New Kraken Program Seeks to Foster Diversity in Hockey

When I was a little kid, my father took me to a Portland Buckaroos hockey game. They played in the old Western Hockey League, a step below the NHL. I still vividly remember seeing only one non-white player, Willie O’Ree, who is generally recognized as the first Black player in the NHL, and is now in the hockey Hall of Fame.

More than 50 years later, hockey remains largely a white sport. That’s slowly changing, thanks in no small part to efforts undertaken throughout the league. The latest? The Seattle Kraken, which just announced Kraken Common Thread, a new program aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion throughout the Seattle community.

The program is a localized version of the NHL’s “Hockey is for Everyone’ program. The centerpiece of the program revolves around the Kraken’s artist jersey program, now in its fourth year. It features local artists from underrepresented communities, who design unique Kraken jerseys that correspond with one of nine special game nights next season.

The jerseys are eventually auctioned off to raise funds for the One Roof Foundation, the charitable arm of both the Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena.

Specialty game nights are:

• Oct. 19 – Hispanic Heritage Night.
• Nov. 12 – Military Appreciation Night.
• Nov. 20 – Hockey Fights Cancer Night.
• Dec. 10 – Indigenous Peoples Night.
• Jan. 6 – Pride Night.
• Jan. 28 – Lunar New Year Night.
• Feb. 4 – Black Hockey History Night.
• March 14 – Women in Hockey Night.
• April 12 – Green Night.

Photo courtesy of NHL Seattle Kraken

Artists and jersey designs will be unveiled in the next few months.

The NHL says the 2024 draft class boasted 12 Black, Indigenous and Asian players selected. According to the Review, 90% of all NHL players and officials are white.