How The Seattle Kraken Became BookTok's Favorite Team

How The Seattle Kraken Became BookTok's Favorite Team

In 2021, the Seattle Kraken became the NHL's newest expansion team, and in 2023, they became BookTok's favorite team. This unexpected love affair between the social media platform and the hockey team has taken the BookTok community by storm and has helped to expand the Kraken's fan base in unexpected ways.


It all started with a book called "Icebreaker" by Hannah Grace. The novel, which tells the story of a competitive figure skater and a hockey team captain who share a rink, quickly became a hit among BookTok accounts. Many fans fell in love with the main love interest, Nate Hawkins, and began looking for real-life hockey players who matched his description.

Photo by Taylor Friehl on Unsplash  


One of these fans was popular BookToker, Kierra Lewis, (who actually resides in Nashville) reengaged with the sport of hockey through sports romance novels. After reading books such as Icebreakers &"Pucking Around" by Emily Rath, another spicy Hockey romance, Lewis became enamored with the sport and started asking her followers to send her pictures of attractive hockey players. This led her to discover Kraken stars like Alexander Wennberg and Vince Dunn.

(Photo by: @kierra_lewis1 Instagram)


The timing was perfect for the Kraken. They had just won a stunning victory against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of the first round, the defending champions who had won the Stanley Cup the previous year. This unexpected win, coupled with the power of the BookTok community, gave the Kraken the exposure they needed to reach a wider audience.


The Kraken embraced this love from the BookTok community by changing their bio to "Mostly Booktok," making videos with BookTok, and even flying Kierra Lewis on a private plane to watch their second-round game against the Dallas Stars. The Kraken even gave Lewis a customized Kraken jersey with the number 1 on it and "Booktok" as the last name.

(Photo by: @kierra_lewis1 Instagram)


Kierra Lewis is known for bringing spicy books and humor to life on her page, so it's no surprise that the Kraken's newfound popularity on BookTok has resulted in the team gaining a reputation for being the league's "spiciest" team. This newfound popularity has also helped to grow the fan base of the Kraken, and BookTok's massive 117 billion viewers (as of 2023) has begun to embrace the team as their own!


The Seattle Kraken's embrace of BookTok and the platform's immense social power has helped the team gain exposure and grow its fan base. This unexpected partnership between a sports team and a social media platform is a testament to the power of fandom and the unique ways that sports teams can connect with their fans in today's digital age. 

Make sure to check out some of the hilarious Kraken Booktok content below!

https://www.tiktok.com/@kierralewis75/video/7230230045195865386?lang=en&q=Booktok%20kraken&t=1683745582966

https://www.tiktok.com/@seattlekraken/video/7206075709826141486?lang=en&q=Booktok%20kraken&t=1683745582966

https://www.tiktok.com/@bloomsburybooks/video/7228310568975797531?lang=en&q=Booktok%20kraken&t=1683745582966

 

 

 

@kierralewis75 #booktok #seakraken #hockeymen ♬ original sound - Kierra Lewis

 

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