joey Daccord was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators 199th overall in the 2015 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 2, 196 pounds, this 25- year-old played 8 games last season for the Sens where he posted a 1-3-1 record with a 3.27 GAA.

Goalie- Vitek Vanecek was originally drafted by the Washington Capitals 39th overall in the 2014 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 2, 187 pounds, this 25- year-old played 37 games last season for the Capitals where he posted a 21-10 record with a 2.69 GAA.

Forward- Tyler Pitlick was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers 31st overall in the 2010 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 2, 202 pounds, this 30-year-old played 38 games last season for the Phoenix Coyotes where he scored 6 goals and 11 points.

Forward- Morgan Geekie, was originally drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes 67th overall in the 2017 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 3, 192 pounds, this 23- year-old played 36 games last season for the Hurricanes where he scored 3 goals and 9 points.

Forward- John Quenneville, was originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils 30th overall in the 2014 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 1, 195- pounds, this 25- year-old played 16 games last season for the AHL’s Rockford Ice Dogs where he scored 1 goal and 2 points.

Forward- Joonas Donskoi was originally drafted by the Florida Panthers 99th overall in the 2010 NHL entry draft. Standing at 6 feet, 190 pounds, this 29- year-old is coming off his second season with the Colorado Avalanche where he scored 17 goals and 31 points.

Forward-Calle Jarnkrok was originally drafted by the Detroit Red Wings 51st overall in the 2010 entry draft. Standing at 5 foot 11, 186 pounds, this 30- year-old played 49 games last season for the Nashville Predators where he scored 13 goals and 28 points.

Forward-Nathan Bastian was originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils 41st overall in the 2016 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 4, 205 pounds, this 23 -year-old played 41 games last season for the Devils where he scored 3 goals and 10 points.

Forward- Jordan Eberle was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers 22nd overall in the 2008 entry draft. Standing at 5 foot 11, 187 pounds, this 31- year-old played 55 games last season for the New York Islanders where he scored 16 goals and 33 points.  

Forward- Colin Blackwell was originally drafted by the San Jose Sharks 194th overall in the 2011 entry draft. Standing at five foot 9, 180 pounds, this 28- year-old played in 47 games last season for the New York Rangers where he scored 12 goals and 22 points.

Forward- Carsen Twarynski was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers 82nd overall in the 2016 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 2, 198 pounds, this 24- year-old played in 7 games last season for the Flyers where he accumulated two penalty minutes.

Forward- Brandon Tanev was originally undrafted when breaking into the NHL. Standing at 6 feet and 181 pounds, this 29- year-old started his NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets before playing the past two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Tanev played last year 32 games with the Pens where he scored 7 goals and 16 points.

Forward- Alex True was also originally undrafted when breaking into the NHL. Standing at 6 foot 5 and 200 pounds, this 24- year-old played in 7 games last year with the San Jose Sharks where he totaled 1 assist.

Forward- Yanni Gourde also broke into the NHL as an undrafted player. Standing at 5 foot 9 and 169 pounds, this- 29- year-old played in 56 games last year with the Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning where he scored 17 goals and 36 points.

Forward- Jared McCann was originally drafted by the Vancouver Canucks 24th overall in the 2014 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 1 and 187 pounds, this 25- year--old played in 43 games last year for the Pittsburgh Penguins where he scored 14 goals and 32 points.

On July 17, 2021, McCann was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs where eventually he was left unprotected by the Leafs and selected by Seattle.

Forward-Kole Lind was originally drafted by the Vancouver Canucks 33rd overall in the 2017 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 1 and 178 pounds, this 23- year-old played in 7 games last year for the Canucks and 8 for the AHL’s Utica Comets.  

Forward- Mason Appleton was originally drafted by the Winnipeg Jets 168th overall in the 2015 entry draft. Standing at 6 foot 3 and 193 pounds, this 25- year-old played in 56 games last year for the Jets where he scored 12 goals and 25 points.

“We’re going to have the responsibility of creating an identity first and foremost,” Kraken forward Jordan Eberle told Complex.com  “I think that comes with the way that you play. We have an idea of what we want other teams to say about is after they play us. If you look at the makeup of our team, we’re a blue-collar team, we’re going to work hard, move quick and we’re going to play fast.”

In early November, Eberle made Kraken history as he became the first player to score a hattrick. He accomplished this feat at Climate Pledge Arena in a 5-2 home win against the Buffalo Sabres.

Judging by the Kraken merchandise that has been bought and fans attending games, hockey has definitely taken off in Seattle.