Seattle Kraken: Hockey 101 for Seattle sports fans
T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals. (Photo by Michael Miller, via Wikicommons)
A Farm System Like the Mariners
Pro baseball is well known for its tiered levels of player development. Hockey is very similar to the MLB in that respect. As a young player trying to make the Seattle Kraken roster, there are three main paths towards getting drafted.
The bantam/midget youth level (ages 13-16) is where the decision is made to forego amateur status for US colleges and play major junior hockey. These 16-to-20-year-olds play across Canada and the US with teams like the Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds. The Seattle Junior Totems, a team known for Capitals star TJ Oshie, are part of a lower junior program that caters to players who want to stay closer to home.
The other draft paths are playing professionally overseas or NCAA college hockey. The University of Washington is part of the lower ACHA club system and plays Wazzu and Western Washington in the Pac-8 Conference. But some club programs have turned success into NCAA caliber teams over time like Arizona State.
From age 21 until making it to the NHL, the path is very similar to baseball through the minors. The hockey equivalent of “Triple-A Ball” is the American Hockey League. Seattle’s new AHL franchise will be located in Palm Springs, California, and will start play in 2022.
Many hockey draftees head to “The A” right after training camp. Most move up through the organization like going from the Tacoma Rainiers to the Mariners. Younger players are either sent back to juniors or the “Double-A” ECHL. The Southern Professional Hockey League is like “Single-A” ball in the States.