Somewhere in Seattle, the Kraken have people sitting in a room thinking about the draft that will come to define them for generations.

No, it’s not the Seattle expansion draft. Nor is it the NHL Draft, even though they are both kinda important. In this case, it’s the Kraken mascot draft.

“You can definitely say this is different than what Ron (Francis) and Alex (Mandrycky) and the hockey ops crew is doing,” Kraken senior vice president of game presentation and live entertainment Jonny Greco said. “This is a draft by committee. We’re talking to Seattleites and Washingtonians. We’re talking to mascots and people who are in our position at different teams. It is a choice made by a lot of people. Hockey ops is a smaller family. We have some data to share with our support staff. Ours is meeting with the great players involved with this and discussing the pros and grows of what to do and why it makes sense.

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“We don’t want the pressure of picking the mascot on all. That sure as hell isn’t something we want.”

The “we” Greco is referring to in this case is himself and Kraken vice president of game presentation Lamont Buford. They have been tasked with finding the mascot that will come to represent the Kraken. Buford and Greco actually created a draft board with a depth chart of mascot options. It breaks down their potential candidates on a variety of criteria such as names, color scheme and other details.

Creating a mascot is a bit more complex than picking a name, designing a costume and hiring someone to be that character. For example, is this mascot going to be cute or will it look fierce? Will the Kraken mascot be the actual fictional sea monster of their namesake? Or are they better off picking another sea creature altogether? Could it draw its inspiration from something regional, much like the Seattle Mariners’ Mariner Moose? Will this be a design that works both in the interim and in the future? Could the mascot become a sensation like the Philadelphia Flyers’ Gritty?

Buford and Greco have spent countless hours thinking about how to answer these questions while coming up with more, all while hoping few notice what they are doing.

“It’s one of those things that, to keep the mystery of the character, we don’t bring it up often,” Buford said. “When it is brought up, we deflect. Mascots are subjective and are polarizing and when the character is released, we have to be prepared for everything. Right now, we just have to make sure the one that we pick and choose with the help of others is the right one and we’re prepared for when it is released.”

So when will the Kraken release their mascot?

“It won’t be next week,” Buford deadpanned.

One thing Buford and Greco will comment on is the fact that the Kraken will not resurrect Squatch to be their mascot.

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The former Seattle SuperSonics mascot was inspired by the mythological Sasquatch. Also known as Bigfoot, the massive ape-like creature is commonly associated with the Pacific Northwest. Squatch was retired when the Sonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder. Opting to go with Squatch as their mascot would have been similar to what the Montreal Canadiens did with Youppi! once the Montreal Expos left to become the Washington Nationals.

“I think when we originally talked about it, everything was thrown on the table,” Buford said. “But you have to think that Squatch is such an iconic symbol of the Seattle SuperSonics. As we began to look at it, we said, ‘You know. Let’s not touch that. That’s a major part of that brand and let’s stay away from that.’ There are a multitude of reasons. Think of the rumors and things you’ve heard come out in the last few months. There could be (an NBA) return, so it would not make sense to do that kind of thing by taking that brand and bringing it over here.”

Mascots and the process of creating them have gone through their own evolution.

There were times during the early 1900s when collegiate programs and professional teams used actual, live animals such as bears for their mascots. Some colleges still have live mascots but they work as a complement to someone in a costume. Even then? How mascots are chosen has changed. Gone are the days of radio contests, replaced by creative marketing teams that specialize in branding.

Having experts such as Buford and Greco means there is a more nuanced process. They both have spent countless hours researching what makes for a successful mascot and how success is an objective term. For them, it is about finding something that will resonate with fans.

“Even if we are working 10-hour days, you do stop and watch a game or a movie or a TV show with your kids or you are on TikTok,” Greco said. “You see something and you think, ‘This would be too cool for fill in the blank.’ We are fully immersed into this. That is the way you have to jump in and do it.”

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What Buford and Greco learned is the search for a mascot can go in several directions. Some teams, such as the Atlanta Hawks, were direct with a mascot such as Harry the Hawk. Others such as the Denver Nuggets chose Rocky the mountain lion because mountain lions are native to that region. But they also learned there are mascots such as the Phillie Phanatic that break from that mold. They then delved into the history of mascots by learning more about when Nike decided to enter that realm with a mascot named Swoosh or researching why the Phoenix Suns went with the Gorilla.

