AYE AYE, CAPTAIN! A look at the season start with Everett Fitzhugh
This episode of Signals from the Deep is all about new beginnings! With a focus on the cultural shift under new leadership, host Piper Shaw and guest host Everett Fitzhugh discuss standout performances from the team in the last four games, including Jordan Eberle's impact as the newly named captain. The conversation also touches on the latest community events at KCI and how they're driving more inclusivity in hockey.
Transcript
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Piper Shaw:Greetings to all of Kraken Nation out there receiving this communication for another episode of Signals from the Deep. This is episode 19. We are the podcast tentacle of the Kraken Hockey Network. I am Piper Shaw, joined as always, by our jovial producer, Grant Beery.
Grant Beery:Jovial, I like that. How's everything going?
Piper Shaw:I'm doing well.
At the time of recording this, we have just returned from the Kraken's first road trip, and I did not realize that Nashville was basically as far away as you could be, but still be in the central time zone. So our flight was a five hour flight, and I crawled into bed at.
Grant Beery: About: Piper Shaw:I'm pushing through that, but sometimes that kind of veers into, like, delirium a bit. So hopefully we can keep things on track.
Grant Beery:Get ready.
Piper Shaw:Hopefully we can keep things on track. With that being said, my co hosts this week, we are graced with the enthusiastic and epic presence. You can hear his chuckle right there.
The one and only Everett fits you.
Everett Fitzhugh:Hey, what's up? Off the plane. Fresh off the plane. See, I got home at. I think I crawled into bed probably at about 250 to 255, something like that.
to my wife and, you know, and: Grant Beery:You spent all night talking.
Everett Fitzhugh:Yeah.
Grant Beery:And then went home and was like, I gotta do some more talking.
Everett Fitzhugh:Do more talking. Yeah. Debrief. What happened at home, man? I got a two year old who's drilling every day. That's fair. She's got stories to regale and all that stuff.
Piper Shaw:It's also hard because it's like, for us broadcasters, we have to be on at night. We have to be our absolute best at night.
And then we get on this plane for this five hour flight, and it's dark, and a lot of people, you know, get some sleep and relax, and then all of a sudden, you land and they turn all of the lights on, and you're walking outside on the tarmac in the rain and it's cold, and it kind of just, like, wakes you back up. And then you're like, oh, now I need to shut off again and then turn back on in 3 hours.
Everett Fitzhugh:The annoying part is when you have those super long road trips, especially out east, and maybe it's a. It's a back to back or it's a two and three or a three and four, something like that, right?
And you're on that long flight, so you've been gone forever. You just want to go home.
You want to get in your own shower, your own bed, and you get through that first rem sleep cycle on the plane, and then you land, and then you're like, well, geez, okay, almost.
Grant Beery:Shouldn't nap on the plane.
Everett Fitzhugh:You shouldn't nap on the plane.
Piper Shaw:Yeah, I mean, I normally don't, but I did last night. I was pretty.
Everett Fitzhugh:Some guys on that trip, though, are expert napper Stucky. Our equipment guy, James Stucky, he, like, before the plane, even take just out for the entire duration of the flight, and he pops up.
What's up, guys? How we doing? He looks like he got a full night's sleep in 2 hours.
Grant Beery:That's how I. That's how I fly. And it really annoys my wife because she cannot sleep on a plane, and before the doors are even closed, I'm asleep.
It doesn't matter what time of the flight. It could be early in the morning, late at night. I'm asleep.
Piper Shaw:I will say as much of a challenge, Fitz and I are making it sound like it is for us. We're not even the professional athletes on the plane.
Everett Fitzhugh:You know what I mean?
Piper Shaw:So it's like, I really cannot complain.
Everett Fitzhugh:We work in the NHL. We don't play in the NHL. Very, very different.
Piper Shaw:Yes, very true. So, Fitz, since we have you here, I thought we would take the opportunity to just talk quickly a little bit about you and your personal background.
You know, you've been here since the beginning, but I think it's just kind of a nice refresher, because our jobs are not to talk about us as they should not be. But since, you know, we got this little platform, I thought we could just get to know the voice fits a little bit better.
So just kind of like, where are you from? What were some of your stops before you were here with the great Seattle Kraken?
Everett Fitzhugh: Yeah. So I was born at: Grant Beery:Very beginning. Okay.
Everett Fitzhugh:Yep. Yep. It was a little. For early mornings that morning, no? Yeah. So, I mean.
So I got my start back in college at the illustrious, the Harvard of northwest Ohio Bowling Green State University, the Falcons. Yes. I got my start there doing play by play and broadcasting. And growing up, I always knew that I wanted to work in sports. Know what I wanted to do?
I thought I was going to be Stuart Scott on the sports center desk. That's, that's what I wanted to do. So you, you listen to some of these great play by play announcers that we've had through our lives.
I thought they were all made in a lab somewhere. You don't go to school to be a play by play guy. So it was pretty much by accident.
Everybody in this group that I joined, bowling green radio sports, they all wanted to do basketball and football. And at the time, this was the beginning of, like, the shock jock era, the Stephen A. Smith era, the cold pizza era. Right?
Wanted to be, you know, a talk show host or they wanted to do football or basketball. So nobody in this group, outside of a few of us, were even hockey fans. So I did my first hockey broadcast as a color analyst my freshman year.
I just turned 18 years old. Selfishly, it was an opportunity to get more reps on the air, and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with broadcasting.
I fell in love with broadcasting, hockey, the sport and all of that. So I knew right then and there that my goal is shifted into being an NHL play by play guy.
So I did a few years of color in school, my senior year of college, my fifth year in college, and then my first year out of school. So three years I was play by play for Bowling Green. I got my first job out of college in Chicago at the USHL league office.
So I worked there for a year and a half in Chicago. I went to Youngstown of the USHL to do broadcasting and pr and social media, all the other stuff that we have to do in this industry.
And then my first job in pro hockey was in Cincinnati in the ECHL.
So those of you not familiar with the hockey landscape, double A hockey, so you've got the Coachella Valley Firebirds or AAA and then the Kansas City Mavericks or Double A. I worked for Cincinnati in that same league that Casey is in. So I was there for five years, five of the best years of my life.
I gained such a really cool appreciation for the industry and for the job. And it's so much more than just broadcasting. It's not calling. It showing up, calling a game and going home. It's so much more.
It's so much more detailed than that. So, Covid hit. I got a random email from Todd Lywicky. That I thought was spam. And I didn't reply to him for a couple days.
And then he emailed me again and was like, hey, I want to talk to you. And it was a really cool conversation. I got furloughed from my job in Cincinnati, and I was actually my wife and I, my fiance at the time.
ng of COVID This was March of:Well, then her job ends up getting put on hold for Covid.
And then I get another email from Todd saying, like, hey, I know the whole world's kind of gone upside down here, but we're still building for the future and want to know if you are still interested. So I was like, hey, shell, I know you wanted Boston, but how about Seattle?
Piper Shaw:Other coast.
Everett Fitzhugh:Other coast.
So began the interview process, and July 14, which is the anniversary of when I asked my wife to be my girlfriend, I got a call from Katie Townsend saying that, hey, congratulations, we want to hire you. So. And here we are now.
Piper Shaw:And the rest is history.
Everett Fitzhugh:The rest is history.
Piper Shaw:And the rest is Kraken hockey, baby.
Everett Fitzhugh:The rest is Kraken hockey, baby. So. So, yeah, it's been kind of a whirlwind to get here, but, I mean, this is my dream job.
I have the job that I've wanted since I was a freshman in college, and now I get to, I get to live out my dream for an expansion team and. Pretty cool place. Nice.
Grant Beery:Very nice.
Piper Shaw:We're going to transition into some hockey.
Everett Fitzhugh:Yes.
