Seattle Kraken promote Alexandra Mandrycky to assistant GM

Make it a half dozen. As recently as a year ago, the NHL had no women holding assistant GM roles, and only one in league history had done so before – Angela Gorgone way back in 1996-97 with the Anaheim Ducks. But now, in 2022, six women hold the title of assistant GM with NHL teams.

As reported Wednesday morning by ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, the latest is Alexandra Mandrycky of the Seattle Kraken. She has been promoted from her role as director of hockey strategy and research to the position of assistant GM, working under Ron Francis.

Mandrycky, 31, was one of the Kraken’s first front-office hires after the franchise’s expansion bid was approved in 2018. She brought an analytics bent to the position, having worked for several years as an analyst with the Minnesota Wild, and played a major role in hiring Francis. As reported by Kaplan, Mandrycky has gained influence within the organization over the past several years and now oversees an analytics department of four other employees. The Kraken welcome an analytics-led philosophy behind their roster decisions. Mandrycky has had a significant influence on their signings and trades, and that should only grow in her new role.

She is now the sixth woman in the NHL holding an active assistant GM position. She joins the Vancouver Canucks’ Cammi Granato and Emilie Castonguay; the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser; the New Jersey Devils’ Kate Madigan; and the Chicago Blackhawks’ Meghan Hunter.

Mandrycky will help Francis oversee a slow-burn build toward a competitive NHL franchise. The 2017-18 Vegas Golden Knights raised expectations for what an expansion club can do, but the Kraken followed more of a traditional Year-1 path in 2021-22, finishing last in the Pacific Division with a 27-49-6 record. They have been active this offseason, making two noteworthy upgrades to their top-six forward group, signing Andre Burakovsky and trading for Oliver Bjorkstrand.