NHL’s United by Hockey Mobile Museum visits Arena Saturday for interactive fan experience showcasing inclusion in hockey. Buoy, trading cards, and Kraken pins on hand — By Bob Condor
Saturday is literally game day for the Kraken with a 1 p.m. start for a pivotal division matchup against the Edmonton Oilers at Climate Pledge Arena. Fans can upgrade the exciting afternoon by planning to stop by the NHL’s United by Hockey Mobile Museum between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The United by Hockey Museum is an extension of the league’s “Hockey is for Everyone” program and a fun, interactive way to learn more about diversity and representation in the sport. Fans of all ages will be able to view artifacts from players who are groundbreakers in hockey per heritage and gender. Plus, there will be displays about the next generation of young stars, NHL Officials, broadcasters, and women in the game. Kraken radio voice Everett Fitzhugh is even featured! No ticket is required.
Plan to stop by before or after the Oilers-Kraken showdown. Kraken supporters not attending the game are invited to a free Kraken watch party at the Armory. Seattle’s popular mascot, Buoy, will be making appearances at the museum truck at approximately 11:15 a.m. There are all sorts of refreshments and seating options in the Armory space. Expect the Kraken’s Red Alert 32-member marching band to stop by the museum and Armory too. Doors open at the Armory at 11:30 a.m.
Here are just a few examples of what can be seen over the seven available hours the mobile museum will be parked outside the Ticketmaster office at Climate Pledge Arena (Lenny Wilkens Way between 1st Ave and Warren):
- Helmet worn by Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, a leading NHL scorer who is Mexican American, in the 2018 NHL All-Star Game.
- Paul Kariya’s 1996 World Championship Canada jersey. Kariya is a 2017 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee and one of the NHL’s first stars of Asian heritage.
- Shin and elbow pads that are the property of Willie O’Ree, a 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who became the NHL’s first Black player when he debuted with the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum on Jan. 18, 1958, and still works as an NHL ambassador at age 87.
- Ethan Bear’s Western Hockey League Seattle Thunderbirds helmet. Vancouver Canucks defenseman Bear was raised in the Ochapowace Nation near Whitewood, Saskatchewan, and starred for the Thunderbirds.
- Team Canada Olympic medal and the biography of trailblazer Fred Sasakamoose, one of the NHL’s first and most successful Indigenous players.
Sure to be popular with kids and adults alike is an interactive broadcast booth where fans can test their broadcasting skills and knowledge against Kevin Weekes, an NHL Network and ESPN hockey analyst and former NHL goalie who was in Seattle to cover the 2021 NHL Hockey card collectors take note: The museum features one-of-a-kind collections courtesy of memorabilia experts across the U.S. and Canada with a special emphasis on underrepresented demographics. In fact, giveaways include 2,000 limited-editing Everett Fitzhugh trading cards from Upper Deck.
Along the 840-square-foot museum truck, which is an enhanced and expanded version of the NHL’s Black Hockey History tour, there will be Kraken community partners hosting tables on the beautiful Climate Pledge Arena plaza to highlight their work toward advocating for inclusion in hockey. Organizations on hand will include the Refugee Women’s Alliance, Northwest African American Museum, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, United Indians of All Tribes, and Seattle Pride Hockey Association.
Buoy’s Hockey is for Everyone (HIFE) jerseys will be on display and available for auction bids between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at each of the tables. What’s more, pins with each of this year’s artist-designed HIFE Kraken logos will be given away at the tables (the upcoming Green Night not included).
The expansion and redesign from the original Black Hockey History Tour was curated by multidisciplinary designer Natalie Zanecchia, who specializes in “storytelling to create interpretive exhibition design and brand experiences.”
“As soon as guests enter the exhibit, they will be met with a tapestry of faces, names, and artifacts of individuals who made, or are making, an impact on the sport,” Zanecchia told NHL.com “The Color of Hockey” columnist William Douglas. “The journey starts with trailblazers, who paved the way for others, and ends with current changemakers. The objective is everyone will leave this experience with more awareness of the diversity of the sport and more recognition of the names of the individuals highlighted, and that they will feel inspired to continue sharing these stories.”