Piper Shaw:Some Kraken hockey talk. Finally we have some real regular season games to sink our teeth into.
So, Everett, without going into too much detail, what are just kind of your general impressions of some of the differences you've seen in this team as compared to last year or years past?
Everett Fitzhugh:I think the number one thing that stands out is off the ice, and I think it's just the change of culture. A bit fun, right? It's Dan Bilesma wanting you to enjoy coming to the rink every day. It's a different approach.
And listen, that's not, that's not to say that Dave Hakstol's approach was, was bad. Right? It was just different. And then I, I feel that Dave Hakstol was a really good coach, but I think it can be fair to say he's a good coach.
Maybe he wasn't the right coach. For this time. And that's okay. That's perfectly fine.
And I think for Dan, when you, when you bring in the, the intentionality of wanting to have fun and wanting to be jovial and smile, it's a long season. Piper, we're here from.
Piper Shaw:Don't I know it, right?
Everett Fitzhugh:Yeah, we're. I mean, if you're lucky, you're here basically from September 15 through June 15, if you're one of the lucky ones.
But minimally, mid April into the end of April into May, it's a long season. This is a grind of a year.
And to be able to have some of these loose moments already, to be able to have guys like Brandon Tanv and Jaden Schwartz and Jared McCann and Jordan Everly, who've been here, start to see. See what Shane Wright and Ty Cartier and Joey Decorde have experienced in Riker Evans in the American Hockey League.
And now seeing those guys start to open up a little bit more to us and to be a little bit more outgoing with us has been very, very fun. So that's number one. And I think number two on the ice, this team is going to play fast. They are a very pace forward team.
three years, this has been a: e to win most of their games.: Piper Shaw:Yeah. You know, they've always been a team that wanted to leverage the depth and play with speed.
But it seems like so far, bringing some of that energy, like you said, some of that kind of culture shift almost. It seems like it helps fuel that competitiveness a little bit more when you kind of have that gumption in the room.
Everett Fitzhugh:It does. And Jared McCann, I thought, had a very interesting quote, a comment about this last week.
And I asked him, I said some of the big differences, and he goes, last season in particular, the highs were really high and the lows were so low. And again, in an 82 game, six and a half month season, you can't have that.
So I think everything's going to even kill you celebrate your wins, you acknowledge your losses, you find ways to get better, but you're not, you know, you're not hanging your head too low, you're not too depressed when you walk out of the rink every day. That's the goal. And I think we're already, again, four days in, four and a half weeks in to camp and the season.
Now you're starting to see that mind shift, that mindset shift amongst everybody in the locker room.
Piper Shaw:Definitely one of the things that I come back to all the time. Last year, I was walking by assistant coach Dave Lowry one time, and I was like, oh, how's it going?
He goes, Piper, every day in the National Hockey League is a great day. And I think about that all the time.
And he's not the first to say it, and he's not the last, but that kind of mindset has to also carry you when it's like we all here. I mean, we are not athletes, but.
Everett Fitzhugh:Obviously we're local athletes.
Piper Shaw:We were around them a lot how. What a privilege, right? To be able to, this be your life and this be the grind that you get to throw yourself into.
Everett Fitzhugh:My very first job out of college, I was in an office setting. It's not for me. All right? I'm not an office guy. My color.
Piper Shaw:I know. You don't even have a desk in the office.
Everett Fitzhugh:No, listen, I come in, I talk to people, I distract them, then I go home. My color analyst, Al Kaniski, spent 30 years in corporate real estate. He is a businessman.
And I tell him all the time, and I'm like, no offense, you had a really good corporate career. I'm not a corporate guy.
And for me, like, my biggest thing I tell myself is like, I could be sitting in an office crunching spreadsheets all day from nine to five and go to work, do my work, go home, come to work. You know what I mean? We could be doing other things rather than this. And you're right.
It's such a privilege to be here and to do this every day, so why not enjoy it?
Piper Shaw:Every day in the National Hockey League is a great day. Yeah. So we have some big news and notes from the last time that we recorded signals from the deep. So we definitely need to hit on this one.
This is the question all of the fans have been waiting for.
Everett Fitzhugh:Sounder or tone breaking, breaking, breaking, breaking, breaking news.
Piper Shaw:We have a captain, ladies and gentlemen, Everett. I know that we are internal. People may assume that we are privy to information oftentimes that we are not necessarily privy to.
Everett Fitzhugh:I found out when y'all did, but.
Piper Shaw:That being said, did naming Jordan Eberle captain of this team surprise you whatsoever?
Everett Fitzhugh:It didn't. And I think he was the right choice for this role, because when I. When I look at his career, he's been in every situation.
He's been there, he's done it. He's experienced thousand games playoff success. He's. He's been on bad teams, he's been on good teams. He's had great players. He's had role players.
He's had to thrive in every potential situation. And I think when you're looking up to someone for guidance and, and, hey, what do we do here?
You want to look down the bench and you want to say, that's the guy that, hands down, I can go to if I need help. And I think he's that guy. And that being said, that takes nothing away from Schwartz or Matty or Gord or Larson who were named A's.
But also I look at Jared McCann, I look at Vince Dunn, I look at players who have been around. They've won cups, they. Jamie Alexiak has been around this league. Just because you don't have a letter doesn't mean you're not a leader.
And I think a lot of folks want to roll their eyes, but I mean, this is really a locker room full of leaders. And I think to have a guy like Eberle leading leaders, I mean, that for me is going to pay off in the long run.
And I think a lot of success we're going to see with this team will be because of those voices that we have. And now we've got that unified voice. I think Eberle was the right choice, and I'm not surprised at all.
Grant Beery:Now, one thing I've noticed is Everleigh's head, and we'll talk more about this later. He's had a really good first few games.
Everett Fitzhugh:Yeah. Leading by example.
Piper Shaw:Literally.
Everett Fitzhugh:Literally, yeah.
Piper Shaw:Seriously.
Grant Beery:Does being named captain have anything to do with that?
Piper Shaw:I think he always was that way. I really think he was always that way. But I do think that, you know, you got to walk the walk. If you're going to talk the talk, then you have to.
Then you have to walk the walk.
And now that there is that c on his chest, he's not one that I think feels pressure in any kind of like an unhealthy way, but I do think that he does have that mindset. Like, hey, if I'm going to wear this, see, on my chest, I wear it with pride and I. And I'm going to walk the walk. And I.
We totally saw that in the Minnesota game, which we will get to in a bit.
Everett Fitzhugh:Yes, we did. Yes, we did.
Piper Shaw:I also wanted to say really quick, you were listing off all the looter. All the leaders, rather, in her room in one of the preseason games, Will Borgen was wearing an a on his sweater. I think it was in Calgary.
Everett Fitzhugh:Okay.
Piper Shaw:And he was lining up to go out on the ice and I was like, oh, will, you got the a tonight, eh?
And he just looks at me, goes, I guess I just thought it was so funny because I also think, you know, you name so many other great guys like Jared McCann and Jamie Alexiac, but then it's like, you even look at somebody like Will Borgen, people know I love Will Borgen.
Everett Fitzhugh:You and Will, y'all are boys. Y'all are, y'all are tight.
Grant Beery:I love Will.
Piper Shaw:I love his family. I'm always, I'm always on that train.
But it's just like, clearly there's even, you know, a desire to support somebody like that in a leadership role, which I think is awesome.
Everett Fitzhugh:And there's, and even the new guys, even Stevenson and Montour, they've done such a good job. Yes. Like, I, man, it wouldn't have surprised me. And again, Eberle did not surprise me one bit.
I thought for, you know, what this team is, he should have been the captain.
But I do think if they would have given, if they would have announced Brandon Montour as the captain, even though he was only been here for 15 minutes, like, he has already had such a big impact on that room. I think the fan base is starting to see the type of person, let alone player, the type of person that he is.
