The Seattle Kraken NHL expansion team will play a preseason game against the Calgary Flames at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2 at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent.

The game was announced Friday, July 9 by the Kraken and the Kent-based Seattle Thunderbirds junior hockey league team, which plays its Western Hockey League (WHL) home games at the city-owned ShoWare Center.

“This is a great opportunity the Kraken are providing to help grow the game of hockey in the state,” said Colin Campbell, T-Birds president. “We couldn’t be prouder the Kraken have chosen accesso ShoWare Center for a preseason game. We know the best fans in the WHL will show up for this game and it will be an exciting night.”

The Kraken needed to find alternate sites for its preseason games because the new Climate Pledge Arena at Seattle Center will not be completed. The Kraken will play the Vancouver Canucks on Sept. 26 at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena and play the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 1 at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.

“The arena is on track to host our first regular season home game in mid-October, but we have made the decision to play our three inaugural pre-season games at three outstanding local arenas,” said Tod Leiweke, CEO of the Kraken.”This gives us an opportunity to partner with the WHL teams, celebrate hockey across our region and grow this beautiful game. We couldn’t be more excited for these games and then to open Climate Pledge Arena.”

Tickets will go on sale at noon on Friday, July 16 at seattlethunderbirds.com.

T-Birds season ticket holders will get first chance at buying tickets to the preseason game at the 6,200-seat arena during a special 36-hour presale.

The ticket presale will take place online on the T-Birds website starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 13 and ending at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, July 14. There will be a limit of four tickets to the preseason game per account. Season ticket holders will receive an email from the team that will include instructions and a unique URL to purchase tickets.

No tickets will be sold at the ShoWare Center box office or over the phone as all sales will be online. There will be a limit of four tickets per customer. All tickets will be delivered via mobile delivery. No tickets will be printed.

Tickets will cost $395 (which includes 10 vouchers for T-Birds home games this season), $150, $125 and $95. Prices do not include service fees. For more information about the $395 tickets and vouchers, call the T-Birds at 253-239-7825.

“These games represent the opportunity to see our roster come together for the first time outside of training camp,” said Seattle Kraken general manager, Ron Francis. “It will be an honor to play them in hockey communities across the state and I know our players will be excited.”

The Seattle Kraken will donate a portion of ticket revenue to One Roof Foundation with a goal of raising over $500,000 to expand youth access to hockey. The Kraken is working with the Thunderbirds, Everett Silvertips, Spokane Chiefs, Tri-City Americans and the Portland Winterhawks to grow the game across the region.

The Kraken will select players from other NHL teams during the Expansion Draft on July 21. They will participate in the NHL Entry Draft on July 23-24 with the second pick in the first round.

The NHL has not released its 2021-2022 regular season schedule but is expected to target Oct. 12 as the opening date. Schedules are expected to be released later this month.