LET'S GET KRAKEN: Seattle names new NHL team - Toronto Sun | Canada News Media
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LET'S GET KRAKEN: Seattle names new NHL team – Toronto Sun

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Seattle’s search for its NHL team name went deep, all the way down to the home of a mythical sea monster.

Welcome the Kraken, intended to convey ferocity, fantasy and no doubt a small fortune for the league and its newest club via sweaters and hat sales ahead of an on-ice debut in October of 2021.

To the applause of construction workers at the city’s renovated Climate Pledge Arena, the name of the 32nd franchise was announced Thursday, with Kraken a frontrunner from the day the franchise was officially granted for $650 million US late in 2018.

With an accompanying video of the Northwest Pacific’s stormy waters and the city skyline, the name and a stylized ‘S’, in the form of a serpent with a red eye, was unveiled by vice-president of marketing Heidi Dettmer. The team colours have three shades of blue ‘Deep Sea Navy, ‘Ice’ and ‘Shadowy’ with a dash of red and grey.

“As a child growing up here, my grandfathers would entertain my cousins and I with sea voyages and beasts of the deep,” Dettmer said. “As I got older, I learned the largest octopus on Earth lives right here in our waters and about the legend of King Octopus under Tacoma Narrows Bridge. And hockey has always been here, a sleeping giant ready to be awoken.”

Of course, team officials knew there’d be some ridicule about the monicker via social media, with CPA quickly dubbed the ‘Krak House’ and its fans ‘Krak Heads’. But also trending on Twitter was a clip of actor Liam Neeson as Zeus from 2010’s Clash Of The Titans, roaring ‘release the Kraken!’

Merchandise with that motto is already available, though proceeds from the first sales are going to local charities. Many expect that Neeson bit will be shown at the start of a game or during a Seattle power play. A Kraken was also featured in the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, produced by Seattle owner Jerry Bruckheimer.

“I’m really excited about the name,” said Reggie, a cook at Shawn O’Donnell’s American Grill and bar near Pioneer Square. “It means a lot here in Seattle, because of the giant octopus under the bridge. I’m a hockey fan now and I can’t wait to get the sweater when it comes out. I hope the next stop for Seattle is (getting back) the NBA.”

The Kraken are set to start playing in October of 2021.

Amazon recently bought the naming rights to the rink and intends to feature several green initiatives, such as re-distributing rainwater around the building and in the ice-making process. The city averages 37.5 inches of precipitation a year, hardly any of it snow. Amazon intends to be a fully carbon-neutral company by 2040.

While the city’s sports colours are most famously the blue and green of the NFL’s Seahawks, a direct copy of that would’ve clashed with the Vancouver Canucks, who’ve used variances of those hues for more than 50 years. But at just under 200 kilometres to the north, Vancouver will become the Kraken’s closest and natural rivals.

A significant block of fans did oppose Kraken, whose story roots are actually on the other side of the world in Norse mythology.

Earlier this summer, CEO Tod Leiweke told the Seattle Times newspaper the team had looked at several logo designs, while dealing with a tangled net of trademark restrictions. Times’ readers chose Sockeyes during a 2019 survey, recognizing the red Pacific salmon, the name of many West Coast sports’ teams through the years. With Seattle also known as the ‘Emerald’ City, that was also in consideration.

In 1830, Alfred Tennyson had pumped up the legend with his sonnet to the beast:
‘Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee.’

As the new team balances the league’s Eastern and Western conferences at 16 teams each, it’s worth noting the Pacific Coast Hockey Association’s Seattle Metropolitans won the 1917 Stanley Cup, which in those days was a challenge trophy. Two years later, while hosting a final against the newly created NHL and its champions, the Montreal Canadiens, the final series was cancelled by a world-wide pandemic. The Mets folded in 1924, but the Kraken took their symbolic ‘S’ in tribute.

Thursday’s announcement had been hoped for around the NHL all-star break, but COVID-19 and then civil unrest prompted by the death of George Floyd pushed it back.

Ron Francis is already the Seattle general manager and some scouts have been hired. Next step will be a head coach, at some point this calendar year, likely waiting until the 24-team NHL playoff tournament ends in case a big name becomes available.

Among the early field was Mike Babcock, fired in Toronto in November and a former WHL coach of the nearby Spokane Chiefs.

lhornby@postmedia.com

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Mountain West commissioner says she’s heartbroken over turmoil surrounding San Jose State volleyball

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Thursday the forfeitures that volleyball teams are willing to take to avoid playing San Jose State is “not what we celebrate in college athletics” and that she is heartbroken over what has transpired this season surrounding the Spartans and their opponents.

