Kraken Wise: Captain Eberle Aims To Bring Cup To Seattle With 15 NHL Seasons Under His Belt

Now 15 seasons in and more than 1,000 games into his NHL career, Jordan Eberle has undergone plenty of change – and plenty of personal growth – over the past decade-and-a-half. He’s gone from a 20-year-old rookie thinking he’d spend his career with the Edmonton Oilers to being part of a blockbuster trade with the New York Islanders to being a veteran selected by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 expansion draft.

Now, Eberle is taking a career’s worth of lessons into another change: serving as an NHL captain for the first time. “I’ve been around for a while, and I’ve seen a lot,” Eberle said. “I’ve been through a lot of things. I’ve had good times. I’ve had bad times. But you gain that experience over time of being in certain situations.”

Eberle wants to help young members of the Kraken as individuals, but he also wants to help them as individuals who can benefit the team, regardless of whether they’re personally thriving or they’re struggling through a slump.

When Hall of Famer and Kraken GM Ron Francis named Eberle captain ahead of the 2024-25 season, Eberle sought to stay true to the player he was. And that’s a player who has hit the 20-goal plateau eight times in his career and who continues to maintain a high level of on-ice efficiency. “I try to stay the same person I am,” Eberle said. “Once you become captain, your words might carry a little more, but at the end of the day, I try to be the same person I’ve always been. As you get a little older, the drive to win, as I haven’t won a Stanley Cup, it becomes a lot more. You try to show that on the ice. You try to compete. You try to do whatever you can to win hockey games. A lot of that comes off the ice as well.”

Eberle’s teammates have called him a mentor and, at times, a father-like figure. And Eberle has earned that respect as an off-ice role model and a member of the Seattle community. Eberle’s community involvement began the same way it does for many pro athletes: by attending a charity golf event.

At the time, he didn’t recognize the importance of using his status to give back, but as he matured – particularly after marrying his wife, Lauren, in 2017 – it became a core part of his identity. “When you’re really young, I don’t think you realize the importance of it,” Eberle said. “For me, it was just showing up to a golf tournament, and we ended up raising a lot of money. When the money got allotted to the hospitals, I got to see the impact that it had, and that was the first time I really realized how important it is to use the ground and platform you got from hockey to really give back.”

In 2022, the Eberles founded the Sticks & Strings Foundation, a charitable organization with several key pillars, including helping mothers in need, supporting youth literacy and getting kids into sports, music and experiencing the outdoors. While many players focus their efforts on hockey camps and on-ice programs, the Eberles wanted to widen their reach. “Obviously, sports for me, personally, has given me everything and got me to the point where I am now,” Eberle said. “But there’s other things that build team camaraderie, that build confidence, that build skills and work ethic that you can do. We were trying to mix it up and go through an array of things.”

As they have with their two kids, daughter Collins and son Deacon, the Eberles sought to help youth find a passion and support their families in accessing programming, even if it was unrelated to sport or hockey. As Eberle says, it’s about finding something you love and sticking with it. “I think if you find something you’re passionate about, and you enjoy doing it, that’s the most important thing,” he said. “Reading, getting outdoors, music, hockey, sports, whatever it might be.”

Even as I drive to the rink, you see the lakes, the ocean and the mountains. Seattle is a beautiful city – Jordan Eberle

With his contract set to expire last summer, Eberle avoided unrestricted free agency by signing a two-year, $9.5-million extension in Seattle. As he does with his charity and children, Eberle took a similar approach, looking at more than just hockey when considering his future. “My wife and I love hiking, and we love getting outdoors, and Seattle is amazing for that,” he said. “Even as I drive to the rink, you see the lakes, the ocean and the mountains. There’s tons to do outdoors. It’s a beautiful city. It’s a great city. I love the people. I love their demeanor, and that’s a big reason why we decided to stay.”

While the 34-year-old has accomplished a lot as a player, leader and community member in his career, there’s no complacency in his approach to the game. Eberle wants to be the leader who helps bring a Stanley Cup to Seattle. “You just try to continue working, and you try to get better,” he said. “I want to win. I want to have a chance to get to the post-season and have a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup. I think that’s what every guy wants, and as you get older, you realize the time is getting shorter, and that drive becomes even more.”

This article appeared in the Nov. 25, 2024, World Junior Championship issue of The Hockey News. In this edition, we feature wall-to-wall coverage of the 2025 World Junior Championship, complete with previews of all 10 teams plus some of the most prominent players involved. Also in this issue, we shine the spotlight on San Jose's Tyler Toffoli, Philadelphia's Travis Konecny and a team from Haida Gwaii that really goes the extra mile.

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