SEATTLE — Seattle's new NHL franchise hired another Hall of Famer, and a Stanley Cup champ to boost their scouting department.
On Wednesday, the organization announced the hiring of Hockey Hall-of-Famer and Olympic gold medal winner Cammi Granato to the scouting department. According to ESPN, she's the first full-time female NHL pro scout.
Granato will scout from Vancouver.
Ulf Samuelsson, who won two Stanley Cups and has been coaching since his playing career, was added as a scout working out of San Diego.
NHL Seattle also announced the hiring of Stu Barnes, who has been an NHL assistant coach and will work out of Dallas; John Goodwin who will be a Toronto-based scout; and Dave Hunter, who worked with General Manager Ron Francis in Carolina and will be based in Boston.
“It’s fantastic to add our first five scouts to the team and, as we think ahead to the 2021 Expansion Draft, their roles will be key,” said Francis in a prepared statement. “This group has such phenomenal hockey experience.”
The NHL team is scheduled to start playing in the fall of 2021. A name has not been chosen for the team, but could be announced in the near future. The ownership group says the name announcement will "potentially" be this fall.
The arena for Seattle's NHL expansion franchise remains on track to open sometime in the summer of 2021. Once the privately-financed building is done, the arena will be 800,000 square feet or double the footprint of the old KeyArena.
NHL Seattle will also anchor a massive redevelopment of Northgate Mall. It’s part of a major overhaul of the complex. Come 2021, plans call for a state-of-the-art practice facility, complete with several ice rinks surrounded by bars, restaurants and retail.
