Crank Up The Volume

Alicia picks up the new Seattle Kraken "Hometown Remix" premium jersey (Fanatics) in person at the team store at Kraken Community Iceplex in Northgate, and gives her verdict on the design, fit and feel. She had already ordered one online, and she's pleased overall.

• She wears a size 60, a looser fit she prefers for her hips. It's more generous in the hips than the Winter Classic jersey.
• Design: The jersey has the Hometown Remix wordmark, a Muckleshoot patch, and the Kraken "S" on both sleeves. Some fans say it's missing red, but she's fine with that given the color scheme. The Fanatics logo is on the back.
• Details she likes:The anchor is stitched in and sits flat to the jersey, rather than poking out like the original S on earlier jerseys. The Space Needle is shelled out, the cream sleeves have stitching detail on both sides, and the Seattle stitching at the bottom is flat and baked in.
• Comparison:Since this is a Fanatics jersey, she compares it to the Winter Classic and the Fanatics glow-in-the-dark third jersey (the Adidas home jersey is the other point of reference a friend, Megan, asked about). Hometown Remix is thicker and heavier than the third jersey, which is thinner, maybe because of its glow-in-the-dark elements. It's thinner than the Winter Classic, so it lands in the middle for thickness and warmth.
• Next steps:She plans to wear it to Saturday's November 7 game and get it customized at the Iceplex or at Happy Hour at Climate Pledge. She usually gets "Crank" on her jerseys, but is considering "Cranky" or "Cranking" instead of a player name.

Alicia Crank recaps a PWHL-focused October, including Denise Ilitch’s perspective on women’s sports leadership and the league’s growth, followed by updates on roster and salary changes. She also covers Seattle Torrent news, the delayed home opener, Vancouver travel plans, and her in-person show.

PWHL, Seattle Torrent, Denise Ilitch, women’s hockey, PWHL salary, Seattle sports, PWHL expansion

Denise Ilitch advises women pursuing sports leadership to get a foot in the door, even through an internship, and learn through curiosity and questions.

Ilitch says the PWHL puts athletes first and lets fan demand demonstrate that the game and its markets are real; she cited 3,400 Detroit tickets sold in one hour and 15,000 tickets sold for 2026.

The league and PWHL Players Association announced active rosters of 24 and a five-season minimum base salary progression: $42,000, $45,000, $47,500, $50,000, and $52,500 in 2030-31.

Expansion jersey designs and colors are arriving, while Alicia waits for the Seattle Torrent jersey reveal rather than commenting on an unconfirmed leak.

Alicia notes competitive season-ticket renewals and increased Torrent/PWHL merchandise visibility at Kraken games, alongside new team hiring focused in part on ticketing and activation.

The Seattle Torrent home opener is December 20; the season opens December 5 in Vancouver, with Alicia warning travelers to account for British Columbia’s time change.

Alicia previews a preseason Seattle-San Jose scrimmage in San Jose and a future Pop-Up Presents episode featuring Madi McNamara.

Chapters

00:00 October’s PWHL focus and Denise Ilitch’s investment

02:18 Ilitch’s advice for women entering sports leadership

03:09 How fan demand is validating the PWHL

04:17 24-player rosters and five seasons of salary increases

06:02 Expansion jerseys and the awaited Seattle reveal

08:04 What the league’s roster and salary changes mean

10:37 Curiosity as an answer to imposter syndrome

11:55 Torrent hiring, season-ticket demand, and fan community

16:11 Merch, jersey speculation, and Pop-Up Presents

20:22 Preseason plans and the Seattle-San Jose scrimmage

22:12 Why Seattle’s home opener lands on December 20

25:02 Vancouver group travel and the time-change reminder

28:24 The home opener and what’s next for the show

#WWConverge On this special episode of The Pop-Up!, host Alicia Crank sat down with LaTanya Horace-DuBois, Founder and Executive Director of The Silent Task Force (STF), and the organization’s Youth Program Director Fayth Njenga to discuss the spike in sex trafficking surrounding the FIFA World Cup in Seattle.

