Can Seattle Support a Hockey Team?
In the words of Roz Doyle "Are you kidding? This is Seattle. It rains nine months out of the year. We take our indoor sports very seriously" . Given the climate and population of Seattle it would seem that the city would be fertile ground for a NHL team. However, we are just now making plans for the start of a Seattle hockey team in 2021. Why? What's taken so long? Why has a city which successfully supports two major junior hockey teams in it's metropolitan area been unable to get a NHL franchise?
The place to start with hockey in Seattle would be with the Patrick brothers. The brothers were former hockey players who played for various teams including Montreal Wanderers, the Renfrew Millionaires and the Montreal Athletic Association. In 1911 they moved out west and formed the Pacific Coast Hockey League. An important thing to remember is that hockey was a lot different then than it is now. The goalie didn't leave his feet to make saves, there were seven players who played including a position called the rover, blue lines didn't exist, people didn't keep track of assists and jerseys weren't numbered. Needless to say these two had a lot of work ahead of them.
Frank of and Lester Patrick played hockey for McGill winning the Queen cups. Later in 1907 they moved to British Columbia where they establish a lumber company. Lester would join the Renfrew Creamery Kings of the National Hockey Association. They help[ed found the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL).
It was in the PCHA they formed the Seattle Metropolitans. They formed the team by offering lucrative salaries to players from the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association (NHA). Seattle won the 1917 championship by defeating the National Hockey Association's Montreal Canadiens. In 1924, the Seattle team folded and the PCHA ceased to operate. In its final season, the team had an average of 1000 fans per game in attendance.[8] Arena owners subsequently did not renew the team's lease. The remaining teams of Vancouver and Victoria joined the WCHL for the 1924-1925 season.
What you have to remember about Seattle is that before the Second World War Seattle was not the same city that it is now. A large amount of the growth due to Boeing bringing jobs making military aircraft and then later making commercial airplanes. Also Hockey wasn't the large industry in the early 1900's that it is now. However, since then Seattle has supported the Seattle Thunderbirds (a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington, south of Seattle). The Thunderbirds recently had a throwback Jersey night in which they brought back Seattle's barber pole style of green, red and white jersey for a night. The Jersey has proven to be very popular.
I like to think about American Gods. Part of the Neil Gaiman's story is that people come from many places but within themselves they carry a piece of themselves which form into gods. Seattle is a city in which people have come from many places. Many people have come to Seattle from hockeylands and within their hearts they have brought a passion for the game of hockey. A passion which has grown, taken root and is ready for a local hockey team.
The place to start with hockey in Seattle would be with the Patrick brothers. The brothers were former hockey players who played for various teams including Montreal Wanderers, the Renfrew Millionaires and the Montreal Athletic Association. In 1911 they moved out west and formed the Pacific Coast Hockey League. An important thing to remember is that hockey was a lot different then than it is now. The goalie didn't leave his feet to make saves, there were seven players who played including a position called the rover, blue lines didn't exist, people didn't keep track of assists and jerseys weren't numbered. Needless to say these two had a lot of work ahead of them.
Frank of and Lester Patrick played hockey for McGill winning the Queen cups. Later in 1907 they moved to British Columbia where they establish a lumber company. Lester would join the Renfrew Creamery Kings of the National Hockey Association. They help[ed found the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL).
It was in the PCHA they formed the Seattle Metropolitans. They formed the team by offering lucrative salaries to players from the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association (NHA). Seattle won the 1917 championship by defeating the National Hockey Association's Montreal Canadiens. In 1924, the Seattle team folded and the PCHA ceased to operate. In its final season, the team had an average of 1000 fans per game in attendance.[8] Arena owners subsequently did not renew the team's lease. The remaining teams of Vancouver and Victoria joined the WCHL for the 1924-1925 season.
What you have to remember about Seattle is that before the Second World War Seattle was not the same city that it is now. A large amount of the growth due to Boeing bringing jobs making military aircraft and then later making commercial airplanes. Also Hockey wasn't the large industry in the early 1900's that it is now. However, since then Seattle has supported the Seattle Thunderbirds (a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington, south of Seattle). The Thunderbirds recently had a throwback Jersey night in which they brought back Seattle's barber pole style of green, red and white jersey for a night. The Jersey has proven to be very popular.
I like to think about American Gods. Part of the Neil Gaiman's story is that people come from many places but within themselves they carry a piece of themselves which form into gods. Seattle is a city in which people have come from many places. Many people have come to Seattle from hockeylands and within their hearts they have brought a passion for the game of hockey. A passion which has grown, taken root and is ready for a local hockey team.
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