Founding Love and Hockey

Plenty of women across the hockey universe started their careers as young girls playing and watching and adoring the sport. Princess Lawrence wasn’t one of those kids.

“My mom was not a sports mom,” said Lawrence, smiling. “She was an art mom, through and through. She got her master's degree in museum education. I grew up literally being in museums all the time, going to galleries. I was very much in my element. And I loved the film because my grandmother was a director at the Maryland Film and Tourism Office. I grew up going to film festivals. Art and film were always around me. Sports, it was not around me.”

Case in point: “My grandma [Courtney Funn] was at an event, and Michael Jordan was there [getting plenty of attention]. She approaches Michael Jordan, and she says, ‘It's like, these people have never seen a tall Black person before.’ Then she goes to my mom, asking why is everyone looking at him? I just went over and had a lovely conversation. My mom was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that's Michael Jordan, Mom.’ There might have been a little bit of click for my grandma, but she was on to the next thing.”

Like Grandma, Like Mom ...

There’s another important element to the story stitching through the three generations. As Kraken's manager of investor relations and special projects, granddaughter Princess equally exudes charisma and empathy. We all know that here at Kraken HQ in the Northgate neighborhood and over at Climate Pledge Arena – and some of us figured it out in the early days on West Harrison Street and Second Avenue preview center before the team had a name or even when the arena was held up by 30,000 pounds of temporary (later recycled) steel for a year to dig five-and-half stories deep to where the ice rink/basketball court/stage are now located.

“I can firmly say my grandma and my [single] mom both raised me,” said Lawrence,” who attended the esteemed Duke Ellington School for the Arts high school in Washington, D.C., where she was among students selected on merit by the Cooper Hewitt Museum to meet with Michelle Obama at the White House. “I’ve always been around great women of influence who also could work a room, who are always down to talk to a stranger.”

‘So Ground Floor’

Lawrence has proved that point, oh, thousands of times over, starting with her first role as business development coordinator assisting senior vice president Bill Chapin and a budding sales staff to supply the 32,000 deposit holders from that glorious 24 hours back in March 2019 with season ticket packages customized to fans’ desires and needs. Lawrence was typically the first person that new fans met when visiting the preview center to take a guided tour of Seattle’s rich sports and music history, especially at the original arena, plus the tour’s pièce de resistance, a large-scale model of how the new arena would look and function to fans’ delight when finished.

“It was so ground floor,” said Lawrence, who was “maybe the 21st” employee. “I jumped right in, fully immersing myself in how to tell the story. We’re showing the city what a Seattle hockey team can be, the future of it. Though I wasn't a season ticket member, but soon to be a season ticket member, I felt I was in that exact same boat, learning what this arena is going to look like, selling and buying into the dream.”

Lawrence said she bumps into all sorts of Kraken fans she first met in those early days down the street from arena construction. She remembers them, and they remember her, all memorable first impressions (more about a pivotal first impression in a moment). If you think about it – especially if you saw that model and watched the accompanying video – the preview center felt more like an awe-inspiring museum or art exhibit experience. It’s not an exaggeration if you saw the dazzled faces and huge grins on deposit holders who exited the model space.

Woman of the Arts Becomes Woman in Hockey

There was one exception about growing up with a sporting influence: At elementary school age, before late attending Lawrence’s mother, Lamarr Funn, enrolled her daughter in figure skating classes at a local Maryland rink. But her mom did it mostly because of the cool respite a rink can bring on hot, humid days of Maryland springs and summers.

“I skated for about six years, and I wanted to be good,” said Lawrence, smiling again. “You get into those group settings. It's not competitive. But, you know, the friends that I made, they were so good, I wanted to be so good too.”

Her skating skills were both prescient and advantageous when she and a dozen nascent NHL Seattle staffers and two investors headed up to Angels of the Wind Arena in Everett to join then former NHL coach/Seattle hockey adviser Dave Tippett for Hockey 101 on-ice session one Friday afternoon in 2019. The lore about the event includes skaters so new that one among them wore two left-footed skates with, let’s just say, limited success.

Lawrence was wheeling around expertly, her skating a valuable skill when sticks were handed out, which, by the way, changes everything for skaters learning to play the game (and, yes, it is easier as young kids. The session was simply an extension of Lawrence learning the sport and its rules, nuances, and joys – sort of like connecting with a museum curator about pieces of art.

