A Bigger Entry To Kraken In-Game Entertainment

Lamont Buford and his team wanted to change things up a bit for Kraken fans at Climate Pledge Arena when the home team first takes the ice.

For years, the Kraken vice president of entertainment experience and production has watched as a giant tentacle descended from the arena rafters to the ice just before the national anthem is played. However, starting with right before Saturday night’s win against the Vegas Golden Knights, Buford’s team has introduced a new “S” shaped entry piece. This will be lowered over the tunnel entrance to the Kraken dressing room for players to pass through as they head onto the ice.

“It goes over the tunnel and will be something that I think will create a great moment,” Buford said.

The shape of the 16-foot-high, 24-foot-wide, 1,700-pound piece is designed to resemble the Kraken logo and features lights that display the team’s colors. Buford mentioned that the team had to do “some heavy-duty math and engineering” to ensure the piece could be lowered and then lifted back up to the rafters for storage once the game begins.

Another of two primary in-game entertainment changes for this season is something Buford’s team calls “The Surge” -- a pregame moment akin to the Seahawks raising the “12 Flag” or the Sounders doing their “Boom Boom Clap!” stadium wide chant. It involves a special guest on the team’s Toyota Fan Deck being asked right before the opening faceoff to turn the crank on an authentic Engine Order Telegraph (EOT) device once used on a ship – which will set off audio to signal the start of a game.

“It’s our moment to build some energy and create tradition with our fans right as the puck drops,” Buford said.

Saturday night’s first such guest was former Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor, who turned the EOT crank following a designated “Let’s…Go…Kraken!” crowd chant.

The EOT – used by ships to send signals from the deck down to the engine room -- comes from the MV Hyak retired Washington state ferry, the same ship the team’s goal horn was taken from four years ago. Buford said it was a “crazy” coincidence the EOT came from the same ship.

“We acquired them separately,” he said, adding that a second EOT obtained from the same ferry will likely be put on display down the line. “We’re very grateful to the folks at Washington State Ferries for assisting us.”

The two EOT devices are about a decade older than the ferry, which first went into service in 1967.

Other features of Kraken in-game entertainment remain largely the same with some minor tweaks.

Games will still feature Tommie Burton singing The Star-Spangled Banner, organist Benny Drawbars playing in-game tunes, a “Hoist the Colors” banner passing amid the crowd ahead of the third period and the “Let’s Go Kraken” goal song styled after “Lithium” by Nirvana. The “Cue Light Show” introduced last season and synced to fans’ smartphones are also back for special displays and the same elderly sailor character is also back for the intro video on the twin scoreboards but with a different theme.

One new feature for the opening week was LED lighting in the seating aisle of Climate Pledge Arena that flashed in multiple colors.

As for the tentacle from previous years, it won’t be completely retired. It will still be used during Third Jersey games because it complements the glow-in-the-dark theme of those uniforms.

The new entry piece will be displayed in the rafters throughout the season alongside the existing one. It wasn’t used in the opener because Kraken players entered from a different area of the arena for special, extended introduction.

Buford believes that this addition will be well received by Kraken fans.

“Our goal is to entertain people and keep things fresh,” Buford said. “With the new entry piece, we aimed to introduce something a bit more traditional.”