By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - For the first time in their young history, the Seattle Kraken are set to play regular-season games outside of North America, taking on the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in the 2026 NHL Global Series. In Helsinki, Finland, in the last few days after getting on a plane in the immediate aftermath of their home loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, it’s a unique experience for the Kraken and the four Finnish-born players currently on their roster.
Here are some fast facts to know about the Kraken, and maybe some about their opponent, as they participate in the 2026 NHL Global Series.
This matchup between the Kraken and Hurricanes, with both games taking place at Helsinki’s Veikkaus Arena, will feature two of the highest-scoring Finnish players in the NHL this season: Carolina’s Sebastian Aho and Seattle’s Kaapo Kakko. Aho leads all Finnish skaters in points this season with 26 (10 goals and 16 assists), while Kakko ranks sixth among his countrymen this year with 13 (3 goals and 10 assists).
Aho and Kakko were teammates on Finland’s bronze medal-winning entry at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games – both players scored in Finland’s 6-1 victory over Slovakia in the bronze medal game.
The Kraken will be participating in the 49th and 50th NHL regular-season games played outside North America when they take on the Hurricanes on Thursday, November 12th, and Saturday, November 14th.
Seattle will become the 27th active franchise to play in a regular-season game outside North America when they make their international debut in the 2026 NHL Global Series in Finland.
It’s going to be a tough test for the Kraken against the Hurricanes no matter what, but especially so when you know the history of reigning Stanley Cup winners playing in a game outside North America in the season immediately following their championship. Stanley Cup winners own a 5-1-0 record overseas in previous instances, so history is against Seattle here, in addition to Carolina being incredibly difficult to play already.
Now it’s time for some individual player nods, as the Kraken have four players hailing from Finland who are currently on their roster.
Seattle Kraken forward Kaapo Kakko with the team during the 2026-27 season at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
Born in Turku, Finland, Seattle winger Kaapo Kakko was chosen second overall in the 2019 NHL Draft (by the New York Rangers), tied for the highest-selected Finnish player in NHL history with Patrik Laine (2016), Aleksander Barkov (2013) and Kari Lehtonen (2002). Kakko matched his career-high in points in a season in 2025-26 (13-27—40 in 65 GP) and has excelled since joining the Kraken via trade on December 18th, 2024, a deal that saw defenseman Will Borgen head to the Rangers.
Seattle Kraken forward Jani Nyman with the team during the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
Born in Valkeakoski, Finland, Kraken winger Jani Nyman was a second-round pick by Seattle in the 2022 NHL Draft (49th overall) and was recently recalled from the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds, where he was producing more than a point per game (9-2—11 in 9 GP). Nyman has appeared in double-digit games with the Kraken in each of the past two seasons (28 GP in 2025-26, 12 GP in 2024-25) as he continues to aim for a full-time role with the team. Nyman was called up back on October 24th, when Veteran winger Jared McCann was placed on injured reserve.
Seattle Kraken defenseman Ville Ottavainen with the team during the 2026-27 season at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
Born in Oulu, Finland, Seattle defenseman Ville Ottavainen is a large blueliner, standing at 6’5” as he plays in his first full NHL season after three full seasons with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. Ottavainen made his NHL debut in 2024-25, notching an assist in his only game that season. Ottavainen made an appearance last year with Seattle late into the season before making the Kraken roster out of training camp. Ville had seemingly beaten out Josh Mahura and Cale Fleury, two veteran defensemen, for a spot on the third pairing before an injury to Ryan Lindgren thrust Mahura into the lineup.
Goaltender Nikke Kokko seen during the 2025-26 season with the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)
Also born in Oulu, Finland, Seattle goaltender Nikke Kokko was recently called up by the Kraken solely for the purpose of joining the team to be with them for this NHL Global Series. After we’d heard rumors that he’d be called up for this purpose back in October, it became official a few days ago. He’s not on the roster, and won’t be unless there’s an injury to Philipp Grubauer or Joey Daccord. Kokko has made a few appearances for Seattle before at the NHL level in years past and has held his own, posting a record of 1-2-0 with a 3.18 goals-against average and .875 save percentage in four games (three starts) for Seattle.
Some more history regarding the Hurricanes and international play: Carolina (2-0-0) is one of five teams that have won all of their games contested outside North America, alongside the New Jersey Devils (3-0-0), St. Louis Blues (2-0-0), Toronto Maple Leafs (2-0-0) and Philadelphia Flyers (1-0-0). Should they remain victorious through the 2026 NHL Global Series in Finland, the Hurricanes would become the first team in NHL history to win each of their first four regular-season games outside North America.
With the Kraken making their overseas debut and becoming the 27th active NHL franchise to appear in a game outside North America, there are now five teams that still haven’t played overseas, with some of the names potentially coming as a surprise. The Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Utah Mammoth, Vegas Golden Knights, and Washington Capitals have yet to do so.
When they hit the ice on Thursday, Seattle will become the third active franchise to make its overseas debut within its first six NHL seasons, following the Nashville Predators (3 seasons in 2000-01) and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (5 seasons in 1997-98).
If they’re able to put together a strong game and beat the Hurricanes on Thursday, the Kraken can become the 14th team to win their first regular season game outside North America – the Maple Leafs were the last to do so, at the 2023 NHL Global Series Sweden. It’s extremely unlikely because of the level of competition, but with Seattle and Carolina facing off twice in Finland, the Kraken also could become the seventh team to win each of their first two games outside North America – a feat the Hurricanes achieved in 2010.
Seattle will become the third team to make their debut in an NHL game outside North America while facing the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Los Angeles Kings earned a 4-1 win over the Ducks (2006-07 Stanley Cup winners) in the opener of the 2007 NHL Premiere Series in London, while the Stars fell 6-4 to the Panthers (2023-24 Stanley Cup winners) in the first of two games at the 2024 NHL Global Series in Finland.
The Kraken have seven players who have played international games before in their careers: Freddy Gaudreau, Adam Larsson, Jared McCann, Bobby McMann, Brandon Montour, Mackie Samoskevich, and Matthew Wood. Only two of those players have logged points in those games, as Samoskevich scored a goal and Montour has an assist.
With notes on both teams heading into this game, here are some notes on the host nation of Finland.
These contests between the Kraken and Hurricanes mark the 12th and 13th regular-season NHL games staged in Finland, the second-most by any country outside of North America, behind Sweden (19).
With this year’s NHL Global Series games, Helsinki will also tie Prague, Czechia (9), as the cities that have hosted the second-most regular-season NHL games outside of North America. The only city to stage more: Stockholm, Sweden (18).
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Check out our previous Seattle Kraken articles here.
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