Palm Springs area hockey team in ANHL will affect NHL’s Seattle Kraken
An American Hockey League team could play in Coachella Valley next year, and the organization’s front office managers see this team as the “bloodline” and “foundation” for Seattle’s new NHL franchise.
The Seattle Kraken will play as the NHL expansion team in October. You will play at the Climate Pledge Arena, formerly Key Arena, in downtown Seattle. The original building was five decades old and housed the NBA’s Supersonics.
Oak View Group, a Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment company, which intends to develop a US $ 250 million arena on 43.35 acres adjoining the Classic Club golf course north of Interstate 10 in Palm Desert – Building dollars has spent more than $ 900 million to fully rebuild the Seattle Arena where the Kraken will play.
The Coachella Valley Arena project will be submitted to the board of directors for approval in April, Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said in February. OVG assumes that the groundbreaking and construction will take 17 months in May.
Provided the project is approved by the county, Kraken’s AHL subsidiary will play in the Coachella Valley arena from October 2022, which has 9,918 seats for 38 home games.
Similar to major league baseball, where every big league organization has minor league members who develop players for the pros, hockey prospects within the Kraken organization are designed or signed or traded and likely to begin by the NHL club her career in the Coachella Valley.
It will be an opportunity for those in the desert to watch the stars of tomorrow before they make it to the NHL. It will also be the training and development ground for the entire franchise.
How successful the organization is in the Coachella Valley, according to Ricky Olczyk, Kraken’s deputy general manager, will likely determine how successful the Seattle parenting club is, where the Kraken will track the Stanley Cup annually.
“Palm Springs will be an important part of this success for us in Seattle,” said Olczyk.
Editor’s Note: The Desert Sun is partnering with Oak View Group on an informative series of webinars entitled “Valley Arena Project”. The Arena series will focus on various aspects of the new sports and entertainment facility, which will begin construction pending approval by Riverside County in the spring, including the design, construction, and the various sports and music tenants.
Check out Part Four on Monday on desertsun.com with Andrew John of The Desert Sun, who is interviewing NHL Front Office executives for the NHL Kraken, to see what they have to say about hockey in Coachella Valley.
Team name, mascot, colors and branding are expected to appear this summer
Olczyk said there is already a lot going on in both the AHL and the NHL when a team comes to the Coachella Valley. He said he heard from agents, team leaders and others that he was visiting the Palm Springs area and how big it could be for both leagues.
“A lot of teams are excited,” said Olczyk. “A lot of different agents talk about players they may eventually have available and college free agents.
“There’s a buzz.”
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Nick Forro, senior vice president of the Kraken and team president of the AHL team that would play in the Coachella Valley, said more than 2,000 deposits were made for season tickets.
Tim Leiweke, OVG’s chief executive officer, said the response has been so encouraging that he expects at least 5,000 season ticket holders to begin the game. That would be most of the season ticket holders in the AHL.
“I think this team will be an overwhelming success,” said Leiweke of Coachella Valley’s proposed AHL team.
Forro said the question he will be asked the most about the AHL team will be the name. He said people want to know the name, colors, mascot, and everything about the branding.
Forro assures that this information will come soon. He said it will likely come in pieces, likely a series of announcements, right after OVG laid the groundwork for the new arena in the valley.
“It’s not just the name, it’s the brand,” said Forro. “There is a lot behind it. We want to make sure that all nine cities (in the valley) can be very proud of it. “
Leiweke said last month that OVG plans to have a team store, possibly in downtown Palm Springs or on El Paseo in Palm Desert, soon after a team name and branding was announced.
“This year is big for us,” said Forro. “The groundbreaking in the arena will be super exciting, the team brand, the team name. Hopefully this year we’ll put a name in the arena and have a naming rights partner.
“There will be a lot to celebrate and we will do it together.”
When can the AHL team play in the Coachella Valley?
The AHL subsidiary in the Coachella Valley is expected to start the game in October 2022 for the 2022-23 season, provided the arena is completed on time. OVG made sure that all arena plans are made in advance to allow for expedited construction.
The NHL will hold its amateur draft from July 23-24, 2021. Some of these players will play in the NHL in the 2021-22 season. Many more of these drafted players will return to smaller leagues in Canada, Europe or the United States for the next year before reaching the Coachella Valley in October 2022 to begin their journey towards what will hopefully be a long career in the NHL.
An NHL team can have the drafting rights of an unsigned player for two years.
Many of the players who are signed and eventually find their way to Palm Springs will begin their journey towards the NHL.
Other players who have played in the NHL are likely to see action in the proposed Coachella Valley arena as well. Players are sometimes eliminated from the Kraken line-up due to injury or depending on the Kraken’s roster requirements during a certain route.
Building a fan base in the Coachella Valley
Forro said he doesn’t think there is a better market for an AHL team than the Coachella Valley. He pointed out the need for year-round professional sport in a region used to high-level entertainment and the passionate ice hockey fans who already live in the region.
Of course, some of them live in the valley seasonally. Many are from the Pacific Northwest, Canada, or the Midwest, where hockey is very popular.
Scott White, the chief executive officer of the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau, said his company is already doing significant marketing in these areas and that having a pro hockey team in the valley is another selling point for the region.
“These regions love hockey and the arena will give us another visitor experience that we can promote,” said White.
Forro said the Kraken organization aims to attract “anyone and everyone,” and that includes inexperienced ice hockey fans and those who have never seen a live game.
“We couldn’t be more excited, we really couldn’t,” said Forro. “It’s going to be quality hockey, quality entertainment, and with Ricky and his group we want to be competitive and win some games.”
Forro pointed out that having the AHL team down in the valley is part of a master plan to help build the Kraken’s profile within the NHL.
Forro added that the Kraken aims to attract the best talent and grow into a top-notch organization from top to bottom. Having a team and rising stars in a premier vacation destination like Coachella Valley in a brand new facility is one way that Kraken executives have come to expect to achieve this.
“We are looking for this community to support this team and to really help us make great strides in the years to come,” said Forro.
Andrew John reports on sports for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Find him on Twitter: @Andrew_L_John. Email to [email protected].