Natural Process

When you're building a new team, there's rightly a lot of focus on what skill each player brings to the ice. But that's not all that matters.
Twenty-plus individuals coming together for the first time need to find a way to work with one another and focus on a common goal. It's worth noting the first ever drafted Kraken players bring not just experience in the game, but they bring years of leadership, too.

At least seven of the recently drafted Kraken players have multiple seasons wearing a letter "C" for captain and/or "A" for alternate captain on their jersey at various levels of major junior and professional hockey.
To mention a few, both Cale and Haydn Fleury have been alternate captains in the AHL and each wore letters during their tenure in the WHL. Jeremy Lauzon wore the "A" for the Providence Bruins (AHL) after being a captain in the QMJHL.
Jordan Eberle and Adam Larsson bring tenures of five and four years respectively as alternate captains with the Edmonton Oilers; Jaden Schwartz had an "A" on his sweater for three seasons in St. Louis; while Marcus Johansson held the same title both in New Jersey and in Buffalo for one season each. And, of course, Mark Giordano joins the Kraken after serving as the Calgary Flames' captain for eight seasons (2013-14 - 2020-21).

If you're looking to not just recognize natural leadership but acknowledge it's importance, look no further than Ron Francis. The Kraken general manager was a captain for three NHL teams (Hartford, Pittsburgh and Carolina) and a winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy acknowledging his leadership on and off the ice in 2002.
Francis is keenly aware the time is now for the front office, coaching staff and players to set the standard for the Kraken, which ties directly to establishing culture. He admires Giordano's work in the area.
"Just the way [Giordano] plays the game, and the way he takes care of himself," said Francis during expansion draft interviews. "Then you look at everything he does in the community. We get a chance to establish our culture from day one and that's certainly a guy that we want to be a part of that ... for everything he stands for, we're excited about that."
What goes into establishing a culture? Giordano showed his mind is already churning through some ideas during last month's Expansion Draft. He talked about the importance of getting his teammates together off the ice to learn about one another before the beginning of training camp, before on-ice preparation has even formally begun.
This falls right in line with a leadership model defined by the late Ohio State University professor Bruce Tuckman. It describes the phases a successful team must go through to get to full productivity. The process starts with "forming," or coming together as a group.

Next up is "storming" (sorting out different opinions and voices) and "norming" (spirit of cooperation emerges, roles defined). Both phases provide an opportunity for teams to figure out how best to communicate with one another, encourage leadership and start to focus on group and individual goals.
Having natural leaders like Giordano and other veterans (Eberle, Jaden Schwartz, Yanni Gourde among others) in the locker room provides the Kraken with players and teammates who understand what it will take to reach the ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup. They are choice candidates to help move the team into Tuckman's "performing" stage (focus on the common goal).
This development of natural leadership among the players can be invaluable when the puck drops for the Kraken's inaugural season. It can be a critical element of success outside of just executing X's and O's on the ice.
What's exciting about having a wealth of natural leadership within the Kraken roster is it exists and evolves with or without the formality of a title. In talking with a few current and former NHL captains, it's not so much the letter on a jersey that cements the status of a leader in the room -- it's the way leaders show themselves to be invested in the team ("selfless" was one term used). Teammates recognize and rally around such examples. It's a natural process.
Recognizing the process might inform why Francis wasn't in a rush to name a captain during Expansion Draft proceedings -- or even the weeks ahead. He knows real leadership exists, regardless of a title.
Francis will work with head coach Dave Hakstol to decide how they want their leadership group to exist this season. The pair knows they have strong candidates in the room.