First Franchise Hat Trick

Lore & Background

When the Seattle Kraken took the ice for the first time in October 2021, the entire organization was a collection of firsts: first shift, first save, first goal, first win. The roster was assembled from a draft pick, free-agent signings, and trades, and the players themselves were still learning the name on the back of their jerseys. In that context, a hat trick was not merely a statistical line—it was proof that this team could compete at the NHL level, that the city's patience had been rewarded, and that the Kraken were no longer a concept but a reality.

The emotional resonance of that first three-goal performance cannot be overstated. For a fanbase that had waited decades for a professional hockey team, watching one of their own players light the lamp three times in a single game transformed an abstract hope into a tangible memory. The arena's roar, the social-media explosion, the local television replays running in slow motion for hours—all of it cemented the moment as a founding myth of the franchise.

Since then, the record has served as a quiet benchmark. Every Kraken player who scores two goals in a game knows the number three is the threshold. Every coach who calls a power play knows the math. The first hat trick is the yardstick, the '0' on the scale, the line in the sand that says: this is what excellence looks like in a Kraken uniform. It is not the most glamorous record in the NHL, but for a young franchise, it is the one that matters most.

In Their Own Story

The arena hummed with a low, electric tension—the kind that only exists when a city is still deciding whether to love its new team. The scoreboard read late second period, the Kraken trailing by one. The player in question skated down the wing, stickhandling past a defenseman with a deceptively simple inside edge, and buried the first. The crowd's roar was confused, almost disbelieving. Two minutes later, a rebound in front of the net, a quick wrist shot, the second. Now the noise was different—thick, chest-deep, the kind that vibrates through the boards. And then, in the third, a breakaway, a deke, and the third. The stick dropped. The skates stopped. For three seconds, the entire arena held its breath before the sound hit like a wave. In the front row, a woman in a Kraken jersey was on her feet, screaming at no one in particular, tears cutting through her foundation. She had waited twenty years for this team. She had not expected to cry over a hat trick. But she was a Kraken fan now, and that was enough.

Reader's Guide

The First Franchise Hat Trick is the single-game, three-goal benchmark that anchors the Seattle Kraken's internal record book. It was set during the 2021-22 NHL season, the franchise's inaugural campaign, when the Kraken competed as a newly minted expansion team in the Western Conference.

The significance of the record lies in its context. Unlike established franchises with decades of scoring history, the Kraken's record book began at zero. Every individual milestone—first goal, first assist, first hat trick—carries the weight of a founding act. The hat trick, specifically, represents the highest individual offensive output in a single game and thus became the natural ceiling for early franchise records.

The record was achieved in front of a home crowd at Climate Pledge Arena, the team's permanent home in Seattle. The emotional stakes were amplified by the fact that the Kraken had never played a regular-season NHL game before that point, meaning the player was not only scoring three goals but doing so in a franchise that had existed for only a matter of weeks.

The record remains a permanent entry in the Kraken's statistical ledger. It does not expire, does not get broken in the traditional sense (since it is a 'first'), and serves as the reference point for all future multi-goal performances. Coaches, broadcasters, and fans invoke it when a Kraken player is two goals in and the third is within reach.

Did You Know?

• The Kraken's inaugural 2021-22 season was the first in which the franchise existed, meaning every single statistical 'first' was set within that one-year window.
• Climate Pledge Arena, the Kraken's home, is one of the newest arenas in the NHL, opening just in time for the team's debut season.
• For an expansion team, the first hat trick is not just a personal record—it is the origin point for the franchise's entire scoring tradition, making it arguably the most emotionally significant entry in the record book.
• The Kraken entered the NHL as the 32nd franchise, making their early records a matter of league-wide historical interest, not just local pride.