SEATTLE — Yanni Gourde is one of the few, the proud, the original Seattle Kraken. He's seen the team in its inaugural season, a playoff push and a third year slump.
"We tried to build an identity from the start and a culture here," he said. "So it's very exciting knowing that we're pushing this forward and the culture of this organization and we want to win."
Gourde missed only 11 games in his first three seasons with the team, averaging 43 points for one of the most potent lines on the team.
"I think we're relentless. We play fast and the games that we're successful are the games that we play the fastest," he said. "We're single-minded. We go north in the o-zone and then we make our plays there. When we play slow, that's when we get a little bit more in trouble."
He said the young team is still trying to find and hone that identity in the first few weeks.
"It's still a process but we're definitely seeing parts of games that it's there and when it happens, there's a good stretch of games that we're dominating and we're looking really good, so we've got to keep pressing the pace and pushing the pace and making sure we keep going," he said.
Gourde has been an alternate captain all four seasons with the Kraken and said his leadership is best demonstrated through pushing his team during adverse times.
"I just want to help this team win every time I go on the ice," he said. "I want to set the identity, set the pace, trying to bring this team into the fight. That's probably what my strongest suits are."
Gourde is also a leader when it comes to player safety, wearing neck protection after the death of a former NHL player last year.
"With what happened, a bunch of guys in the league kind of started doing it and also whenever I felt comfortable after using it a few times in practice, I felt comfortable and started wearing one for games and that's kind of how it started," he said.
The American Hockey League, the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League, made it mandatory for all players to don this safety accessory this season. Gourde, however, thinks it should be a choice at the highest level.
"It's OK the way it is right now," Gourde said. "If you want to wear it, you wear it. If you don't and you're uncomfortable, don't."