Better To Look Good Or Feel Good? Kraken ECHL Farm Team Doing Both

Q: What has skates and sticks and helmets and looks like the Seattle Kraken, but aren't the Seattle Kraken?

A: The Kansas City Mavericks (at least for one night).

In North America, the NHL is the top rung of three pro hockey leagues. One level below is the AHL, and one level below that is the ECHL. The KC Mavericks are the ECHL farm team of the Kraken.

Among its promotions this season, every ECHL club is holding a home game "Affiliation Night." The gimmick is that the team wears a uniform styled after their NHL parent.

This past weekend, it was the Mavs' turn.

When the Rapid City Rush came calling Saturday at Cable Dahmer Arena, the Mavericks were adorned in uniforms modeled after the Kraken reverse retros.

Here's how the unis looked in action, as Casey Carreau scores for K.C. with 27 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

Rapid City Has Its Own K. Yamamoto

There's a Kraken connection to the visitors from South Dakota, too.

Rapid City won the game 5-4 via a goal in the 6th round of a shootout by... Keanu Yamamoto. Yes, the older brother - by two years and four months - of Kraken winger Kailer Yamamoto.

The siblings played three seasons together in the WHL for the Spokane Chiefs, 2014-17. Bonus Yamamoto connection: Rush coach Scott Burt was an assistant in Spokane during the brothers' years there.

Mavericks Own ECHL's Best Record

Despite the shootout loss Saturday, K.C. has the top record in the 28-team ECHL, 44-10-6. With a dozen games still remaining in their regular season, the 94-point Mavs have already clinched a playoff berth.

The Kraken farm team has been nearly invincible away from home, sporting a gaudy 24-2-2 road record.