Let’s get Kraken, Seattle! After almost 20 months of waiting, planning, and speculation, NHL Seattle finally has a team name. In a live streamed announcement from Climate Pledge Arena Thursday morning, NHL Seattle CEO and Team President Tod Leiweke announced that the NHL’s 32nd team will be called the Seattle Kraken.
If fan reaction on Twitter leading up to the announcement was any indication, Kraken was certainly a polarizing name choice. In my approximation, I would say opinions on the name were about 65-35 positive, with some strong feelings on both sides.
I think Kraken is great name. It’s exciting, powerful, distinctive, and plays into the city’s nautical heritage. Kraken as a team name is definitely outside the norm but with this progressive ownership group situated in a city known for the popularity of alternative culture, Seattle is uniquely suited to pull it off.
Plus, with other aquatic animals in the division (San Jose, Vancouver, Anaheim), Seattle needed a formidable option if they went that route. As locally relevant as Sockeyes would be, it just felt too much like Shark or Orca food.
In addition to the team name, the Kraken also revealed their colors, logo, and home jersey.
In a word, gorgeous. The “S” primary logo is sleek and intimidating. It incorporates the subtle rising Kraken tentacle while not going overboard. For a team name some viewed as too unserious, the Kraken logo set is decidedly dignified and professional. The secondary anchor logo sneakily incorporates the Space Needle in a nod to the City’s most recognizable landmark. The wordmark fits with the nautical feel and expresses a bit more personality. I struggle to think of an aspect of the logo set that could have been done better.
Here’s the home jersey. In place of the traditional white, the Kraken have gone with two shades of lighter blue for a unique nautical feel. The thin red stripes and primary logo eye provide excellent contrast with the blue that dominates the jersey. This is a beautiful looking jersey and I would have to think that plenty of NHL fans even outside Seattle are considering buying one.
However you feel about the team name, it sure feels great to have a name, logo, and identity to get behind. Go Seattle Kraken!
It’s not only the city’s nautical heritage that the name Kraken will honor. Seattle has alot of Scandinavian heritage. Kraken is a mythical sea monster. It’s part of Scandinavian culture.
Thank you for the comment. I wasn’t aware of the full extent of Seattle’s Scandinavian heritage but you’re absolutely right. I read your article “Geography And Hockey: Legend Of The Seattle Kraken” and was surprised to see just how many Scandinavian immigrants came to Seattle in the early 20th century. I’d like to check out the National Nordic Museum in Ballard too.
Thank you for reading. Seattle has alot more Scandinavian heritage than many people even know about. From a geographer perspective, the name “Kraken” fits with Seattle for so many reasons.