In today's digest: the Kraken bolster their front office and coaching staff with experienced figures, vegan doughnut shop Dough Joy is leaving Capitol Hill due to thefts, and Seattle braces for transport collapse during World Cup 2026 matches, urging drivers to leave their cars at home.
Kraken reinforcement: New faces in the front office and coaching staff
The Seattle Kraken continue their methodical build toward a competitive roster, announcing two significant personnel additions. Patrik Allvin has taken the role of vice president and assistant general manager, and Pascal Vincent has joined the coaching staff as an assistant coach. Both bring extensive experience and reputations for getting results. The moves are intended to strengthen both the club’s strategic vision and on-ice operations.
Kraken general manager Jason Botterill noted that Allvin is an excellent communicator who understands the importance of structure and decision-making processes. His talent-evaluation background — spanning work in North America, Europe, at amateur and professional levels — is impressive. Particular emphasis was placed on Allvin’s success in Pittsburgh, where he won three Stanley Cups working in the same group as Botterill. Notably, Allvin was a finalist for the NHL’s General Manager of the Year award in 2024 while with Vancouver, which won its division for the first time since 2013 with a 50-23-9 record and reached the second round of the playoffs. Botterill emphasized that Allvin will work closely with him, especially on professional scouting. Allvin himself, excited to be working with Botterill again, praised the club’s phenomenal training facility and the incredible home support the Kraken receive — something he experienced even as a visitor. He believes the key to long-term success is internal drive and creating an environment where staff and players can reach their potential, which is what brought him to Seattle.
The coaching-staff addition is equally important. Head coach Lane Lambert carefully searched for a replacement for Jessica Campbell and, after consulting many colleagues, selected Pascal Vincent. Lambert called Vincent “a frontrunner from the start,” highlighting his massive 26 years of experience at all levels, including 15 years at the professional level. He described him as extremely hardworking and dedicated, someone who loves winning and developing players. Vincent, who spent the past two seasons leading Montreal’s AHL affiliate Laval Rocket, was named AHL Coach of the Year in 2025 after guiding the team to 101 points and a 48-19-5 record. This is his second time receiving the award. His NHL assistant coaching experience includes seven seasons with Winnipeg and Columbus, as well as a partial season as Columbus’s head coach. Vincent said he feels like he’s coming home and specifically praised the atmosphere at Kraken games and the fans’ passion. In conversations with Lambert, he stressed the importance of building proper habits from the start of the season to not only reach the playoffs but to succeed in them. He agrees with the head coach that you can’t ramp up offense by “cheating” on defense. Lambert, for his part, sees Vincent bringing a fresh offensive perspective that will complement his own defensive emphasis.
These hires, noted on the NHL’s official site in the Kraken article (https://www.nhl.com/kraken/news/kraken-hire-assistant-general-manager-patrik-allvin-assistant-coach-pascal-vincent), are intended to lay a strong foundation for the team’s future. Bringing in experienced figures like Allvin and Vincent signals serious ambition from Seattle’s leadership. Allvin, familiar with the demands of the modern NHL and with management experience in Vancouver’s complex hockey ecosystem, is expected to refine player-evaluation processes and strategic decision-making. His partnership with Botterill, built on years of trust and shared understanding, promises to be productive. Vincent fills a key coaching vacancy, bringing not only rich mentoring experience but also a reputation for developing young players and implementing team systems. His AHL success, where Laval dominated last season, speaks to his ability to install effective systems. The main takeaway from these decisions: the Kraken are not merely patching holes but deliberately assembling a group of like-minded winners, recognizing that long-term success requires not only talented players but also strong leaders and coaches.
Another vegan spot on Capitol Hill closes: Dough Joy leaves, creating a gap in the neighborhood’s coffee-and-doughnut map
On Capitol Hill, one of Seattle’s most colorful neighborhoods, fans of plant-based baking are facing another loss. Popular vegan doughnut shop Dough Joy — which started here out of a truck and built a loyal following — announced it will close its Pike Street location. According to Capitol Hill Seattle News (https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2026/06/capitol-hill-down-another-vegan-doughnut-shop/), the shop will operate only until June 21, dealing a serious blow to the local community that already endured the closure of Mighty-O at 12th and Madison.
