“A Special Moment” 

The path to a passion usually starts simply.

For those who become hockey players, that path often begins by putting on a pair of skates, and some gloves, grabbing a stick and maybe a helmet to head out to wherever you can find some ice. And the easiest ice to find wasn’t always in a rink...it was outside.

“Some guys have grown up playing on outdoor rinks, and some guys haven't,” Dave Hakstol said. “So, for some guys, there's probably a little nostalgia involved, and for some guys, it's new - It's something new and special. Either way, it's spectacular.”

As the 2024 Winter Classic draws near, the opportunity to skate in the open air conjures both memories and excitement for many among the Seattle Kraken.

Adam Larsson

Before he would play over 800 NHL games including every game for the Kraken to date, defender Adam Larsson skated on a makeshift sheet of ice behind his school in Skelleftea, Sweden. A paved field was flooded with water and when it froze, local children were on it non-stop.

“It was a little, a little bigger than usual but you could do a lot of things on it, a lot of fun stuff,” Larsson said. “I think they still do it back home. It's good for kids and just to do outdoor things in general."

“I loved it and will probably still go when I'm retired. I just love (skating there), how open and how awesome it feels to be out there.”

Larsson has already skated in an outdoor NHL game (2016 Heritage Classic), and he knows that while the vibe may be different than pick-up hockey behind your school, it is still something special.

“It's a little different when (you’re playing in) an arena that holds I don't know how many people, but every outdoor event I think is cool. It’s good for the league and obviously (every) player loves playing outdoors. I think that's how most guys grew up in here. I feel like it's going to be a lot of fun. I think everybody's looking forward to it.”

Jordan Eberle

Assistant captain Jordan Eberle grew up playing outside, and over the holiday break, he was back playing on outdoor ice just like he had so many years ago, now with his children and neighbors.

“It's where you develop your craft,” Eberle said. “You get to play outside and it’s just pure joy of hockey.

“It’s neat to do it at this level. I’ve gotten to do it before, (2016 Heritage Classic), but there’s just something about (it). For me, (I) grew up in Regina (and) it’s pretty cold there, so once it got cold enough, that is exactly what we did at night - we went and played pond hockey. It brings you back for sure.”

Jared McCann

Jared McCann grew up on a farm in Stratford, ONT. That meant there was a lot of space to set up a rink to skate. The fact that he gets to play outside once again, is definitely exciting to the Kraken’s leading goal scorer.

“Our family had an area back on the farm where the water would collect,” McCann said. “If it got cold enough, the water would freeze. We’d go out there. My father was in construction for a long time so I was able to have an outdoor rink that me and my family would always skate on – it brings back a lot of memories.”

But, not everyone has unlimited opportunity to have a ready-made sheet of ice within walking distance.

Oliver Bjorkstrand is excited to skate outside because as a child in Denmark, the winters didn’t consistently get cold enough to rely on the elements feeding the creation of a lot of ice.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

For Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, growing up in France meant there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to casually skate or play hockey period – whether it was inside or out.

“In France, hockey is a sport that is hard to come by in a way,” Bellemare said. “There's not so many rinks and it's not advertised. You know, when you're a kid, the chance for your parents to know that hockey exists is pretty much close to zero. (A lot of people have) an ice rink outside or in addition to a hockey rink. For us, you only get to have an ice rink at the ice rink, and it is the only one in a long (distance) really.”

But while he’s never skated on a lake, Bellemare worked his way into the NHL where he’s played four different NHL outdoor games, and he appreciates what makes playing outside so special.

“(Before my first outdoor game), when you got to go on the ice with your family, I was there with my wife and my mom,” Bellemare said. “That was the feeling that I was waiting for…skating outdoors. The thing I love the most is time with family. That felt amazing."

“Some guys are nostalgic about it; some guys aren’t as much. But I think there are many more guys that are dreamy about it. They understand that this is just a special moment. All those games are memorable because this is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so you try to cherish it as much as possible.”

Matty Beniers

If you watched some of the Kraken Winter Classic promotions closely, you may have noticed that in the video a hockey player is moving effortlessly across a pond. That is actual footage of Matty Beniers. He hasn’t played an NHL game outside yet, but he’s spent plenty of time on ice created by Mother Nature.

“I grew up playing on my backyard pond,” Beniers said. "That’s what the videos are. I loved it and it brings back a lot of good memories of just being young and having fun. (Playing in the Winter Classic) is obviously going to be a fun thing.”