We had the chance to meet Jason, a hockey lover, who has answered some of our questions:

Why a new team?

The NHL (National Hockey League) has 31 teams today, but they did not have a team geographically close to Seattle.  Hockey is very popular in our area, and when the NHL decided to expand the league with a 32nd team, Seattle was a perfect fit!  Seattle has a huge sports market, and we will make the NHL very welcome here.

Are there already well-known hockey teams in Seattle? If so, why building a new team?

There are a couple well known junior hockey teams in our area.  Namely, the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Everett Silvertips.  These teams play in the WHL and are composed of players aged 15-20.  Players in the WHL are commonly drafted by professional hockey teams, but the WHL is considered an amateur team.

The team was named the Seattle Metropolitans, they were actually the first team to win the Stanley cup in 1917!  Unfortunately, the team disbanded in 1924.

Why would having a new hockey team be an event in Seattle?

Seattle has a thriving hockey community that is ready to throw its support behind the new Seattle NHL team.  The team gathered 10,000 season ticket deposits within 12 minutes of them being available.  After a couple hours, they had over 25,000 deposits.  When the team arrives in 2021, you can be sure they will be very well supported.  Fans will pack the Key arena, and you’ll see people wearing the team’s jerseys wherever you go.  As an aside, the team name and team colors have not been announced yet, and we are all anxiously waiting for those announcements!

What are the most famous hockey team?

The NHL originally had 6 teams (Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers), and those teams would likely be considered the most famous at the national level.   That said, every local fan would make a case why their team is the best/most famous.   The Seattle NHL team doesn’t even have a name yet, and I’m ready to say they are the best!

What are the competitions to follow if you are a hockey fan?

The Stanley Cup playoffs just began for the 2018/2019 season.  Only 1 team out of the 31 can win the Stanley cup each year, and each qualifying team is working their absolute hardest to reach their ultimate goal of winning the cup.  If you’ve never seen a hockey game, now is a great time to tune in and watch your first game!

What can we say about hockey?

Hockey is the best sport on earth, and this blog: the Hockey Writers, does a great job summarizing why.

Emmanuelle