THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. -- When the Seattle Kraken were preparing to join the NHL, they also knew having a successful AHL affiliate was important.
The decisions that they made could not have worked out better and, as a result, the Calder Cup Finals have come to the desert for the first time.
Seattle's AHL affiliate, Coachella Valley, is in the Calder Cup Final against Hershey, the Washington Capitals affiliate. Coachella Valley, in its first season as Seattle's full affiliate, is playing the AHL's oldest team.
Coachella Valley won 5-0 in Game 1. Game 2 is here Saturday.
But it wasn't easy.
Seattle prospects started the season playing the first two months of games on the road, and to this point, have won four rounds of playoff hockey, including winning four elimination games and knocking off Calgary, the Flames affiliate and the AHL regular-season champion.
One key decision Seattle made was location.
The trend in the past decade had been for NHL teams to locate their AHL affiliates as nearby as possible, with West coast teams putting their affiliates in California. The Anaheim Ducks (San Diego), Los Angeles Kings (Ontario, California), and San Jose Sharks (San Jose) all had in-state AHL affiliates for the first time while Calgary (Stockton) and the Edmonton Oilers (Bakersfield) also were able to move their affiliates to the Golden State.
The trend continued when the Arizona Coyotes (Tucson), Colorado Avalanche (Colorado), and Vegas Golden Knights (Henderson, Nevada) all brought their AHL affiliates west. The Flames eventually moved their affiliate even closer, and beginning this season they shared Scotiabank Saddledome with their AHL affiliate.
The Kraken decided to follow their Pacific Division counterparts and place an affiliate on the West Coast. Logistics quickly made the Palm Springs market a strong fit for the Kraken. There are several flights between Seattle and Palm Springs each day, which simplifies player movement between the AHL and NHL teams. Travel is also manageable for Coachella Valley as well. Same-day trips for road games at Ontario and San Diego are possible, and several other AHL teams are within driving distance.
Plus, it's in a beautiful area.
"When I walk to the rink, it's hot out," rookie defenseman Ryker Evans said, "and you see the beautiful landscape, the mountains, the palm trees, it's pretty cool."
There were challenges for the Kraken. Plans for an arena in downtown Palm Springs fell through. But the Kraken eventually were able to facilitate an agreement to build the state-of-the art 11,000-seat Acrisure Arena in nearby Palm Desert, a short ride south on Interstate 10 from Palm Springs. An attached practice facility was also included in the arena project.
The Kraken also put a winner on the ice. Dan Bylsma, who was coach of the 2009 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, was brought in as coach, and the Kraken added two-time Calder Cup champion Andrew Poturalski and other top veteran players to guide their growing base of prospects.
Though the arena was built in 18 months, its groundbreaking was delayed until June 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Kraken shared Charlotte last season with the Florida Panthers.
That wait forced Coachella Valley to play 18 of its first 22 games on the road (four home games were played in the Seattle area). The team did not play its first home game in the new arena until Dec. 18, but home ice quickly agreed with the team, which finished with the AHL's best home record at 26-17-1-2 (.764).
Coachella Valley went 22-10-4-0 on the road (.667) to finish fourth in the AHL in that category. Put it together, and the team finished second to Calgary in the AHL with a regular-season record of 48-17-5-2.
Although the Kraken only have two draft classes, they are already showing development success.
Undrafted forward Tye Kartye was named the AHL rookie of the year and had 57 points (28 goals, 29 assists) in 72 games. Those 57 points led all AHL rookies while his 28 goals were second-most for rookies. Kartye then scored in his NHL debut with the Kraken in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round against the Avalanche and went on to have five points (three goals, two assists) in 10 games.
Back with Coachella Valley, the 22-year-old scored the game-opening goal on Thursday.
Ryker Evans, selected by Seattle in the second round (No. 35) of the 2021 NHL Draft, has generated considerable excitement for the organization. The 21-year-old defenseman went to the AHL All-Star Classic in February and was chosen for the AHL All-Rookie Team after he had 44 points (six goals, 38 assists) in 71 games; his 38 assists led all rookies while his 44 points ranked first among rookie defensemen. Evans has continued that roll in the Calder Cup Playoffs. He had three assists in Game 1 and is leading all rookies and all AHL defensemen with 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in 20 games.
They have also found success off the ice.
Coachella Valley's average attendance of 7,748 ranked seventh in the AHL this season. That average has increased to 8,142 during the postseason. Seattle prospects quickly took a liking to the desert lifestyle as well with its abundant winter sunshine and golf in this resort area.
The team has needed that support through this grueling playoff run that has featured series wins against Tucson, Colorado, Calgary, and Milwaukee, said Kole Lind, who leads the playoffs with 26 points (seven goals, 19 assists) in 20 games.
"The energy they've brought to the arena every single night, we get so excited to play in front of them," the 24-year-old forward said. "I think even on that flight home from Milwaukee (after Game 5 of Western Conference Final) and knowing we were coming back to play in front of the fans in Game 6, we knew we were going to have that little extra boost of energy.
"[The postseason] is a grind. I think you can tell the first 10 minutes of Game 6 that we wanted to end it right then and there, and the crowd brought the energy that we needed."