So, I mean, again, he's another guy you can throw in that list.
Piper Shaw:I also circle back to in this conversation of ebbs, to that same conversation that we had with Jared McCann at practice last week, where I think it, I think it was you, you asked him about Jordan being named captain, and he was basically like, Jordan's been the captain of this team.
He maybe didn't have this team, but, like, he was the captain of this team, like, so I don't know that a ton really changes other than just kind of the formality of it, which I also think is taken seriously by the room and Jordan.
Everett Fitzhugh:Absolutely.
Piper Shaw:Speaking of another big part of this team, Joey Decor, five year contract extension worth $25 million. What were your thoughts, Everett, on when this came out and kind of the implications of this and what this tells you?
Everett Fitzhugh:This told me that, that Ron and the management have the faith that Joey decord can be a number one in this league.
We saw it last year, and even though it was a very small sample size, 50 games, you know, he, I felt was one of the main reasons why Seattle was at least in the playoff conversation up until the deadline. Yeah, they were five, six points out. And usually at that time, that's a bit too tall of a mountain.
But you're still running through the numbers I remember looking at. Okay, who do the Kraken have coming up? What, how many points do they have to take out of this next segment of games?
You're still having those conversations in March with 20 games left. And I think it's because of the play of Joey Dicord largely that that helped him get there.
The personality, obviously, is something you really cannot overstate with him. But he's put the work in. I mean, we see it all the time. He works out before practice. He goes out to practice. He works out after practice.
He, you know, this guy there early.
Piper Shaw:With their early, our training headset.
Everett Fitzhugh:Absolutely. And I, and I. Very interesting, which is very interesting. I asked him about that one time and it is very fascinating.
Piper Shaw:I sat with him on media day and we talked about it at length. And grubhauer uses it a little bit as well. So that's, that's for a future conversation. But he's very committed to his training, to your point.
Everett Fitzhugh:He is. And I think, I think that shows. Right. And he's people, he's put the work in. I think he's earned this opportunity.
And for me, I'm a big, I'm a big fan of the personal side of this game. We talk so much about these players essentially being commodities and, you know, you trade them here, you, whatever.
But I look back to when Jared McCann signed that, his five year deal the first season we're in Toronto and he said, this is a huge weight off my shoulders now. I can buy a house, I can unpack my boxes. I can put roots down and I can only focus on playing hockey. What's happened? Jared McCann's got 40 goals.
He's got 29. He's been arguably one of the most consistent guys, arguably your best offensive player in your team's history. Right.
I can see this deal for Joey decorde having a similar effect. You reward the organization with, you know, who's been loyal to you. You now have no other goal but to play hockey. Right.
You don't have to worry about where your next deals gonna come from. Your, your wife, your girlfriend, whatever, your family. You can buy a house, you can set up routes.
You can, you know, go find your favorite coffee shop. What, just the small little things that we take for granted now he can do, and he can only focus on playing hockey, which I think is so huge.
I feel like this deal has the potential to be like the McCann deal. I think we're gonna.
Piper Shaw:Or the Vince dunk.
Everett Fitzhugh:Or the Vince dunk deal. Exactly. I think we're gonna be looking back in a few years and it wouldn't surprise me if Joey has gotten in the Vesna conversation.
It wouldn't surprise me if Joey's pushing 25 30 wins, right. Because he only has to focus on playing hockey.
Piper Shaw:Totally agree. Grant, you have anything to add on the Joey decord front?
Grant Beery:It's just so nice to see the, I think the growth from, you know, Coachella Valley and the success he had there, you know, transition perfectly up to the NHL level. And I mean, we have a good problem in that we have two goalies that are, you know, you, you've got to choose who you want to put in that night.
And that's a great problem to have for an NHL team that a lot of NHL teams do not have. They have one good goalie and an okay backup. So I mean, it's just good all around.
Everett Fitzhugh:And with him being a late bloomer too, it's not really his fault, you know, but he's able, he's been able to overcome that and a little bit less. So. He's earned every opportunity he's gotten. But it's also nice just to see genuinely good people be rewarded for working.
Piper Shaw:Hard and staying a good person through that process.
Everett Fitzhugh:He has always been the kindest, the most giving such a sweetheart of a person. And it's. I love it when good people are rewarded for their hard work. But also, like, I feel like some of this Joey, you're a great guy.
So you know what? We want a great guy, a part of our organization. I choose to believe that some of this deal was also because he's such a great guy too.
Piper Shaw:I also think it's part of, I mean, we've seen his star rise so much. I mean, you think about the Winter classic with the shutout and how much media he really started kind of doing like nationally after that.
Everett Fitzhugh:Oh, and he fell into it too. He absolutely did.
Piper Shaw:Well, he's a media darling as well. That's a separate conversation.
I think part of that is because of his approach as a human to, to your point about him just being a good person and being super authentic. Like, there's no, he's a big personality in a way, but it's not a faux personality. It's not an ego personality.
It's just like I'm just embracing who I am. And I also think that really also plays into the mental side of being a goaltender as well.
You gotta just to a point, just embrace who you are and, you know, conversation.
Everett Fitzhugh:And he breaks the mold of the quote unquote weird goalie. He breaks that mold. You know, sure, he's weird.
Piper Shaw:He's weird in his own way.
Grant Beery:We just haven't figured it out yet.
Piper Shaw:Yeah, weird in his own ways. So we made a mention of this earlier, but during the Kraken's first game of the year against the St.
Louis Blues, we saw a little bit of hockey history with Jessica Campbell becoming the first female coach behind an NHL bench in a regular season game. You know, this is huge for women and girls to see somebody in this kind of position. She is.
I've been so impressed with just her poise in general, and it's just really great to see.
I do think for some of us in the organization, we've been able to talk to Jessica for several years now and see exactly why she earned this opportunity. So we just wanted to give her a shout out there.
It's big, big news nationally, but all of us internally here, we know why we're not surprised to see this. So. And I also wanted to say Alison Lucan wrote a great article on like a behind the scenes of Jessica's day.
She had some teammates there and stuff like that. That is online on the Krakens website. So definitely go read that. I know she was really proud of it and it's a really lovely content there.
Do you have any additional thoughts on that?
Everett Fitzhugh:I mean, I'd only ever known Jessica from a distance before she got the job here, but I had the opportunity to go down to Coachella Valley during their final run and just observing her passion for coaching, right? Like educating and teaching one on one with the guys, you know, and Dan's the same way, right? They come from that same tree.
They genuinely have a passion for coaching and you see that up here in Seattle. It hasn't changed. And the way that she can communicate and relate to guys and she wants to find what makes.
What makes them take it and what makes them get better. I mean, the word that you used was earned. I mean, she earned every bit of this opportunity. But it's been.
It's been so fun and so great to watch the relationships that she's been able to build with these players already.
Again, we're a month in to this season between camp and regular season and to watch the relationship that she's built with these guys and to watch how they respond to her and to watch again, her passion for teaching and coaching has been unbelievable to be a part of, 100%.
Piper Shaw:And so many of the guys who have come up through the Coachella Valley, you know, system up here, like Ty Cartier, he. When we first met him at the NHL level, he credited working with Jessica so much for improving his game and making him the.
I mean, when he first came to Coachella Valley, he wasn't even playing in every game, you know, and then to be an NHL everyday gamer now, you know, two years later, it's just. Just. It's certainly a testament to him and his talent and his incredible work ethic.
But he also really credits the coaching staff there and working with that one on one time with Jessica.
Everett Fitzhugh:And I'm looking forward to seeing like the Logan Morrisons, Ryan Wintertoni Newman's, these guys who are going to be coming right here, even Riker, right.
These guys who were on the way who have played for Jessica over the last couple of years now to see the baseline of development that she left them with down there and then bringing that up to here to see how their game has grown. I'm looking forward to see in that as well.
