GM Francis building toward inaugural Kraken season

SEATTLE

In one corner of the second floor at the Seattle Kraken’s future training centre sits the office of the general manager, complete with a view of the primary practice rink below.

It’s a space Ron Francis will become very familiar with sometime in the summer of 2021 when that portion of the facility is completed. But for now it’s a space Francis has yet to set foot in. He’s only seen the office where he’ll put together the first Kraken roster in photos and videos.

“I see an awful lot of pictures in our Zoom meetings and stuff, and it’s incredible the progress they’ve made,” Francis said. “It’s looking like something really exciting. But I’m looking forward to being able to see it in person for sure.”

Francis was last in Seattle in February. Since then, the Kraken GM has been at his home in North Carolina creating the framework for the team that will take the ice sometime next fall.

“To this point it’s worked as well as we could hope it has,” Francis said. “Certainly, we look forward to the day when we’re all sitting in the same room and can have a face-to-face conversation.”

This month marked two years since Seattle was awarded its expansion NHL franchise. The anniversary was observed with small acknowledgements, with the organization focusing more attention on the countdown to the expansion and league drafts likely happening next summer. The uncertainty over the timing of those events has only underscored the importance of Seattle’s decision to bring Francis on board earlier than most expected. He was hired in summer 2019 and it now seems like a stroke of genius by team CEO Tod Leiweke.