Welcome Torrent
On Thursday, the PWHL’s Seattle franchise officially became the Seattle Torrent. In front of packed room in the Museum of Pop Culture’s Sky Church, Alison Lukan led the event along with General Manager Meghan Turner and Head Coach Steve O’Rourke. After discussing the progression from expansion announcement through branding announcement with Turner and an update on the formation of a team identity with O’Rourke, they revealed their new name and logo with a video narrated by Hilary Knight
And after the announcement there was another video from Knight, who was in Cleveland with Team USA for the Rivalry Series. Alison Lukan announcement then brought out nearly the entire signed roster (minus those participating in the rivalry series) who came on stage in brand new Torrent gear, tossing pucks into the crowd. Corrine Schroeder took the mic to speak on behalf of the team and expressed their excitement about the identity and the upcoming training camp and season.
At the end, Mariah Keopple got the obligatory crowd selfie. And just to prove it, I was there. 
My Thoughts
I was very excited to be able to attend the announcement, the energy in the room was electric (especially for 9am on Thursday). I was lucky enough to also attend the expansion press conference at Climate Pledge Arena and to reflect on how fast this has all come together was impressive.
At first, I was a little confused why we were at MoPop, and not back at CPA, for this announcement - but after seeing the setup I appreciate that the Torrent were doing their own event. One thing I am very curious to watch this year is the interaction between the Kraken and the Torrent. Obviously, they are sharing both the training facilities at KCI and a home rink at CPA. And I know Kraken staff have been helping the Torrent with logistics and other business related details. Even at the MoPop announcement, several Kraken folks were in attendance - chief among them being the Kraken Hockey Network’s Alison Lukan - but this was not a Kraken event. This was the Torrent making their announcement, with their players, their GM and Coach, with their fans. I absolutely love how supportive the Kraken organization appears to be with the Torrent, but I also appreciate how this even came across.
As for the name and logo, there was a leak earlier in the week from the PWHL website, so neither came as a surprise (although I did reserve a 30% chance that the “leak” was a head fake from a league that has struggle to keep things under wraps). Seeing the logo presented on the big screen at MoPop, and on gear from those on stage, I think it looks really good. I have similar feelings to when the Kraken name was announced - it’s good, not my first choice, but good. Both the name and logo fit well within the Seattle sports landscape. A professional women’s team lineup of the Storm, Reign, and Torrent is perfect - and the branding blends well with the Kraken. I know the reaction have been mixed online - check out 365 Hockey Girl’s evolution on TikTok - but I think die-hard and casual fans are going to love this team and the name will just be part of the experience. Also, seeing Hannah Murphy’s goalie setup in the Torrent colors helped sell me on the vision.
Also, anytime we can get the Seattle hockey community together - it is a great time. I was able to catch up with Erica Ayala from Locked on Kraken and Black Rosie Media, Alicia Crank from Women’s Pro Hockey Seattle, and so many others from the community. It was a great preview of what Torrent games are going be like in person.
What’s Next
For the Torrent, training camp open on Tuesday, November 11th. I am personally watching to see how Seattle native (and former Sno-King Jr. Thunderbird) Marah Wagner fares! Camp is going to be quick as the team will make the trip to Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum (and their incredible new center ice logo) for two pre-season games against the Goldeneyes on the 15th and 16th. Then, only 5 days later, they return to Vancouver for their inaugural regular season game on November 21st.
For me, I will be working on some data visualizations from last season to take a look at potential lines and D pairings for the year (and ensuring my data is flowing correctly from the API - thanks to Isabelle Lefebvre for the documentation!) I will be in Vancouver for the game on the 21st and then back at CPA for the first ever Torrent game in Seattle on the 28th!
Thanks for reading, let me know if you have any ideas or questions you’d want me to cover!