The Kraken’s youth skating partnership with the One Roof Foundation and Refugee Women’s Alliance is heading into its sixth season, and the program is growing again. This year, it will serve five Seattle school locations - Lake City, Northgate, Beacon Hill, Othello and MLK - with about 95 children ages 4 and 5 expected to take part.
For families like Rawed Kais’, the program has already made a real impact. His daughter Sofia, 5, first got a taste of skating through the Learn to Skate classes at Kraken Community Iceplex, a collaboration between the Kraken, ORF and ReWA.
At first, the ice was unfamiliar ground for the family. But Sofia took to it quickly, and her parents started making extra trips to the rink outside of class so she could keep building on what she was learning.
Now back for a second season, Sofia is skating on her own and has even carried that balance over to roller skating.
“She’s now skating on her own, amazingly, and it helped her to roller skate,” Kais said. “Because she knows how to balance now, roller skating was pretty easy on her.”
The weekly Wednesday sessions will run through mid-June. After the winter holidays, students will have the option to lean toward hockey or move into figure skating in future lessons.
Julie Lu, assistant director at ReWA’s Othello location, has seen the program from the start, first as a teacher and now in an administrative role. She said the biggest value is simple: it gives kids access to something many of them would never otherwise experience.
“A lot of our kids don’t have the opportunity to get on the ice or even learn ice skating because it costs so much,” Lu said. “A lot of them will not be able to afford ice skating or even know what ice skating is if they were never exposed to it.”
Because many of the families ReWA works with are low-income, the price of lessons and equipment can be a major obstacle. The partnership removes that barrier and gives children a chance to learn on the ice at KCI.
Lu said the benefits show up beyond skating itself. Kids who start out unsure of themselves often leave with better balance, coordination and confidence, and she’s seen those gains carry back into school and play.
“Coming here, they’re learning how to balance. They’re learning how to skate. They’re learning how to move different ways that they probably won’t have an opportunity to do at home,” Lu said.
She said those lessons can help with everything from running and kicking a ball to moving around the playground. And by the end of the season, some of the children who were once hesitant are doing far more than just staying upright.
“By the end of the program year, a lot of them will skate without a cone and be able to do crazy tricks,” Lu said.
As the program expands, ReWA has had to make some adjustments to spread the available spots, including giving priority to children getting ready for kindergarten. That means growth brings more access, but it can also make it harder for some returning skaters to get back in for another season.
Still, Lu said the progress of those returning children is one of the most rewarding parts of the partnership.
Kais sees it that way too. Watching Sofia learn to handle falls, get back up and keep going has changed how he thinks about sports.
“Every time they fall, how they stand up again and how they deal with the falls, I believe it gives them strength,” Kais said.
He said that lesson reaches beyond the rink.
“Any sport you do, it translates outside the ice,” Kais said. “It gives them confidence in how to deal with life.”
For Sofia, the skating lessons have become more than a weekly activity. They’ve turned into a place to build confidence, pick up new skills and keep discovering what she can do when she sticks with it.
In Other News...
Kraken Head To Finland With Injury Concerns Suddenly Looming
The Krakens trip to Helsinki for the 2026-27 NHL Global Series comes with a little more uncertainty than the club probably wanted. Seattle is already managing injuries to forwards Jared McCann and Jacob Melanson, along with defenseman Ryan Lindgren, which has put a little more pressure on the roster as the team settles in for the overseas showcase.
To give itself some extra cover, Seattle recalled forward Logan Morrison and goaltender Nikke Kokko from Coachella Valley. The moves give the Kraken more flexibility if the injury situation worsens during the Finland swing, while also adding another layer of intrigue to a trip that already carries plenty of spotlight for the organization. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Eberle Just Showed What Seattle Needs From Its Captain
Jordan Eberle stepped into the captaincy just before the 2024-25 season, becoming only the second player to wear that letter in Kraken history, and the way he describes the job fits the moment in Seattle. He is not talking about the role as a ceremonial honor so much as a daily standard, one built around doing his part on the ice while helping younger players settle in and understand what the team expects.
Eberle also made clear this is not a one-man assignment, which matters for a club trying to keep its footing as it builds its identity. The Krakens leadership structure has depth around him, and the bigger challenge now is turning that group into the kind of steady, positive presence that can shape the room long after the speeches end. [Read more 🡒]