Grant Beery:Well, I think that's what makes this such a good hire. I, you know, let's.
Beyond the history and everything like that, we have seen the benefits of Coach Campbell's, you know, work down in Coachella Valley with our young players. And now that more of those guys are coming up, I mean, it makes perfect sense for both coach Bylsma and coach Campbell to take that journey as well.
Piper Shaw:For sure.
Moving into our next little news and notes here, we have maybe a little bit of a controversial topic that I don't know that we realized would stir the waters as much as it did.
Grant Beery:Love the pump.
Piper Shaw:Yeah, I don't know if stir the waters is exactly what I was going for, but, you know, it was perfect. We're sailing some rough seas here.
Everett Fitzhugh:Perhaps even stone throw would have so many ripples.
Piper Shaw:Yes, indeed. There is a new item that the player of the game receives postgame after a win in the locker room.
It is a WWE belt selected by Jordan Eberle is what we were told by Coach Bylsma.
We know that there's been a little bit of negative fan reaction because the Davy Jones hat was from the Pirates of the Caribbean, from Jerry Bruckheimer. Very iconic. But we were talking about this, Everett, and I really liked the take that you had on this, so I was hoping you would share that.
Everett Fitzhugh:I mean, I think the hat is unique.
And you can certainly understand the frustrations, you know, and see where, you know, maybe if the fans are upset with, I mean, this is something that, you know, is unique to us. You know, how many teams embraced it.
But I feel like when, when you're changing coaches, you're bringing in new players, I think it's now we're entering the new era, the, the next generation of Kraken hockey. And that's not to say that, you know, you're getting away from your identity, but it's a bit of a refresh, right?
We've had the Davy Jones hat for three years, right?
So many great players have received that hat for playing well, and we've got so many great pictures and videos, and, you know, it's actually been a nice trip down memory lane, looking through Twitter and Instagram on all of the photos. But I think now you bring in the WWE belt, I think it provides you an opportunity to make some new memories.
It provides you an opportunity to start a new tradition. And listen, this is a team driven.
Piper Shaw:This was picked by your new captain.
Everett Fitzhugh:New captain. Right. So I think there's something to be said there about the guys in the room saying, you know what? This isn't a disrespect to the Davy Jones hat.
This isn't a disrespect to the organization. This is just a, hey, you know what? We're changing so many things. New coaching staff, new, new culture, new way. We. New Juju. You know what? What?
Let's try something else. And as a, as a wrestling fan myself, like I've always said, the day, the Kraken win the cup, I would trade my ring for a wrestling belt.
Like, I just like my Stanley Cup championship wrestling belt.
Piper Shaw:I think you can buy this one if you really want.
Everett Fitzhugh:Oh, I know, but I want a real one. I want Triple H to give me all the diamonds.
Piper Shaw:You gotta earn it.
Everett Fitzhugh:You gotta earn it. Yeah, no, I'll go. I'll do a. I'll do a cage match with someone if I can. Yeah, I'll do. I'll do a bump off the top of the cage.
But, no, I do think that it's something that, in time, we're gonna create memories with it. And I think even though the Davy Jones hat was so cool and it was unique, I do think nothing wrong with a bit of a refresh.
Nothing wrong with, you know, the new. New culture, new juju. Like you said, let's try something new.
Piper Shaw:And there's also something to be said about it being player driven. Player driven this is something that, if it's about them choosing who wins it and who gets it, and kind of that little internal kudos.
Yeah, if that's what they want.
Everett Fitzhugh:And if you look, who am I to question you? Look around the league, too. There's so many of these postgame traditions, right?
Piper Shaw:And a lot of them change every year.
Everett Fitzhugh:A lot of them change every year. Or a lot of.
Grant Beery:All the time.
Everett Fitzhugh:All the time. Or you look at a team and you're like, what in the world is that? Like, why is your postgame thing a dryer sheet? Right? Like, who knows? Who knows what?
What the motivation is?
Grant Beery:Suspiciously specific.
Everett Fitzhugh:I don't know. First thing I thought, I have to do laundry. I've been gone for five days. My wife left the. Left the toilet.
Piper Shaw:Remember when I said we might veer into delirium?
Grant Beery:I think we're getting there. Yeah, we're getting there.
Piper Shaw:Captain Eberle, how do you feel about maybe next year?
Everett Fitzhugh:Dry sheet, box of bounty.
Piper Shaw:I bet Stucky could. Equipment manager Stucky could probably hook him.
Grant Beery:Up with how many superstitions exist in sports and especially the NHL. I am not surprised that this has changed over. And I wouldn't be surprised if in a couple of years it's something else.
I will say I've spent some time in the equipment room and I know the hat is safe.
Everett Fitzhugh:Oh, yeah. Oh, it's still here. It's very much.
Grant Beery:It's being cared for. It's put away. And I think I wouldn't be surprised if we see it at some point.
Maybe not in the same capacity as player of the game, but the hat is safe. Don't worry, folks.
Everett Fitzhugh:And if I can say one more thing, this whole hat discussion that is now hat versus.
Piper Shaw:Can't believe we're talking so much about accessories.
Everett Fitzhugh:Is exactly why I love this city. I love this fan base. Like growing up in Detroit, we were hockey town, right? The Red Wings won back to back cups. It didn't matter who you were, right?
Everybody was rallying around this team. And I remember when the Kraken made the playoffs a couple years ago, I remember that same passion that I saw as a kid in the first playoff series.
You now are growing fans. Our fans are paying attention. They're invested. We're no longer a fan base of casual fans. We now have the die hards it used to be.
I'm gonna go to a kraken game because it's the new thing. The rink is new. Yada, yada, yada. But now it's like, I want to go see Matty Veneers. I want to go see Shane Wright. What's going on with this hat?
Wait, wait. Why don't we have the hat anymore? Where's the belt?
Piper Shaw:They care.
Everett Fitzhugh:They care. And honestly, I love it. I absolutely love it that our fans are noticing this and that they are, they are starting to. Not starting to, they have.
But you're seeing this vested interest in this team in a place where they said NHL hockey could never work. And we're proving through this conversation and other things that hockey can work here and people's give a you know what meter is very, very high.
And that's awesome.
Piper Shaw:Very true. Any final thoughts on the controversial hat versus Belle belt?
Grant Beery:I. I'm just happy the hat is safe.
Everett Fitzhugh:Yeah.
Piper Shaw:Yes.
Grant Beery:And I. The belt is a. It's a sharp looking accessory. It's good looking.
Piper Shaw:Yeah. Yeah. I do think, like, I totally understand why people are like, well, it was nice because the hat was, you know, Kraken brand specific.
But again, I think there's nothing wrong with just turning it over and also letting it be being something that's player driven and selected by your captain. And if that's what's going to motivate them to want to be the mvp of the game. Hey, let's go.
Everett Fitzhugh:And you know what? Maybe it'll drive belt sales and we'll have a bunch of folks at Kraken games with WWE belts now, which you.
Piper Shaw:As a WWE fan would love.
Everett Fitzhugh:I'm sure it wouldn't be too fast. I wouldn't be sad about that.
Grant Beery:It's a bit of bias here.
Piper Shaw:I'm saying I did get to attend a WWE event with Fitz and with JT and with our, one of our great videographers, Marcus Allen, who is also a huge WWE fan. And what a treat that was for me. As somebody who's only ever really, like, watched it on tv occasionally, I learned a lot. I saw a lot of passion.
Everett Fitzhugh:Twelve year old Everett was out in full force, let me tell you.
Grant Beery:I had never really watched wrestling growing up, but I attended the WWE event that was here to kind of see what happens behind the scenes because I was like, as the it guy here, I wonder. I was like, well, what's it look like on the other side? Such an elaborate event.
Piper Shaw:What a production.
