The Coachella Valley Firebirds are rolling into season five with a packed promotions calendar, and the Kraken’s AHL affiliate made sure Monday’s announcement sounded like more than just a schedule release.
The home opener is set for Friday, October 2 against the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ farm team, and that’s just the start. The Firebirds’ event list also includes Kids Night, Dia de los Muertos, and Kraken Night as part of what the club is billing as a celebration of its fifth season.
“Reaching our fifth season is worth celebrating, and our fans are the reason we’ve gotten here,” John Page, Firebirds Senior Vice President said in a release. “Season five is about celebrating everything we’ve built together over the last four years while creating even more opportunities for fans to make memories with family and friends.”
That kind of confidence isn’t coming out of nowhere. On the ice, the Firebirds have spent their first four seasons stacking up results, reaching the Calder Cup Finals twice and then, last year, making a run to the Pacific Division finals as the youngest team in the AHL.
Off the ice, the organization is clearly leaning into the moment, and the calendar reflects it. The team says it’s ready to celebrate the start of year five with a full slate of themed nights and fan-focused events.
And if you’re wondering how much of that opening-night roster might eventually matter in Seattle, that’s the other layer here. The Firebirds’ lineup on October 2 could offer a preview of who might surface with the Kraken later on, maybe for more than a short look.
Seattle’s own home opener lands on Sunday, October 4, after a road back-to-back-plus-one stretch that starts with the Calgary Flames on October 1 and continues in Edmonton against the Oilers on October 3. Not exactly a soft landing, with the home opener coming as the third game in four nights.
The Firebirds’ full promotions schedule was released Monday.
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