Hey you. You’re swept up in all this Seattle Kraken hype. You want to know more about hockey but don’t know where to start. Well, we want to help make these games easy and fun for you to watch.

Throughout the season, we’ll release Landlubber’s Guides designed with the new fan in mind. This includes basic need-to-know info for you to absorb before you watch Kraken games and highlights.

Let’s dive in to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Are they any good?

Your guess is as good as mine. They’ve had a lot of turnover in the offseason so who knows how the new arrivals will perform. The Flyers have been in a rebuild phase over the last few seasons, and they haven’t really had a breakout success yet. We’ll see what happens this year.

Who should I look out for?

• Travis Konecny (Right Wing, #11) - Sure, there are players that are “more talented” but Konecny brings “little dog energy” to the Flyers bench. Mostly because he doesn’t shut up. This professional chirper has the skills to back up his trash talk too. He’s fast and dynamic on the ice. Overall, a very fun player.

• Oskar Lindblom (Left Wing, #23) - It’s hard not to root for a guy coming back to the league after battling cancer. He’s been cancer-free since December 2020 and I’m definitely rooting for him to have a good first full season back with the Flyers.

Any Seattle ties?

• Carter Hart (Goalie, #79) - The star goaltender for our very own Everett Silvertips from 2014 to 2018! Hart is a key component of the Flyers rebuild and fans even called him “Starter Hart” while he was still playing in the WHL. He had a great debut season but his performance recently has been... not great. Side note: Hart’s jersey number has a heartwarming story behind it.

Odds and Ends

• Gritty. Even if you’ve never watched a hockey game in your life, you’ve probably heard of Gritty. Maybe it’s the googly eyes, the creepy look, or the fun but threatening aura... but something about him resonated with fans. He quickly shifted from nightmare fuel (at his debut) to NHL hero within a week.

• The Kraken selected Carsen Twarynski from the Flyers in the expansion draft. He cleared waivers after the preseason so now he’s playing for the Charlotte Checkers (our AHL affiliate).
• Another Kraken acquisition: Head Coach Dave Hakstol! He didn’t quite meet expectations as the Head Coach of the Flyers (from 2015-2019) but Hakstol claims to come to the Kraken as a learned and wiser coach. Time will tell.

Today’s game starts at 4PM PST, broadcast on ROOT Sports NW for local subscribers and ESPN+ for out of market fans.