Grant Beery:There is so much that you don't see on tv that happens in there. I mean, it is. I'm impressed.
Piper Shaw:I was also impressed as somebody who had only ever seen things of it on tv or like on social media. The production, the in arena experience of it. I wasn't quite anticipating sports entertainment.
Everett Fitzhugh:Right. They, that rings true.
Grant Beery:They got it down to a science.
Everett Fitzhugh:They do. Yeah.
Piper Shaw:All right, so we're going to talk about now our actual first four games.
There was so much to just kind of talk about with the beginning of the regular season and stuff, which is great, but we want to dig into these 1st first four games, obviously the St. Louis game, but also the first road trip. So let's start with game one. It was a three two loss to the St. Louis Blues.
What did you see initially, Everett, that you felt like was positive in game one? Like just thinking that first game and then what did you see that you were a little like, hmm, might need to work on that?
Everett Fitzhugh:I thought that the pace and the tempo. Right. I mean, we've talked so much about that. This is going to be a north and south team.
You know, we, we've seen Kraken teams in the past play that collapse, that tight defensive game, which, you know what the old NFL adage, defense wins championships. Right? But chicks dig the long ball, right? Everyone wants to see goals and offense.
So, you know, I do think the pace that this team is starting to play with and getting on the same page, that was the first thing that stuck out to me.
And I remember even though it was scoreless, I looked at Al and I was like, if this is how this team is going to play, like, I am fully on board with everything. So that's what I noticed. They had the two nothing lead and then, you know, there was that lapse, just a quick lap and we've seen that before. Right?
How many times do, do, can we go back to previous coach Dave Hakstol's postgame press conference? And it was like we played 55 of 60 minutes and in that five minutes we lost the game.
And I feel like that was another one of those things where like, hey, you know, we have to clean up those lapses. And it usually it takes five minutes. It takes three minutes for, for sometimes things to go a little wonky and sideways.
So that was the first thing I noticed. But also, again, despite the result, far more positive in that first game than negative.
I thought the way the team played, the way they came out, the, the, you could see it on the ice, you could see it on the bench. It just fell different. The way they were playing.
Piper Shaw:I felt like the Minnesota game, the second game of the season, was almost the, the antidote of that, right? Like that game was the opposite of maybe what we were used to previously of the group just being able to dig in and respond. It was not always pretty.
It was not controlled chaos is what I called it. But there was a competitiveness of, look, we're not going to lose this game. There was, there was that kind of mentality.
You could feel it, I think, on, on the ice there. So let's talk about that game. Five four win. Abs gets the shootout winner.
What did you think about that mentality there and how critical was winning that game like that in the way that they did as the second game kind of to setting the tone?
Everett Fitzhugh:I think it was huge. I mean, you want to get your first one out of the way. You don't want things to spiral.
I look at Nashville now, who's zero three edmonton and won their first game last night, needing overtime to get it done. But you don't want to spiral. Right.
And I think after the way that you played Friday on, on, on Tuesday in the opener Saturday, Saturday in Minnesota was that was the bounce back. Right. You needed a good response and they got that.
And the way that they played again, it wasn't always pretty, but Jordan Eberle getting a pair of goals in that game, guys are going to the net. You, you came back multiple times, three different third period lead changes, I think, exactly in that game. That was a gritty, gutsy road win. Right?
It wasn't pretty. It wasn't. But, but it was exactly what the team needed. They had a great week of practice leading into that game, and they needed a win.
But I think more importantly, they needed a win in that way.
Piper Shaw:Exactly.
Everett Fitzhugh:Because it showed like, hey, guys, we can win ugly games and we can still get our point across. We can still play the way that we want to play. We can rebound and recover from deficits.
We can, we, the sky's not always falling back to McCann, right? The highs are high, but the lows, man, we, we have another. We're down three two. All right, we tied it up. We're down four. We're down four three.
The lows weren't that low, and you were able to bounce back. So to do it in that way, I think that win meant more than if it were like a four one.
Piper Shaw:Exactly.
Everett Fitzhugh:Three one, whatever.
Piper Shaw:And, like, the execution was not always perfect. You know, there was so much that obviously they want, they take away from that game. They're like, we need to address this. We need to clean it up.
Ultimately, all that matters is that you get that extra .2 points and that they are able to find that confidence early. Like, hey, no matter what happens, we actually can win even if we're not playing our best, which is part of the mental game of hockey.
And I found that very encouraging.
Grant Beery:It's. It's what I like to call, and I think a lot of people would call it the same thing, a convincing win.
It's a win that convinces you that these games are not a lost cause, that you can always kind of claw back and it shows that your systems work, that the coaching is doing what it's supposed to and that the players don't ever have to feel defeated in a game. It's. That was a full 60 plus minute effort and they did exactly what they needed to do and got. And got the two points.
Those are the games you look back to when you're like, oh, man, we've had a couple games that we've lost. Like, what do we do? And you think back and you dig back to these kind of memories. So you're right. Needed win.
Everett Fitzhugh:Remember that nine, eight game in LA a couple years ago? Again, it had the same feeling, except with ten more goals. Right. I guess eight more goals in that game.
Grant Beery:That one was a little more chaotic.
Everett Fitzhugh:A little bit more chaotic. Defense is a little bit more optional in that game. So they found a way to get it done.
Grant Beery:Yep.
Piper Shaw:Well, and we talked about in the beginning, captain Jordan Eberle.
Everett Fitzhugh:Big milestone for him.
Piper Shaw:Walking the walk, talking the talk. He called that one a character win. And I wanted to share this quick clip from his thoughts postgame.
Jordan Eberle:Yeah, I mean, they come out, get too early and maybe we battle back. I think we battled. They got the lead three times. We came back all three times. So that's character win. That's.
Those are the kind of wins that kind of build propel season. So I know it's the first one, but that's a big one. Those are always the hardest ones to get. So it was quickly, too. So you gotta kind of focus.
Turn our focus right away tomorrow.
Piper Shaw:All right, let's talk about the next game. Second night of the back to back. Yeah. I don't know.
I feel like we always get stuck with this back to back fits on the road where it's Minnesota, Dallas. I don't know if that's. I don't know for sure, but I think that's like the third time that that back to back has happened.
It's a tough one because it's a long flight and you don't change time zones or anything. And also the. Those two teams historically have been challenging teams for the Kraken to play.
Cause they're just big and physical, and they just play a style of game. So.
Everett Fitzhugh:And they play two different styles of game, too. Right. You're getting one. Minnesota, historically, they just grind you down to a nub and they beat you three two, and they lean on you all the time.
And then you have to fly to Dallas the next day, and you have to deal with Seguin and Benn and Robertson and hints, and they're gonna put up seven goals on you. And then you're like, well, jeez.
Piper Shaw:But they're also physically big.
Everett Fitzhugh:But they're also big. Yeah, exactly.
Piper Shaw:So that was a 20 loss. Just kind of. Your thoughts on that one.
And in particular, I'm curious about, you know, we felt like Grubauer played a very solid game, all things considered. But what were your thoughts on the effort that you saw there?
Everett Fitzhugh:It was a slow start. I mean, in the first back to backs, like back to backs in this league, and say what you want. Oh, you guys are the. On charter planes. You guys are. Yes.
But you're still, you know, it's still not easy to be in the situation.
So that first, back to back being that one I thought was, was you're already starting behind the eight ball and you could tell the team, I don't even want to use the word tired, but they just got off to a very slow start. You know, it wasn't, it wasn't what they were, what we saw in Minnesota.
You know, they, they had all the energy, all the momentum, and then it almost was kind of like a. All right, we got that one out of the way.
And then Dallas coming off of an emotional win in their home opener the night before, they had a big win, convincing three nothing win. They really got after it in the first period. And I thought, all things considered, the first 510 minutes of that first wasn't that bad.
