Fifty youth goalies showed up to Kraken Community Iceplex on Sunday, Aug. 9, expecting drills. They got Philipp Grubauer.

The Kraken's 34-year-old Stanley Cup champion made a surprise appearance at the franchise's summer Goalie Camp, moving between eight on-ice stations to offer individualized tips to kids as young as five and as old as 19, according to NHL.com.

"I was going through the stations and took a peek at one guy or two, then moved to the next station and watched another three, four goalies," Grubauer told NHL.com. "Every kid has a different thing they would need to improve on."

Grubauer, entering the final year of the six-year contract he signed before Seattle's inaugural 2021-22 season, returned to the city from his native Bavaria in mid-July, six to eight weeks earlier than most teammates. He said the clinic was about "paying it forward," citing mentorship he received from German pro league goalies during his own youth.

The camp has grown fast. Julia Takatsuka, the Kraken's Junior Hockey goaltending development and learn-to-play coordinator, told NHL.com the inaugural 2023 session drew 32 goalies. This year's edition hit 50, a 56 percent increase, with participants from four states and British Columbia. Ten girls attended. An "entire crew from Moses Lake" has grown each year, Takatsuka said.

The 90-minute on-ice sessions covered fundamental skating and body control in the crease, supplemented by off-ice dryland training on nutrition, body care and mental skills.

Access and cost

The camp sits inside the 172,000-square-foot Kraken Community Iceplex at Northgate, adjacent to light rail. Summer hockey camps there run $450 to $810 per week, according to Seattle's Child. The Kraken's One Roof Foundation has pledged to increase hockey access for BIPOC youth and partners with Title 1 schools through its Floorball program, which donates equipment and PE curriculum.

But publicly available data does not show what share of Goalie Camp participants come from South Seattle, Rainier Valley, the Central District or other communities where the franchise has stated equity goals.

A South Park youth group visited during the Kraken's 2026 development camp earlier this summer, according to NHL.com's news feed, though details of that event are not publicly available.

Grubauer, meanwhile, has his eyes on the ice ahead. The Kraken finished 34-37-11 last season and missed the playoffs. Seattle opens the 2026-27 season at Calgary on Thursday, Oct. 1, with the home opener at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday, Oct. 4, against the Flames.