“In tandem with being part of the [Seattle hockey] dream, I'm also learning from Dave Tippett,” said Lawrence about the former Jack Adams Award winner as NHL coach of the year.. “Not many people can say that they sat in a small office with Dave learning the sport.”

Circling Back to First Impressions

About the promised “pivotal first-impression” story: As a student majoring in strategic design and management at Parsons School of Design in New York – Lawrence received many loans to attend her dream school – Lawrence was thrilled to be living in Brooklyn and studying in New York, the whole Alicia Keys song “Empire State of Mind", Pt. 2 (apologies Frank and Billy).

“My best friend's the DJ at a club, I'm a nanny,” said Lawrence during a recent delightful hour-long conversation in a conference room with a shiny white table-top that is a full replica of an NHL rink, complete with blue lines and all. “I turned into a living nanny because I can't afford it. And what happens? I'm like, okay, let's cut everything out. Let's focus on school. Not that I was doing poorly in school. I was an A/B student but decided to lock in."

“What happened? A friend says, ‘Hey, you should meet my friend Tyler. I say, okay, maybe. He texts me. I text back, “I can't go to this gallery opening with you, but you can come to my school and help me with my paper.’ He comes and helps me with my paper. Then I say, oh, my favorite show is about to come on. I need to go home. It was ‘Scandal.’ I love Kerry Washington [btw agree]. You know, just good ABC Television. Ty says, ‘I live closer than you.’ Okay, fine, I want to see my show. I've been grinding hard on this paper.”

So did he really help with the paper? “He was really helpful. I ended up getting an A on the paper. It was endearing. Honestly, I thought he was gonna say no. I was thinking, ‘Please, god, please. Let him say no.’ But he showed up. I'm like, signing him in [at the front desk] of the school building. I guess this is a date?”

Princess and Tyler (calling him ‘Ty’ in a previous quote is what we writer-types like to call foreshadowing) are subsequently watching the show until a commercial break: “Hey, give me a second,” said Tyler. “My dad's on TV. It's the NFL Draft.”

“I’m like, okay, cool, but can we go back to my show? The commercial break is almost over,” said Princess, now outright laughing at herself. “Ty is probably in his mind, growing up here in Seattle, thinking everyone knows who his dad is [Tod Leiweke, Kraken CEO and former CEO of the Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, and at that time chief operating officer of the NFL]. “He realizes, ‘She doesn’t know him or the sport.’ “

The First Official Date

No matter. Along with the “A” grade and a suspenseful ‘Scandal’ episode, a “first official date” was planned for ... wait for it ... an NHL playoff game between visiting Tampa Bay against the New York Islanders. Tyler warned Princess not to cheer openly for Tampa Bay (loyal crowd) and to stay neutral even if his dad was a major foundational reason for how the Lightning franchise was built for sustained success.

“It was loud,” said Lawerance. “I am out of my element. Tod was in the building, but I didn’t meet him until later, and I was nervous to potentially meet the parents [she laughs]. During the game, I realized this was fun. I love the sport now. Bringing my brother to a playoff game and seeing him experiencing that. There’s something beautiful about someone experiencing their first game in person [she’s done that innumerable times]. It’s a moment to treasure.”

Nearly 10 years after that playoff game/first date and more than six years now with Princess among our most impactful colleagues with fans and investors, she is engaged to be married into a decidedly hockey family. Consider it the perfect marriage of the arts and athletics within a Kraken franchise brimming with female influence.

“I just love this game so much,” said Lawrence. “I think it's the best sport of all sports. There’s respect among players in hockey. You can be quiet at time watching. It kind of reminds me of theater. Skating is such a cool skill; other athletes can’t skate plus hold a stick and handle the puck. You can view it as beautiful or aggressive or both. You can view it in silence, it’s like ballet on the ice.

“I feel immense gratitude and support. Women in our organization are coming from all different levels – didn't know the game, loved the game, played the game. Being able to learn from them, I appreciate their openness to teach and vice versa ... I've seen so much growth in the sport. Our team, especially, we are definitely spearheading some of that change.”