They give up the first goal, the crack, and do. And then it was the 113 seconds later that I think I was going.
Piper Shaw:To say, I don't even think the whole game was really that bad. It was, it. It was 14 seconds and they give up, too. But I really did think that they, they battled.
It wasn't the same level, maybe, that we saw in the Minnesota game.
Everett Fitzhugh:That's fair.
But as the game went on, I thought, you look at the second period, probably up until the Nashville game, maybe the second period, you could argue, was one of their best periods of the season at that time. Then you go into the third period. Groupauer stops two massive breakaways to keep the game within reach.
You have the power play where Jared McCann, I think, wide open net. The smith was.
Piper Shaw:Matty had a great chance.
Everett Fitzhugh:Matty had a great chance. I mean, you were getting chances and it just, it felt too little, too late.
And it was one of those games where if it was a 22 minutes period or a 23 minutes period, you have to imagine Seattle was going to break through because I felt like at the end of that game, they were right there, but they just could not overcome that slow start to the hockey game.
Piper Shaw:Well, and Dallas is a great team.
Everett Fitzhugh:And they're a great team.
Piper Shaw:They're a great team that can't be understated.
Grant Beery:That's the context for me. When you look at a team that's 40 right now, they have five goals against while scoring twelve on their own.
Like, they're really good right now and they're hot. And so for Seattle to only give up two goals in that situation, in.
Piper Shaw:A game, 14 seconds, also in.
Grant Beery:Yeah, in 14 seconds. But also, you know, you, you factor in coming directly from Minnesota. That's not a loss that bothers me.
I think it's a loss that you're, you almost like, look at the schedule and go, yeah, that one. That one. That one we might want to think about. This is going to be a loss.
Everett Fitzhugh:And you'll never, you'll never hear anyone admit this in the NHL. But there are guys do, coaches, players, teams do have what they call scheduled losses. Right?
Like you look ahead and you're like, all right, these are games we should win given the situation. Yeah. Toss up, flip a coin. Right? There are, and again, no one's gonna ever admit this, but we can talk about it.
I can talk about it, but there are those things called scheduled losses, which, as long as you play well, you know, the situation going in. You have a feeling, right?
Grant Beery:Yeah.
Everett Fitzhugh:So.
Grant Beery:Yep.
Piper Shaw:I also just, I blame JT personally because he went on the pre game show and he said, oh, he was talking about how hard this particular back to back is, Minnesota to Dallas. And he was sharing the player perspective.
Grant Beery:Well.
Piper Shaw:And then he goes, well, and that's assuming that, you know, you don't go to overtime. That's assuming you don't go to the shootout. He said that in the pre game show. And the second that he said that, I was like, why would you say that?
Do nuts do not curse us by going to the shootouts in the night before. And what happened? We went to overtime. We went to the shootout. At least we won. But that just delays us getting out even longer.
Everett Fitzhugh:I just enjoy blaming JT. For this.
Piper Shaw:I agree.
Everett Fitzhugh:Right. It's just, you know, he's not here to defend.
Piper Shaw:Perfect.
Everett Fitzhugh:Scapegoat. Oh, say no. His ears are burning.
Grant Beery:We'll call those JT losses from that one. So.
Piper Shaw:All right.
And then, of course, we got to talk about the last game of the road trip, you know, heading into this one, Jaden Schwartz said, and Yanni Gore told me they were like, we expect the predators to be playing some desperate hockey because they had yet to win a game. As of recording this, they have still yet to win a game. And they made some moves in the offseason. I mean, they brought.
Nobody just brings in Steven Stamkos because they. For fun, you know what I mean? Clearly, clearly, like they want to win.
They have that desperation, that, that expectation, and they played a good hockey game for sure. They did not, they, they were not weak. They did not just lay down and give up by any means. So how does that make this win?
Scoring seven goals, Larson hitting the empty net, of course, things we love to see. But how, how does that make this that much more kind of energizing for the group?
Everett Fitzhugh:I think. I think when you score that many goals, you know, last year the Kraken, through four games had three goals.
Now they're up to:You're trying to get the offense going the way that Dan wants to play is that fast Pacey north and South game. Well, you had that right. You had the back and forth that we saw in Minnesota. We had the bounce back. We had the dig in grittiness.
But then you go in the third period and you capitalize on national breakdowns and you get your two on ones. I think I counted five. Two ones.
Piper Shaw:There was a four on the transition game.
Everett Fitzhugh:The transition game. Sharp, phenomenal. Right? So that's what stood out to me, is the fact that they were able to enforce what they wanted to do, seemingly at will.
The Kraken have put up seven goals in that building now, twice. And in their six wins against Nashville, they've scored 31 goals.
So for whatever reason, something about Nashville just seems to bring out the best in the Kraken. But you're right.
Like Nashville, they went for it this year and they're trying to get you add Stamcos and Marshall or so who were the man on their other team. You bring them now here to Nashville where they have to, you know, share the. The role with Philip Forsberg and Roman Yossi and.
And they were, quote unquote, the man when they were here. So now they're trying to. To find what gels their window probably is three, four years. Same thing with Dallas.
Dallas has been to three of the last five Western Conference finals. They have to win a cup here soon because I don't know how much longer they can keep all of that core. They already lost their bowski. Right.
So, you know, it's a desperate team. And I think the Kraken capitalized on that. Jaden Schwartz was right. He knew they were going to come out hard. They executed the game plan.
Another two goal lead, which we had to talk about those, you know, let's tighten up the play when you're up by two, but ultimately you. You score seven. Right. It doesn't matter how you play. Your offense showed up in a big way that game, and that's.
I think that's going to be the number one thing. Four games into the year, you scored seven goals. And now can you carry that momentum coming back home for five?
Grant Beery:Right. It's almost convincing in another way.
Cause you can say, we know we can score seven goals now, and this is against a team that, yeah, they don't look great right now, but, I.
Everett Fitzhugh:Mean, they're not all in three team. On paper.
Piper Shaw:On paper, yeah, exactly.
Everett Fitzhugh:Exactly.
Grant Beery:They're a team that you would. You would kind of say, all right, guys, we really need to think about things. We need to be disciplined during this game.
But you saw the opposite in the sense that the Kraken were capitalizing on every little thing that Nashville did wrong. And that is exactly the mindset you should have going into a game like this is find the mistakes.
Cause that's the only way you're gonna be to team with Forsberg, O'Reilly, Marshall.
Piper Shaw:And that is a lot of the times, the difference, too, between a team that makes the playoffs and, you know, makes it through the playoffs and moves on through the playoffs.
And a team that doesn't is every team, especially when you get later and later into the season, like every team in the National Hockey League, is full of professional hockey players, the best at this sport in the world.
So it's, part of it is being able to find that leverage in those little pressure points and being able to deliver anytime that you can get those little. Those little mistakes.
Everett Fitzhugh:Yeah. And we've seen that in the past. Right? Last year. How many of the losses for the Kraken last season?
We look back and it's like Manda, man, one bad pinch here, one bad misplay there. Bam, bam. Back of your neck. Crack and lose three, two. Right.
It takes one or two mistakes and a team of stamkos and Marcheseaux or McDavid and dryside, that's a team that'll make you pay. Robertson and hints. Those types of teams. Caprisov, caprizo. Yeah.
Grant Beery:Name the whole roster.
Piper Shaw:Every single team has at least two guys that can make you pay when you cop up a pocket or make a mistake.
Grant Beery:So to answer your question, we have 14 goals, which puts us in the top ten of the league right now. We are tied with Pittsburgh. Boston and New York. Each have 15. Calgary is obviously doing well with their 19. So I mean, we're in good company.
So Utah, 16. They're doing well for first time team, if you want to call or not.
