Wow! Kris won a special event at a charity auction: Kraken practice and lunch with Ron Francis, General Manager of the Seattle Kraken! Kris graciously invited some other Krew folks to join him, and we were like kids in a candy store! It started with viewing Kraken practice from a special platform reserved for team brass. What a great view!
Then things got even better when Tod Liewicke, President and CEO stopped by. Kris got a chance to tell them all about what Kris’ Krew is all about, which can only yield great fruit later on.
We got to ask Ron lots of questions about how practice is run, what an average day is like, what he looks for during practice, how things are different from when he used to play, and much more. We chewed his ear off, but still left so many questions unasked.
When practice was done, we all headed to the 32 Bar and Grill for lunch with Ron, where we got to continue the discussion. And when we were almost done, we got a surprise visit from Yanni Gourde! Kris had hoped we would be able to meet the team, but we were told that this close to the playoff push, we wouldn’t be able to. But after hearing Kris’ story and how Yanni was Kris’ favorite player (not only because of his playing ability, but the Quebec connection they share), Ron texted Yanni and he came by to say hello.
What a fantastic guy he (Yanni) is. Full of smiles, and made it seem like he was just as excited to meet us as we were him. He signed a few jerseys, took a bunch of selfies and even gave Kris a hug.
What a great day. It was super-special to be able to have the full attention of some very important Kraken personnel. Tod Liewicke even remembered Todd from a mere elevator ride, so let’s hope we made a big impression about what Kris’ Krew is all about!