Four teams have canceled games against San Jose State: Boise State, Southern Utah, Utah State and Wyoming, with none of the schools explicitly saying why they were forfeiting.

A group of Nevada players issued a statement saying they will not take the floor when the Wolf Pack are scheduled to host the Spartans on Oct. 26. They cited their “right to safety and fair competition,” though their school reaffirmed Thursday that the match is still planned and that state law bars forfeiture “for reasons related to gender identity or expression.”

All those schools, except Southern Utah, are in the Mountain West. New Mexico, also in the MWC, went ahead with its home match on Thursday night, which was won by the Spartans, 3-1, the team’s first victory since Sept. 24.

“It breaks my heart because they’re human beings, young people, student-athletes on both sides of this issue that are getting a lot of national negative attention,” Nevarez said in an interview with The Associated Press at Mountain West basketball media days. “It just doesn’t feel right to me.”

Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the cancellations, citing a need for fairness in women’s sports. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee in this year’s presidential race, this week referenced an unidentified volleyball match when he was asked during a Fox News town hall about transgender athletes in women’s sports.

“I saw the slam, it was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so hard, hit the girl in the head,” Trump replied before he was asked what can be done. “You just ban it. The president bans it. You just don’t let it happen.”

After Trump’s comment, San Diego State issued a statement that said “it has been incorrectly reported that an San Diego State University student-athlete was hit in the face with a volleyball during match play with San Jose State University. The ball bounced off the shoulder of the student-athlete, and the athlete was uninjured and did not miss a play.”

San Jose State has not made any direct comments about the politicians’ “fairness” references, and Nevarez did not go into details.

“I’m learning a lot about the issue,” Nevarez said. “I don’t know a lot of the language yet or the science or the understanding nationally of how this issue plays out. The external influences are so far on either side. We have an election year. It’s political, so, yeah, it feels like a no-win based on all the external pressure.”

The cancellations could mean some teams will not qualify for the conference tournament Nov. 27-30 in Las Vegas, where the top six schools are slated to compete for the league championship.

“The student-athlete (in question) meets the eligibility standard, so if a team does not play them, it’s a forfeit, meaning they take a loss,” Nevarez said.

Ahead of the Oct. 26 match in Reno. Nevada released a statement acknowledging that “a majority of the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball team” had decided to forfeit against San Jose State. The school said only the university can take that step but any player who decides not to play would face no punishment.

___

AP college sports:

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Senators looking to take learning experience from loss to Devils

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OTTAWA – Travis Green might not have liked the end result, but he’s counting on his team learning from the effort.

Green’s Ottawa Senators were handed a 3-1 loss by the New Jersey Devils Thursday night in a game that highlighted the importance of sticking with things.

“I thought both teams played pretty well,” said Green. “I thought we had a lot of the game that I liked, but I thought there’s a few moments where it got away. We got away from our game, and they stuck with their game a little longer.

“There’s always momentum back and forth for one team to create some chances. It’s a fine line between winning and losing in the league, especially when you’re playing, two good teams are playing.”

Jacob Markstrom’s 30 saves also played a part, with the Devils goaltender only getting beat with 65 seconds left in regulation as the Senators were on the power play with an empty net.

Brady Tkachuk tipped a Claude Giroux shot to spoil Markstrom’s shutout bid.

“Outstanding,” said Devils coach Sheldon Keefe of his goaltender. “Just terrible that he doesn’t get the shutout that he deserves in this one here.

“You feel for him when they make that (penalty) call. You can just kind of feel like it’s going to give them a little extra life. But he was outstanding for us, no question.”

The two teams were scoreless after the first period, where each had to fight for every opportunity. Noah Gregor rang a shot off the crossbar for the Senators, but otherwise, neither team was able to generate much offensively.

The Devils capitalized in the second as a power play expired with Erik Haula redirecting a Johnathan Kovacevic shot past Anton Forsberg, who made 32 saves.

Less than four minutes later, Nathan Bastian took advantage of a Giroux giveaway and beat Forsberg low blocker for his first of the season with the Devils short-handed.

“I liked our second period a lot,” Keefe said. “We took hold of the game and didn’t give up much, and when we did, I thought it was really from the perimeter, only a couple there.”

The Devils tightened up defensively in the third and were able to make it 3-0 when Paul Cotter was left alone in the slot.

“I think for stretches of the game we played the right way and kind of get in on the forecheck and play that way,” said Senators centre Nick Cousins. “It seems like when we get down a couple goals, we kind of change our game, which isn’t a recipe for success in this league.

