It's No Mystery, Alaska, Why Kraken Defenseman Traveled To Anchorage

Of course youth hockey players look up to Jamie Oleksiak. The Seattle Kraken defenseman is 6-foot-7 without skates. Almost everybody looks up to Jamie Oleksiak.

But these 12-and-under kids probably never thought they'd be receiving in-person instruction from a real-life NHL player. They play, and live, in Anchorage, Alaska.

There was Oleksiak, accompanied by team mascot Buoy, conducting a week of training classes in conjunction with the Anchorage Hockey Association. One day was also set aside for photos and autographs at a community picnic.

“It’s been really cool getting to know the city and everyone’s hockey journey”, Oleksiak told Alaska's News Source . “It’s nice to be able to take time and really talk to everybody and feel the community and what not. It’s been a really cool experience.”

ANS says this is the third straight year the Kraken have hosted community events in partnership with the Bristol Bay Native Corporation.

The franchise's commitment to the 49th state began before the Kraken ever played a game. Back in 2021, CEO Tod Leiweke told the Anchorage Daily News , "We negotiated with the league, and we really made the case that Alaska should be part of our territory, which means that we were then able to broadcast games into Alaska."

“It’s on us to prove that we’re good neighbors and we’re sincere,” he said. “And if fans in Alaska become fans of the Kraken, it’s uniquely special. It’s not just adding one fan. It’s adding a fan from a legacy hockey state.”

The team put its money where its mouth was, helping the University of Alaska-Anchorage revive its dormant Division I hockey program. "The Kraken was among the nearly 1,200 donors who helped Save the Seawolves campaign. The expansion franchise donated about $150,000 to the campaign."

Early in their expansion season, the Kraken hosted "Alaska Hockey Appreciation Night" at Climate Pledge Arena.

The Daily News called it, "Seattle Kraken’s aggressive game plan to wrap their tentacles around Alaska, and pay attention to the small-market state in a way that few, if any, major league teams have before."

Even exporting a 6-7 defenseman.