Buford and Greco, who have both been involved with mascot projects before, had it reaffirmed that new mascots in the current landscape are going to get shredded by the court of public opinion. Greco said the objective is working beyond that first wave of “internet trolls” that pick apart a mascot with the idea that more people understand how the chosen design works for a team’s image. He added that the Kraken are seeking to mitigate that potential fallout by finding something they feel works for a Seattle audience, while also making it authentic.

“We gotta make sure we provide incredible character depth and allow him or her to become something impactful,” Greco said. “We’ve interviewed and we’ve talked to a lot of kids about this. It’s gotta be cool for us (as adults) to take pictures with it. But when we’ve also talked to children, what should a mascot be? We want something where it’s like, ‘Hey, let’s take a picture.’ You want a mascot that has character, and I asked my 8-year-old son what he wants. He said a mascot should be joyful. It should bring joy and I’m like, ‘That’s the best version of what a mascot should be.’

“It can be joyful doing a backflip at center ice or it can be joyful gifting presents during the holidays to some underprivileged children.”

That said, here is where the process can get complicated. Going with something that is authentic to Seattle and the region makes sense. The Seahawks (Boom and Blitz), Sounders (Sammy the Sounder), Storm (Doppler), Mariners and Sonics all did that. Both Washington State University (Butch T. Cougar) and the University of Washington (Harry the Husky) have mascots with a regional history as well. Yet where it gets challenging is the fact that the Kraken have already built a reputation for being progressive with every facet of their operation.

So what will they do? Stay on brand for the area? Or build off their brand of going against conventional thinking?

“Going back to what Lamont said, taking Squatch probably would not be the right choice,” Greco said. “But taking what worked with Squatch and taking what works with Boom and Blitz and the Moose, and knowing what limitations they had is what we are trying to inform ourselves about. We want to be different for the right reasons. We don’t want to be different to be different. We’re going to be thoughtful and methodical in that process. It’s not just the 41 home games. Some mascots have 500 appearances a year. When you are creating a mascot in Arizona, that mascot needs to be able to survive in 120-degree heat when they are at a festival. You have to look at the conditions and you have to look at the things that are bigger than the in-arena scope.”

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OK. Those are all fair points to consider. But how does this work in the era of Gritty when it appears teams are under intense pressure to create the next big thing?

Mascots were in existence well before the Flyers unleashed Gritty upon the world in September 2018. Initially, Gritty was not well received by those in and around Philadelphia. But that quickly changed when a crowd of people outside of Philadelphia began sharing their opinions. Suddenly? The opinion of Gritty changed because an entire city of people felt emboldened to this verbally silent yet physically loud, gigantic, hairy persona with googly eyes that has since taken on a life of its own.

Gritty is an example of the landscape those in Buford and Greco’s position must navigate. Yes, they want to create a character that attracts attention and becomes something loved by an entire fanbase. But it must come in a manner that was organic and not forced. Otherwise? It runs the risk of falling flat.

“We’ve had conversations with those who helped birth Gritty,” Buford said. “We’ve talked to them about as they began their concept and as they began to think about what Gritty meant for their organization. Another thing you’ve gotta think about is, it’s Philadelphia. They already have one of the most famous mascots of all in the Phillie Phanatic. It’s also a region that if they don’t like something, you will know about it right away.”

And it was at this point when Buford and Greco explained how they will make the best decision based on what’s on their depth chart.

“It’s like a fantasy football draft,” Buford said with a smile. “You have a ton of players on the board and you see which one sticks. If it is not one that is on the board, then, you have to create it. Honestly, we went back and looked at every mascot in this region. Even the Ivar’s Dancing Clams. We’ve gone very granular as far as research. We also looked at every mascot in the NHL and what they look like and what animal and what region and what they represent. From there, we have started to think, what is Seattle, what is Washington? The mountains, the water and terrain, and start putting that web of characteristics together to come up with something.”

(Top photo: Francois Lacasse / NHLI via Getty Images)

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