Canucks laptop: fledgling I-5 rivalry could be heading outdoors

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The Seattle Kraken expansion could host an NHL outdoor game very soon.

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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman suggested the possibility during a roundtable event in Seattle on Friday, the day before the Kraken play their first home game against the Vancouver Canucks.

Those same Canucks would be an obvious opponent. And the Canucks, without question, are eager to be invited to play.

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“We haven’t had any formal conversations, but we would be excited about the potential of playing an outdoor game in Seattle one day as we build this rivalry. I think it will attract a lot of interest and could be great for both Canucks and Kraken fans and teams, ”said Michael Doyle, president of business operations for Canucks Sports and Entertainment in an email.

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Both Lumen Field, home of the Seahawks and Sounders, and the Mariners’ T-Mobile Park are obvious candidates to host an outdoor game, although Husky Stadium could also be an option.

T-Mobile’s retractable roof would be especially attractive, since rain and outdoor ice rinks are not a good combination.

“It’s amazing to be at Lumen Field or T-Mobile. Seattle has so much surplus funds to host an outdoor game, ”said Vancouver sports marketing analyst Tom Mayenknecht, director of Emblematica Brand Builders.

Finally came the day

Brad Carmichael was born and raised in Nanaimo, but has made his home in the US for 14 years, first in New York City, now in Seattle. An avid sports fan, he and his wife Lauren have two daughters.

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“For me, being a fan of hockey, beyond the enjoyment and excitement of the sport, has always been associated with my Canadian identity, my Canadian pride, my family and my Canadian community,” Carmichael said.

So being in a city that didn’t have an NHL team felt limiting.

“Especially to raise two ‘half Canadian’ young children where even the Canadian part of identity is a bit fuzzy,” he continued.

But last week, the Kraken hosted a fan event at its new practice facility. Carmichael took his daughter Renee skating and then they saw the Kraken play … on a television on the premises.

“That helped make the hockey fanaticism tangible for her,” Carmichael said. “And more connected to our community and neighborhood here in Seattle. At the same time, it helped her see her Canadian identity in less abstract terms, less removed from everyday life. “

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Carmichael always considered himself a Canucks fan, even when he lived in the Big Apple, his wife’s hometown, but with the Kraken finally here, his loyalties are changing.

“Cheering on the new team in Seattle is a no-brainer,” he said. “It is an acknowledgment that this is my home now. I feel a lot like my father must have felt in 1970 when the Maple Leafs were no longer his number one team. You wouldn’t have to ask him today how he felt about that choice, as he always wears a Canucks hat. “

His father, he said, understands.

“It’s not like I moved to Calgary,” he joked. “My brother moved there and of course he and his kids are still Canucks fans. But for me, there is no shortage of kindly squeaks now, that’s for sure. “

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Tim Pipes, owner of the Angry Beaver bar in Seattle, threw a viewing party in the summer for the expansion draft. The place was packed.

They packed the house again last week for the Kraken’s inaugural game in Las Vegas.

“It has already been incredibly exciting. Even preseason. The first game of the regular season and we were full, ”Pipes said Friday. “I think this first home game is really exciting for the city, but the fans have already gotten their feet wet with professional hockey in Seattle. It should be exciting there on the Climate Pledge. I look forward to another busy night. “

What is that rivalry?

On Saturday, Vancouver hockey fan Orion Hunt-Waldman says he plans to make pulled pork.

“In honor of the war of the pigs,” he explained, referring to the 1859 border dispute between the United States and the United Kingdom that began with the shooting of a pig on the island of San Juan – the countries were disputing their sovereignty – and it almost became an armada. conflict.

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The War of the Pigs, he suggested, would also be a fun name for the Kraken / Canucks rivalry, assuming it becomes one.

An unscientific Twitter poll conducted came up with a number of suggestions:

• Squid Games, after the hit Netflix show, was a very popular suggestion.

• The Juan de Fuca fight

• The feeding frenzy

• The Rainboot Rivalry

• The Ferrytale

• SeaQuest

• The Classi5co or the I-5alry

• Clashcadia

• Crispy knuckles

• Splashes

• And various “let’s wait until there’s a playoff series” suggestions.

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