PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — The Seattle Kraken will split its players among several American Hockey League teams for its inaugural 2021-22 season with plans for their own American Hockey League franchise in the Palm Springs, California, area delayed by a year.
Oak View Group and the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation announced plans to build a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment arena in the Coachella Valley that will be the future home of the Kraken’s AHL franchise, but it will not open until the 2022-23 season.
The entire project will be on private land owned by the foundation with all construction privately funded.
The announcement marks a change in plans and timeline from a first concept presented in late 2019 that proposed an arena located on 16 acres of tribal land in downtown Palm Springs belonging to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, a federally recognized tribe.
Kraken general manager Ron Francis and assistant GM Ricky Olczyk are exploring all options for finding other competition options for a certain number of reserve players during the 2021-22 NHL season, including the possibility of
sharing an AHL roster with another NHL team.
Meanwhile, the Kraken will play beginning with the 2021-22 season.