The Seattle Kraken’s new American Hockey League affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, announced the schedule for their inaugural 2022-23 season on Thursday afternoon. The 72-game schedule begins in Calgary on Sunday, October 16th and concludes on Saturday, April 15th in Bakersfield.
As crews feverishly work on the finishing touches to the all-new Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, the Firebirds will spend a week in Seattle to kick off their first four “home” games. The precise location of those games has yet to be announced — official word from the Firebirds simply states that these games will be in “the Seattle area.” Here’s what we can infer about the venues for those games, based on the dates announced.
The Kraken will be on a quick two-game road trip playing against the Avalanche and the Blackhawks during the Firebirds’ first two home games on October 21st and 23rd. There are no concerts currently scheduled for either day at Climate Pledge Arena, though The Who will be playing in the middle of them on October 22nd. There’s a good chance the Firebirds will get to play at the home of the Kraken on one, if not both of those days.
The following weekend coincides with a short homestand for the Kraken, who host the Vancouver Canucks and the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 27th and 29th, respectively. Fortunately, there are multiple WHL arenas in the greater Seattle area that present options for the Firebirds. The Seattle Thunderbirds, who play at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, and the Everett Silvertips (Angel of the Winds Arena, Everett) will both be on the road in Canada that weekend. The Firebirds will likely make use of one or both of those venues for the games on October 28th and 29th.
In other news, the Firebirds will start with a brutal 16-game road trip immediately following those four Seattle games, and won’t get to play in their home arena until December 18th. On the bright side, that does set them up with a fairly cozy travel schedule for the rest of the year, including a January containing eight home games to just three road games.
No announcement has been made as of yet concerning single-game tickets.
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