Guess Who's Watching - And Talking About - The Kraken

Also: BCHL Showcase Coming To KCI During Seattle Road Trip

Editor's Note: our Kraken Reaction video preview of Saturday's game against the N.Y. Rangers drops at 12 noon. Until then, let's take one of our periodic hops around the Kraken-verse.

After Saturday's home game, the Seattle Kraken embark on a four-game road trip. They won't return to Climate Pledge Arena until Thursday, Nov. 2 to face the Nashville Predators.

If you're anxious for a local hockey fix in the meantime, consider the BCHL Showcase coming to Kraken Community Iceplex for five days, starting Sunday.

The "Showcase" name is apt, because the event is primarily to introduce BCHL players to NHL and U.S. college scouts. All 17 of the independent league's teams will play two games.

According to TheProvince.com, "It gives pro and collegiate scouts a one-stop shop to see the Junior A circuit’s players. The BCHL has long been the top Canadian feeder league for NCAA programs."

Add ESPN to the list of Kraken fans. According to NHL.com, the opening night telecast of Seattle-Vegas "averaged 909,000 total viewers, peaking at 1.65 million. It was a 40 percent increase from last season's opening night."

Tuesday's Seattle-Colorado ESPN game "averaged 513,000 viewers, including 260,000 from 18-49, up 51% and 55% from last year's comparable games." 

Excluding opening nights, Kraken-Avalanche was the most viewed regular season late game on cable since 2015.

One of the NHL's most prized tchotchkes, the Calder Trophy, was in the house Wednesday night at Climate Pledge Arena (see Caroline Anne's photo at right).

That's only a cardboard cutout of Matty Beniers, the reigning holder of that hardware as NHL rookie of the year. But the real #10 was on display, too, in Seattle's 7-4 victory over Carolina.

It was a neat moment when Tye Kartye scored his first NHL regular season goal on a perfect feed from Beniers - the NHL R.O.Y. combining with Kartye, last year's AHL rookie of the year when he starred with the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Kraken chairman and majority owner David Bonderman is set to receive his own recognition.

From FortWorthBusiness.com:  "Bonderman, founding partner of TPG Inc., has been selected as the 2023 Fort Worth Business Executive of the Year and will be honored Nov. 7 at the 53rd Fort Worth Business Hall of Fame event at the Fort Worth Club."

If only I could figure out which town is hosting the event.

Seattle's upcoming road trip will start on Tuesday in Detroit against the Red Wings.

Perhaps the general managers of the two clubs will get together to compare Stanley Cup and Hockey Hall of Fame rings.

Rebuilding the Wings, GM Steve Yzerman told The Athletic that the way Kraken GM Ron Francis built his roster is worth emulating.

“I would throw Seattle into the mix there,” he said. “What a tremendous season they had. We played that team, and I’m watching them, and they had a bunch of 20-goal scorers. Guys that broke out looked really good."

Former Kraken Daniel Sprong, who signed with Detroit as a free agent over the summer, endorses that method of roster construction.

“I think it takes pressure off the big boys,” Sprong said. “Knowing if they’re maybe off one night, you have your second, third, fourth line that can make a difference and bring offense and take over games. It makes it hard for matchups as well.”

The Wayne Gretzky Foundation is partnering with Northland to make hockey more affordable for families in Canada and the United States.

Gretzky and Northland, owned by Roustan Hockey and W. Graeme Roustan, plan to tackle the issue of equipment costs and "assist families that otherwise cannot play the sport without a more affordable offering," according to a news release. (Full disclosure: Roustan is also the owner and publisher of The Hockey News.)