Seattle Kraken name draws mixed reaction from Golden Knights

The Kraken was officially released in Seattle on Thursday, and the name, logo and jerseys drew positive reviews from all ends of the hockey community.

But when Nick Holden was asked for his thoughts, the Golden Knights defenseman sounded like he was setting up a friend on a blind date with someone who has a great personality.

“I haven’t seen the logo yet, but interesting name,” he said. “Different.”

The Kraken, who are set to debut as the NHL’s 32nd team during the 2021-22 season, ended months of speculation when the mythical sea creature was selected over several more traditional choices.

The name was revealed during a ceremony at the site of what will be Climate Pledge Arena, the team’s future home that already has been nicknamed the “Krak House” on social media.

NHL Seattle had several options to choose from, such as Evergreens, Pilots, Sockeyes and Totems. Grunge was not one of them, to the dismay of ’90s music fans.

Seattle Metropolitans, which was the name of the first American team to win the Stanley Cup in 1917, was reportedly discouraged to avoid confusion with the NHL’s division of the same name.

The Kraken’s primary logo features an “S” with a sea creature’s tail made from the negative space. It is a nod to the Seattle Metropolitans’ former logo.

The secondary logo features the Space Needle that morphs into an anchor.

The team’s colors include three shades of blue — “Deep Sea Navy,” “Ice Blue” and “Shadowy Blue” — and “Red Alert” accents.

“I think it’s pretty nice,” Knights forward William Carrier said. “Obviously it’s kind of a little different for them coming into the league with everything going around. But for sure it’s going to be a good city.”

The Kraken will be a rival of the Knights and play in the Pacific Division. Seattle has yet to hire a head coach.

To help welcome the newest expansion team, the Knights’ official Twitter trolled the Kraken with a “Welcome to the league, freshman!” message.

“I think it’s a great name. I like it,” Knights coach Pete DeBoer said. “I like the names that have some type of reference either to the area or to the people who own the team. It’s unique. Maybe a little unexpected when I heard it, but as it settled in, I’m a big fan.

“I think it’s great that we’ve got another franchise. From a player perspective, it’s another 20-plus jobs in the NHL level and 50 contracts throughout hockey. Same on the coaching level and on management level. Great city. I think a long time coming.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.