Reflected On The Glass Wall Of Climate Pledge Arena, The Seattle Kraken Flag Flew Atop The Space Needle. Cammi Granato Put It There, To Mark The Kraken's First Home Game.
Cammi Granato, now an assistant general manager with the Vancouver Canucks, got high on the morning of the first-ever Seattle Kraken home game. No, really, she did. About 600 feet high, atop the Space Needle.
Granato was a pro scout for the Kraken on that day, October 23, 2021. Just hours before Seattle was set to host those same Canucks, Cammi raised the team flag atop the Needle - while tethered on top of it!
The experience didn't frighten her, but she thought she'd have company up there.
"I'm not from Seattle," she told me at the time, "so I didn't know about the flag-raising tradition. When I was asked, I thought there were 15-20 people doing it, so it was quite an honor (to go solo). I had a good day - it wasn't too windy. It felt freeing. It's just the most gorgeous view up there."
For the record, the Kraken lost their game that night, 4-2. Regardless, everyone inside Climate Pledge Arena surely would echo Cammi's sentiments: "It's just the most gorgeous view."
Granato Answered The Hall's Call, And Seattle's
Before becoming a team executive in Vancouver, Granato captained Team USA to Olympic gold in 1998. Herself a Hall of Famer, Cammi in 2021 was also named to the HHOF selection committee.
When HHOF chairman Lanny McDonald made the offer, her response was immediate. "'You don't even have to tell me what we have to do, I'm going to say yes,'" Granato told McDonald. "It's too much of an honor to pass up. It's something I didn't think I'd ever be asked to do."
Hired by the Kraken in 2019, Granato studied NHL and AHL players as the NHL's first female scout. "When we first started, it was about building a database, getting as many reports as we could on all the players in the league."
After that, "My role (was) to go to games, target the players I'm going to watch that game, (and) write a report based on attitude, consistency, their whole skill set."
Granato changed allegiances in February, 2022, when the Canucks offered her their assistant GM job. Whether it be flag-raisings, pro scouting, selection committees or front office duties, we've learned Cammi is willing to jump in enthusiastically and learn details later.
"I've never analyzed myself that way, but thinking about it, I think so. Y'know, I had older brothers I had to keep up with, so maybe that's part of it."
Hockey Women Raising Their Game
About women earning new responsibilities in the sport, Granato added, "There's such great momentum. Acknowledgement that there should be women in roles that are typically what we said were meant for men. Women are qualified and getting jobs in those areas now."
Trail-blazing, sadly, can still be hurtful. As one example, at a high school game in Pennsylvania, a female goalie was subjected to vile heckling. "What they did to that goalie was inexcusable," says Granato, "but it's a lesson to be learned that that is not tolerated anymore.
"I remember getting taunted, I remember parents even yelling, coaches threatening me. Luckily, I had a great enough coach to back me, teammates to back me, family to back me.
"But now it's unacceptable. We put up with it then, but now we're at a point where it's acceptable to have women in roles that were traditionally men's roles."
The Dream Of A "WHNL"
While individual NHL franchises already support pro women's clubs, Granato thinks commissioner Gary Bettman's full commitment awaits a consensus among women's hockey organizations. "I was in the room when he spoke about where his support is, and how he wants to make sure it's done right.
"When you want to come up with a sustainable league, with good salaries for the players, good markets that get fans, and sponsorship dollars, it's got to be done right, and everyone's got to get on the same page."