The conversation focused on STF's community-driven FIFA response initiative, which mobilized resources and raised awareness about human trafficking ahead of, during, and after major sporting events. A key highlight of their work included the Youth Ambassador Program, which empowered 18 local youth to lead street-level outreach, distribute specialized health kits, and inform adult advocates on effective safety strategies.

Additionally, Horace-DuBois and Njenga reviewed the findings from their Preliminary Impact Report, detailing the thousands of hours contributed to community outreach and the spike in cases seen following the event. The episode concluded with a call to action regarding the Ebony Alert resource flyer and advocacy efforts to pass legislation protecting missing Black women and youth.

Women’s hockey didn’t “suddenly” take off—the seeds were planted decades ago.

🏒In my conversation with Denise Ilitch, we talked about how putting athletes first, building on real fan demand, and investing in the game can help women’s hockey thrive.

The growth isn’t just hype. It’s years of people showing up—and proof that women’s sports belong on the big stage. What do you think has fueled the rise of women’s hockey most: the players, the fans, or the investment? #PWHL #WomensSports #WomenInSports #DetroitHockey #SportsBusiness

The Torrent schedule release video was cute... but the real story is how a season ticket member got pulled into it twice

Nora shares her experiences in being part of the video, along with her loved ones.

#PWHL #SeattleTorrent #WomenInSports #HockeyFans #CrankUpTheVolume

Seattle sports fans — next week’s Crank Up the Volume is packed.

Save this and tune in next Wednesday LIVE at 7 PM

— we’re breaking down the Kraken home opener, previewing the Torrent preseason + full season schedule, and sitting down with Seattle Majestics players about the WNFC and what’s coming next. A change of venue for one of them, a new season, and a lot to talk about.

If you love Seattle sports, this one’s for you.
Drop a 🔥 if you’ll be watching live, or tag someone who needs the reminder. Replays on YouTube after.

#CrankUpTheVolume #SeattleMajestics #WNFC #SeattleKraken #SeattleTorrent

The PWHL full schedule is ALMOST here—and the Seattle Torrent play Vancouver on Dec. 5! 🏒The home opener is Dec. 20, and I’m working on group tickets for Vancouver. No bus trip this year, but I still plan to be there! More teams and more venues mean more moving pieces, so let’s give the schedule-makers a little patience. The full schedule drops Friday. Let’s show up and show out! 💥#PWHL #SeattleTorrent #WomensHockey #HockeyFans #SeattleSports

At yesterday's Seattle Kraken Food and Drink preview, John Forslund shared some insights on the team itself.

Year 1 was all excitement.

Year 2 was the real test.

If you’ve ever seen a team look “good” on paper but struggle with consistency, you know exactly what I mean.

The first season had the launch energy, the big moments, the memories you never forget. But it was still a COVID-restricted season—and that made consistency hard.

Then year 2 hit differently.

Everybody played above expectation.

That’s the part people miss:

- excitement starts the story

- consistency changes it

- unexpected growth proves the culture is real

Sometimes the best season isn’t the one with the biggest hype. It’s the one where everybody rises together.

#TeamCulture #SportsLeadership #ConsistencyWins #CrankUpTheVolume #LeadershipLessons

Preseason is here, and I kicked off The Pop-Up! Presents: Crank Up the Volume with the perfect first guest - Kraken’s Cassandra Tuiasosopo. If you love women in sports, behind-the-scenes hockey stories, or hearing how people actually build careers in this industry, save this

and send it to a friend who’d be into it.

We talked about:

• getting started in sports before the business side
• landing in Seattle right before COVID
• what it takes to lead in a fast-moving sports organization
• the fun stuff too - merch, special ticket nights, and yes, yeeting the salmon 🐟

That first episode felt like the right way to open this whole new video era.
More conversations like this are coming soon.What should I ask my next guest?

Also, I share about upcoming interviews and Torrent preseason games.

#CrankUpTheVolume #SeattleKraken #WomenInSports #HockeyTalk #ConvergeMedia

Alicia shares an exciting update about Crank Up The Volume that starts next week! #seattle #womenssports #womeninsports #womeninbusiness #crankupthevolume