Everett Fitzhugh:First time, they're not up there. They're happy to be on solid footing. And I think again, I go back to the joey decor thing, right?
Like Arizona, now Utah, they know where their next, you know, they know where they're going to be. They can now just go out and focus. The community is out to support them.
I remember last season when we played Arizona, I left my song like, this is a good team. They had a ten game skid and an eight game skid. They lost 18 of 22 at one point. They should have been a playoff team, obviously, if not for.
For those stretches. But I. This is a good Utah team.
And now that they're on that stable footing, we're going to see what I thought we should have seen in Arizona for the last three, four years.
Grant Beery:Well, unless you're sitting in the obstructed view.
Everett Fitzhugh:Yes. Then you're going to see 75% of what. Yeah.
Piper Shaw:Okay. I want to get back to this Nashville game really quick.
One of the things that coach Bylsman and his staff have been very open about is that they're going to be trying different combinations. All through the beginning of the season.
We've seen a little bit of shuffling on the defense pairs like in game as well as when Vince was out for the Dallas game. Different kind of line combinations, but in Nashville, and this could change after, you know, we're just.
We're recording the day after this Nashville game.
Everett Fitzhugh:Right.
Piper Shaw:So we may see evolutions as you are listening to this, but Stevenson Schwartz and Bjork Strand were put on a line very little time to like work together or practice together much and immediately connect for two. They looked very good. Just kind of your thoughts on what you saw from that trio, just yelling right away.
Everett Fitzhugh:I mean, that lines got a bit of everything, right. You've got hard work.
You've got, you know, a player in shorts who we saw especially latter half of last year, going to the net more, driving the net more. You've got Bjork Strand who can create. You've got Stevenson, one of the best two way players. Great skater, good puck handler as well.
Plus Stevenson and Schwartz have that pre existing relationship, you know, from, from before they were here. But I always, I consider these first couple weeks of the season like an extended training camp.
You know, you're still twit, you know, tweaking and fiddling and things like that. I would love to see Dan keep this line together.
I was very impressed how they played last night and just the way they were able to capitalize on the mistakes. Number one, I go back to the Schwartz goal. I mean, he had me fooled.
I thought he was going to give that puck across and then, you know, sorrows bit was frozen and then he just popped it right in.
Piper Shaw:So I like the sound effects that you bring for podcast.
Grant Beery:What am I here for?
Everett Fitzhugh:So, you know, I love the way that that line played. But also, too, it was so subtle, like they didn't do anything too flashy. Right? It wasn't. They didn't, they didn't wow you.
Piper Shaw:They went out and they executed and.
Everett Fitzhugh:They did everything darn near perfect. And I thought that's, that's what stood.
Piper Shaw:Out to me ahead of that game. That was kind of the word of the day. I said it in our broadcast open, was everyone was just saying, execution, execution.
Cause that's kind of what was missing in Minnesota, right? They had the grit, they had the competitiveness. They were able to dig in. But it wasn't the best executed from like a tic tac toe kind of perspective.
Grant Beery:Sure.
Piper Shaw:The Nashville game, you could tell that that was the point of emphasis, was keeping it simple and executing. And it was nice to see that aspect of using that to help them win as well.
Everett Fitzhugh:And I asked, I asked Dan about that and, you know, everyone wants to, everyone thinks execution is about scoring goals, right? Oh, you want to execute and score? Score well, no, it's your breakouts, right? It's your zone exits. It's your transition game.
Executing those parts of your game so that you can be in a position to score and to put seven up on the board. Right. So, you know, you can't. It's 95 five. You can't have the five, which is scoring without the 95, which is everything that leads up to it.
Piper Shaw:Yeah.
Grant Beery:It's so frustrating to see a bad breakout, too. I think as I'm watching a game, a bad breakout annoys me more than anything else.
Piper Shaw:You and my husband both. And Eddie. I feel like Eddie, Eddie has mentioned it. So on the broadcast, he's always watching the neutral zone, as he should, as he does.
So with that being said, I also caught up with Jaden Schwartz after the game, and I just thought he had some really great comments about kind of what that win in Nashville can do for the confidence. And I liked his.
His tone because it wasn't about, as we discussed earlier, being too high when you win, even when you win big or being too low when you lose. So I just wanted to share a moment from Jaden Schwartz.
Jaden Schwartz:Yeah, I mean, that was. That was a big win.
You know, throughout this road trip, there's been momentum swings and I thought we've done a pretty good job of staying with it, you know, having our pushes and, you know, different guys stepping up and, you know, it's little things. I think it's like block shots, you know, doing the right things with the puck, playing hard, you know, in front of both nets.
So we want to end this road trip, you know, off on the right way. Two and one and again, some tough teams and some hard buildings to play in. So I thought we all did a good job today.
Piper Shaw:All right, thank you, Jayden, very much. Very, very, very great insight from him. We're going to transition into our next segment, which is what I'm calling for now. Community compass.
We wanted to share a little bit about some of the work that the Kraken organization is doing away from the hockey side of the game. There is so much more to our team, like we talked about at the beginning of the podcast, than just the hockey on the ice.
That's, of course, the focus. But we had here at KCI, a girls only try hockey for free event.
This was the second weekend in October, so the Kraken hosted this annual girls only try hockey free event. It's in line with USA hockey and IIHF's world girls hockey weekend. 49 girls came here to try hockey for the first time. I.
Grant Beery:That's.
Everett Fitzhugh:That's amazing,
Piper Shaw:That's so awesome. So we just wanted to shout that out. And then there is registration open for our next try hockey for free event, which is co ed, so anyone can go.
And that is on November 2. So if you're listening to this, if you have a kiddo or someone in your life who wants to try hockey? Come on down to KCI.
Grant Beery:Go to krakencommunityiceplex.com They'll have more info and ways for you to register as well.
Everett Fitzhugh:Not surprising and definitely welcome and needed.
But women, young girls, are the fastest growing demographic in hockey as it relates to participation, as it relates to fan engagement and all of that. So.
Piper Shaw:And coaching.
Everett Fitzhugh:And coaching. Hey, hey, hey, Jess. Shout out Jess Campbell. So, yeah, I mean, that. That it. I mean, that. That's so amazing. That's awesome.
Piper Shaw:So another program that's awesome. That is happening in case I, which I learned has been happening in the past, but we just haven't promoted it a ton.
So I just wanted to shine a little bit of light on it because I want to make sure that people know that this is something that is available to you. KCI offers a sensory skate. The next one is on October 20, but just look out. Like Grant mentioned earlier on KCI website, it's a pretty cool program.
It basically, it's a skate that's targeted towards neurodiverse individuals. It features limited attendance, some softened lighting, minimum noise levels. So it's just a little bit less stimulating.
One of the great things about hockey is that it's very stimulating, but sometimes it's a little overstimulating. It is loud and it's bright and it's cold and there's a lot happening.
So this is a great opportunity if you are somebody or if you have someone in your life who's more sensitive to any of those things. It's a sensory skate. So I think that's really nice. So the registration for it, I was told, also costs a little bit less than a regular public skate.
So next one is October 20, but there are more as well. Good stuff there. But Fitz, I just wanted to ask you, we talked a little bit about earlier the accessibility of hockey and some of those things.
Why do you think it's important for us to continue supporting programs like these?
Everett Fitzhugh:Well, hockey wouldn't be for everyone if it's not truly for everyone. Right. It doesn't matter. I mean, what, what limitations, whether that, whether they be neurologically or physically, you have.
I mean, we want as many people taking in this game as possible. And I think the sensory friendly aspects, that is, it's an area that is never talked enough about.
I remember when I was in Cincinnati and we did some research. I think we think we were the first pro team in North America to have a sensory friendly game. We had no pregame music. We didn't use the goalhorn.
We kept the light on. We kept the, you know, the PA was lowered. We had sensory bags, which you can get at climate pledge arena for Kraken games.