“I think we’ve just got to keep doing the right things over and over again, even when it’s 2-0.”

With the Senators just four games in and still learning and adjusting to a new system, Green understands there will be growing pains along the way.

“We’re also trying to define our game,” he said. “I think we’re getting there. Both teams play fast. It was a fast skating game. There wasn’t a lot of room to move out there for either team.”

In his short tenure behind the Senators bench, Green has seen his team play very different styles of games and knows there will be nights like this along the way, but learning from them will be key.

“There’s going to be a lot of nights where you kind of got to earn everything you get,” admitted Green. “It’s not going to be freewheeling. Good teams don’t play freewheeling hockey.

“You learn when you win, you learn when you lose games that you don’t play well. You learn when you lose games that you had a pretty good game but you still lose and you’ve got to find a way. Good teams find a way to win those games.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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Canadiens’ Matheson exits in loss to Kings, Hutson logs big minutes

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MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens fell 4-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. They also lost their top minute-muncher in the process.

Matheson logged 7:35 in ice time during the first period but did not return for the second because of an upper-body injury. When or how Matheson sustained the injury was not clear. The Canadiens said he would be re-evaluated on Friday.

The game was tied at 1 before he exited, forcing the Canadiens to play with five defencemen for 40 minutes.

“Mike is one of the biggest parts of our D core, and I think losing him — he’s playing against top line, playing power play and we want him on the ice — definitely losing him was a big loss,” teammate David Savard said. “We got to figure out a way to get the two points, even if a player goes out.”

The 30-year-old Matheson of Pointe-Claire, Que., led all Canadiens defencemen with 62 points and a 25:33 average ice time last season.

With his absence, rookie sensation Lane Hutson played a whopping 30:05 in only his seventh NHL game. The next closest player? Kaiden Guhle at 23:09.

Head coach Martin St. Louis was impressed with how the 20-year-old Hutson handled the challenge.

“Lane doesn’t take a shift off,” head coach Martin St. Louis said. “I love the consistency of his compete level, and he drives possession. For a guy who played 30 minutes, I think he gave everything he could to try and help the team.

“I’m not surprised. I know it’s challenging at this level, losing Mike definitely made him play many minutes, chasing the game made him play many minutes, but I just love his compete level.”

Canadiens fans have been clamouring for Hutson — a five-foot-nine, 162-pound defenceman with world-class skill — to take Matheson’s spot on the No. 1 power play.

The Canadiens, however, went 0-for-3 with Hutson running the show after Matheson went down. In the first instance, Kirby Dach took a hooking penalty early in the man-advantage to end it. On the second, the Canadiens failed to generate any zone time.

The third came in the final minutes, but the Kings buried an empty-netter.

“It wasn’t a lack of opportunity, lots of ice time, lots of shifts,” Hutson said. “It was good, it was fun, but obviously you want to be on the other side of it, winning.

“Means a lot (to get that opportunity), but obviously, you want to get more out of that opportunity. It’s a lot of ice, and you want to keep taking steps in the right direction.”

‘IMMATURE EFFORT’

The Canadiens fell to a Kings team that had lost three straight games and was coming off a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

Under those circumstances, the Canadiens were brutally honest with themselves after the game.

“Definitely disappointed,” captain Nick Suzuki said. “It was an immature effort from us, especially with them playing yesterday and getting in late, so I think we gave them too much life, and let them feel comfortable in the game. It’s on us to be a lot better than that.”

Before the game, St. Louis stressed the need for a good first period against a fatigued Los Angeles side. That’s not what he saw Thursday night.

“I think we had 14 turnovers in the first period. It’s unacceptable. It gives them life,” he said. “Then you’re chasing the game for the second half of it — we didn’t play to our standard.

“I’m really disappointed. Really disappointed.”

BIG SAVE DAVE

Kings goalie David Rittich played his second game in two nights — an unusual occurrence in this day and age of the NHL. He made 25 saves after allowing four goals on 14 shots in Toronto.

“We always believe in him anyway, but he performed today pretty well and bounced back,” defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov said. “It’s probably like most important for himself, that’s huge, and for the team. He played outstanding today.”

LONG ROAD

The Kings are opening the season on a seven-game road trip because of renovations at Crypto.com Arena. They’ve collected six of a possible 10 points so far.

“Pretty much worse (than expected),” forward Phillip Danault said. “We’ve been on the road for three weeks … It’s good team-bonding, whether we should do it again I’m not sure, but it has turned out well let’s say with six points out of 10.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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