Tod Leiweke Revels In Success Of Seattle's AHL Farm Team
The Seattle Kraken improved by 40 standings points in 2022-23, and yet may not be the organization's most remarkable team story.
The Coachella Valley Firebirds Monday night became AHL Western Conference champions, thanks to a 4-3 victory at Acrisure Arena over the Milwaukee Admirals. Coachella Valley won the series 4-2, and will play the Hershey Bears for the Calder Cup starting Thursday in Palm Desert, California.
Under the direction of Kraken general manager Ron Francis and Seattle ownership, the Firebirds had to build an arena, stock a roster, and play their inaugural season in the storied American Hockey League.
All the Firebirds did was fashion the 2nd-best record in the entire AHL. Their 48 wins and 103 points trailed only division rival Calgary Wranglers. But so what? The Firebirds upset the Wranglers 3-2 in the Pacific Division Finals.
Earlier, Coachella Valley had bested the Tucson Roadrunners 2-1 in the opening round of the playoffs, and edged the Colorado Eagles 3-2 in round 2. Thus, the Kraken and their AHL affiliate both ended the seasons of their Colorado counterparts.
Fans warmed to the team in the Southern California desert - and not just because everything warms there. An average of 7,478 fans filled Acrisure Arena, 16 miles east of Palm Springs and a two-hour drive from L.A. For comparison, just three clubs in the 32-team league averaged more than 8,000 in attendance.
At a press conference announcing a contract extension for Seattle GM Francis, Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke took justifiable pride in the Firebirds' success.
The clip below is a combination of comments about the farm team from the press conference, and audio from follow-up questions I asked the CEO is a one-on-one interview.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjO-m_-lO5A[/embed]