You can get sensory bags, fidget toys, headphones, cards that have feelings on them. So you can, you know, anything that we. You need to help you get through an event, a concert or game or whatever. Whatever. And I learned so much.
We worked with a different. With some specialists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital to talk about ways that we could help and be more aiding in that area.
And I think to see it done here, it's so underrated and under thought about. But when you think about, just like you said, piper, all the stuff, just.
Piper Shaw:Noise, it is a very stimulating activity.
Everett Fitzhugh:And even for me, right. Like, we're for adults, like, you know, we're up in the press box, you're on ice level calling the gains. But there are times when I.
We go to break and I'm like, well, I gotta sit down because it can get a bit much.
Piper Shaw:So I totally agree.
Everett Fitzhugh:It's very important, because I think as we.
As we continue as a sport, to welcome and open our doors to as many people as we can, we need to make sure that we leave no stone unturned, no matter how small that stone may be, how big that stone may be. Right. If you want to be a part of this game, if you want to be a part of this community, you're welcome. You're needed. You are allowed.
You deserve to be here. And it's up to us, not up to you. It's up to us to make sure that we make you feel as comfortable and as accepted as possible.
And we talk about getting to that goal, right. The pinnacle hockey being for everyone. And we genuinely, as an organization, mean everyone.
Piper Shaw:And I also think that's why, like, the tri hockey for free events are so awesome, too, because they're.
I remember when I was a kid growing up, I had friends who played hockey, and I had friends who couldn't afford to play hockey because it is a very expensive state.
Even in the state of Minnesota, where ice time is not as much at a premium as it is in so many other places, it's still a very expensive sport, especially if you're just a kid who just wants to try it. Like, you know, if you don't necessarily, if you've never been on skates before, maybe, you know, you just want to try it.
So I love that we are very proactive about creating those opportunities as well. And great that, you know, the girls only try hockey for free. Awesome as well.
It's nice to just kind of create a little bit more of a comfortable space to just dip your toe in. Dip your toe in, you know?
Grant Beery:Absolutely.
Piper Shaw:Hockey is for everyone, people. All right, well, Fitz...
Everett Fitzhugh:Yes, ma'am.
Piper Shaw:It was an absolute pleasure.
Everett Fitzhugh:This was fun.
Piper Shaw:This was fun to have you.
Everett Fitzhugh:Thank you for having me.
Piper Shaw:Do you have any final thoughts at all? Anything that you want to leave the audience with?
Everett Fitzhugh:Anything I want to leave the audience with. You know, I think last year, going into the start of last season, we were on this high of making the playoffs and having house money. Right?
We made it. We were able to get there. We weren't expected. We did not. We defied all the doubters and whatever.
I'm getting the same sense going into this season, but what's different is, I think, the commitment to wanting to get back there, the dedication and the change of that culture, and it's so fun. And, you know, we've got five games coming up on a homestand this year. Our schedule is kind of blocked off.
Like, we play five at home, four on the road, four at home, three on the road, five and five. So, you know, we're going to be gone for a week at a time, and then we come home for two weeks and, like, come out, watch this team.
It's going to be exciting. You and John and JT and Eddie and Allison and Ian. The Kraken Hockey Network, I mean, is gotten rave reviews.
Radio side, we're up to 26 affiliates, you know, the third largest radio affiliate network in the NHL already, and we're in year four, so there's no excuse to not take in this team and to see this team and experience.
Piper Shaw:We're on the podcast. Come on. Every two weeks.
Everett Fitzhugh:Yes, two weeks now. Like, just. I mean, get out. Come watch this team. Come support this team. Continue to follow this team. The belt.
I promise you guys, you're gonna fall in love with it. The hat is safe. Thanks for telling us that, Grant. And stay tuned for Dan Biles. My stories, too, right?
Like, Dan is a great personality and it's so fun. Like, the vibes are high and I just feel so good. A month into this season, you know, I'm excited. I'm just ready to continue this ride.
Piper Shaw:I totally agree, Everett. Thank you very much. It's always a pleasure to be able to indulge in the energy that you bring. It's very enveloping. It's like a warm hug of energy.
Everett Fitzhugh:And I can tell you what anyone who knows me knows. I'm not putting on this show for the microphone. Like, once we shut this thing off, I'm going to be the exact same person I'm with right now, so.
Grant Beery:Well, I thank you for keeping it to one episode's worth of talk this time.
Everett Fitzhugh:Well, that's because Piper kept us on. On time.
Grant Beery:Me and.
Everett Fitzhugh:Me and Nikki O and you. We just like, yo, you know, time be damned. We just kept on going.
Grant Beery:So, I mean.
Piper Shaw:Well, Grant has a doctor's appointment. He said that he's got a heart.
Everett Fitzhugh:Out so hard out in 45 minutes. So I'm just gonna filibuster here. So I was able to clean up after this. Well, thanks, guys.
Piper Shaw:Folks, I wanted to leave you all with a little Kraken story from over the summer. I've been sharing little nuggets on the broadcast here and there where we can squeeze them in.
But when we did media day interviews in September, I asked Jared McCann about his wedding to his longtime girlfriend, Valerie. Back in July in Toronto, Jordan Eberle was in the wedding party alongside former Kraken Ryan Donato as well.
Everett Fitzhugh:Ripi. Miss him.
Piper Shaw:Love him. Love him. Hope you're doing well out there, Ryan.
Everett Fitzhugh:I'm doing well, Ryan.
Piper Shaw:And talking about Jared's big day with him led us to this little story about Andrey Burakhovsky, who, funny enough, when I was sharing it on the broadcast, I described him as elusive but compassionate. And Brandon Montour was standing right next to me as I was delivering this report. But off camera the second I was done talking.
He's, like, elusive but compassionate. Audrey Burakovsky, because he didn't have the context, because he hadn't heard the story. So he's like, what you possibly be talking about?
Well, this is the story of Andre showing up to Jared's wedding, which apparently there was a big question mark. So enjoy this perspective from Jared, Jordan and Andre.
Jared McCann:It was good. It was good. It was really good. Obviously, I had some guys from the team come and Berkey made his way over from Sweden, which is.
We didn't expect him to show, but he made it, and it was a good night for everybody.
Piper Shaw:Wait, did you actually not expect him to show up, like, you really didn't know till the day of?
Jared McCann:No, we thought he was gonna bail or something like that last minute. But, you know, he made it, so, you know, kudos to him.
Scott Malone:I know Jared said he wasn't sure. If Berky was gonna show up to the wedding. Was there ever any doubt in your mind?
Jared McCann:No. Berky is one of the most compassionate teammates I've ever had, really, to come all the way from Sweden to go to a wedding is pretty impressive.
So, you know, he tends to, you know, he's kind of the jokester in the locker room. He makes you laugh.
Piper Shaw:We had Jordan Eberle come in on Monday to do this, and he said that you were the most compassionate teammate that he has had, which we felt like that was really high praise. What does that mean to you to hear that?
Andre Burakovsky:Well, hearing. Hearing it from a guydeh Jordan, who's been around and such a veteran leader and a leader on this team, it's an honor.
Piper Shaw:And Jared told us that one of the highlights of his wedding was that you showed up. What was the story behind that? Did you have travel issues or. No.
Andre Burakovsky:I mean, it's just a long flight before we go to a wedding, but both me and my fiance, Joanna, we really like Jared and Val, and we felt like we want to be there and support their wedding and be a part of it.
Grant Beery:Signals from the Deep is the official podcast of the Seattle Kraken and a proud part of the Kraken Hockey Network, hosted by Piper Shaw and produced by me, Grant Beery. Music by Benny Drawbars. Have a question for us?
-: Everett Fitzhugh:Pew. Pew. Pew. Pew.
Piper Shaw:Pew. Pew.
