Kraken Not Ready For Prime Time Franchise
ESPN’s 1st round draft coverage in Buffalo Friday night gave the Seattle Kraken the Jason Robertson treatment – which is to say, the brush-off.
Most top-10 picks were announced by a celebrity associated with the city. (Admittedly, this was probably each team’s choice.) Last year, filmmaker and Kraken investor Jerry Bruckheimer made their 1st round pick. This year, no celebrity; just commissioner Gary Bettman saying the name “Chase Reid.”
Would Macklemore have threatened Justin Bieber, who was trotted out to make the Toronto Maple Leafs pick? Would Marshawn Lynch have intimidated Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins, who made the hometown Sabres selection? Did Melinda French Gates have a prior commitment?
The executives of most teams were shown via remote cameras in their draft headquarters back home. Not Kraken general manager Jason Botterill & Co. Fans of several teams were shown at hometown watch parties. Not Kraken fans at 32 Bar & Grill inside Kraken Community Iceplex.
Right after their selection, most picks were ushered to a homey-looking couch set for a brief interview. The set was adorned with CGI bookcase, logs burning in the fireplace, and photos of the player on the mantle in the background. Not Kraken pick Reid, who was news because he was widely expected to be long off the board by then.
(Why even a faux fire was lit in late June is another mystery. Even in Upstate New York, the evening temperature was in the mid-60s.)
Network Chose Calder Trophy Winner Over Kraken Pick
The lack of coverage probably wasn’t anti-Kraken bias. The network gave Seattle an A- grade for their draft haul. Closer to flawed judgement.
ESPN decided rather than feature any video from Seattle, or the “fireplace” interview on stage with Reid, they would spend that time speaking with last year’s number one overall pick, Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders. Maybe no one told Schaefer that he didn’t have to show up to the Draft to be selected every year?
Then it was hurry up and preview the Winnipeg Jets, choosing #8. I mean, you could see Reid in the background on a video screen being interviewed, but that’s all.
Kraken Get Better Treatment on Canadian TV
The interview was shown on Sportnet’s coverage in Canada, conducted by Ailish Forfar. Here’s the exchange only available on TV north of the border, and to spectators at KeyBank Center – including the 60-strong contingent of family and friends who loudly cheered when Chase got selected.
Forfar: “You told me at the combine you couldn’t wait to hug your family when you got drafted.”
Reid: “Being able to share this moment with them means the world. Especially everyone that’s here in the crowd, I love you all, and I couldn’t be more grateful for all of you.”
Forfar: “You’ve had a resilient story to get to this point. You didn’t think you’d be a top-10 pick, and you are. Tell us about the path to being a Seattle Kraken.”
(For context, from our draft day story: “Just two years ago, Reid could hardly have dreamed he’d hear his name called at the top of an NHL Draft. “His confidence took a hit to start the 2024-25 season,” reports Sportsnet.ca, “when he was cut from the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks, and instead landed in Bismarck with the tier-two NAHL’s Bobcats. There, he toiled as a No. 4 defenceman.”)
Reid: “Obviously, I’ve had a long and hard path, but I couldn’t have asked for it any other way. It taught me a lot in life and in hockey, and I couldn’t have done it without the support system I have.”
(Editor’s Note: Matthew Schaefer was a special correspondent for Sportsnet, joining the hosts on the desk for a stint and then conducting interviews with draftees downstairs.)
Earlier Kraken:
— Kraken Resolve To Take Their Best Shot In 2026-’27
