Release the Kraken! On Thursday, Seattle's new NHL franchise unveiled its team name and a line of merchandising on their team site. 

The Kraken, who will be the NHL's 32nd franchise, will take the ice beginning in the 2021-2022 season. Kraken co-owner Jay Deutsch explained to Cheddar how the franchise came up with its name.

"The fans came out with over 1,000 names suggested. We did a poll locally a year-and-a-half ago." Deutsch said. "Throughout this entire process, the Kraken kept going to the front. That's what we're so excited about. We listened, we heard what the community wanted, we then developed a logo that we felt would be incredible."  

Although the team won't be taking the ice for more than a year, they are already pushing merchandising online at releasethekrakenstore.com. Deutsch said that not only is merchandise "hot off the presses," but proceeds are also going to a great cause. 

"All net proceeds are going to charity in the local area for youth care and for other community charities that are embedded in taking care of the youth through these COVID times and dealing with bringing the community together around our new mark." 

Deutsch also said making the merchandising exclusive to the club for the first month was important for their charitable mission. 

"Instead of letting everybody sell it, we said for 30 days, let's take the profits and put it right back into our community, and that's what we did."

The Kraken will be playing at the currently-under-construction Climate Pledge Arena, named by Amazon, which will be the first zero-carbon arena in the world powered exclusively by renewable energy. In addition to playing in such an environmentally-friendly stadium, Deutsch, a Seattle native, says the arena will present an intimidating presence to opponents due to being partially underground.

"It's like a pit. It's almost like a lair. The Kraken's lair you're going to come into." Deutsch added, "It's going to be like fans are on top of the ice. This is going to be, whether you are a fan saying 'I want to go experience this,' or you are the Krakens that are going to come, we are going to release fury on our opponents."

Speaking of fury, Deutsch mentioned he has already been hearing trash talk from nearby regional opponents. But the Kraken co-owner isn't backing down.

"The Kraken's not afraid of a Canuck or a Shark, let's just say that."  

Share:
More In Sports
Willis Reed, Leader on Knicks' 2 Title Teams, Dies at 80
Willis Reed, who dramatically emerged from the locker room minutes before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to spark the New York Knicks to their first championship and create one of sports’ most enduring examples of playing through pain, has died. He was 80.
Ohtani Fans Trout, Japan Tops US 3-2 for WBC Championship
Shohei Ohtani emerged from the bullpen and fanned Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out in a matchup the whole baseball world wanted to see, leading Japan over the defending champion United States 3-2 for its first World Baseball Classic title since 2009.
US Routs Cuba 14-2 To Reach World Baseball Classic Final
Trea Turner, Paul Goldschmidt and an unrelenting U.S. lineup kept putting crooked numbers on the scoreboard, a dynamic display of the huge gap between an American team of major leaguers and Cubans struggling on the world stage as top players have left the island nation.
Load More