Owners Shawn Willis and Christopher Ballard emphasize that this is not the end of the Dough Joy project. Two other locations in Ballard and West Seattle will remain open. “This is not goodbye to Dough Joy. This is a new chapter that will allow us to focus on what made Dough Joy special and offer the best we have,” the official statement says. That wording hints at a restructuring and business optimization, but locals and reporters link the decision to a more prosaic reason — repeated burglaries that plagued the shop for some time.
Break-ins remain a headache for Seattle small businesses, despite support programs. The article notes that in 2025 access to grants was expanded, offering up to $3,000 for repairs and up to $6,000 for security system installation. The GSBA chamber of commerce administers part of these funds under a community safety program. For example, financing was recently provided to boost security at the Life on Mars bar on the same Pike Street. Still, those measures weren’t enough to keep Dough Joy at its old spot. For those unfamiliar with the local food scene, the concept of vegan doughnuts in the U.S. is not merely substituting milk and eggs — it’s a whole philosophy where taste must match traditional baking.
Dough Joy’s departure leaves a noticeable gap in the neighborhood’s doughnut map. The area has already lost Renee Erickson’s classic General Porpoise after Jeffrey’s steakhouse changed concepts, and Half and Half Doughnut Co.’s corner at Pike and Belmont is now The Counter Shoppe. For plant-based dessert lovers this stings, especially after Mighty-O’s closure on Madison Street — now the site of Nudibranch Coffee — leaving fewer specialized options on Capitol Hill. Dough Joy sold doughnuts starting at $4 each, and their recipes were designed to convince even skeptics — the startup’s founders once wrote on their crowdfunding page that their goal was to show plant-based food could be as good as, if not better than, animal-based alternatives.
Now the upper Pike Street spot, which remembers the days of Old School Frozen Custard and Dough Joy’s rise, is vacant again. What will take its place is unknown. It’s reasonable to assume that another business disheartened by crime-driven conditions leaving will send a worrying signal to other tenants and investors, prompting them to reassess doing business in this already expensive and competitive segment.
Seattle braces for soccer chaos: cars will face severe restrictions during World Cup 2026 matches
With just days until Seattle’s first FIFA World Cup 2026 match, the city is preparing for a transport meltdown for drivers. Authorities are blunt: if you plan to travel by car, the best advice is simply not to drive downtown. As King County executive Girmay Zahilay put it, the message is simple: “leave the driving to us.” That uncompromising stance means public transit will be the only realistic way to reach the stadium area on match days.
Officials have imposed strict limits: on match days a so-called “exclusion zone” will extend from Yesler Street south through the stadiums. The southern boundary of that zone runs along Edgar Martinez Boulevard. Practically the only street allowing vehicle movement will be 1st Avenue, and then only in the southbound direction. The entry ban will take effect roughly four hours before kickoff and remain until the crowd has dispersed. Alaska Way and 4th Avenue will remain open, but the historic Pioneer Square district will be almost entirely closed to vehicle traffic. Street parking will also be impacted: parking spaces will disappear starting at 2 a.m. on match days. Access to paid parking outside the exclusion zone will be allowed only with a pass purchased in advance.
The main bet is on public transit, especially the Sound Transit system. CEO Dow Constantine said passengers will be directed to different routes depending on their direction: from the north, Pioneer Square station is most convenient; from the east, Chinatown–International District station; and from the south, Stadium station. All provide easy access to the stadium and related fan activities. To handle the surge, Sound Transit will significantly increase service frequency. On match days, service on Link lines 1 and 2 will be beefed up so trains run every 8 minutes throughout the evening, and trains between International District and Lynnwood will run every 4 minutes. Ferry services and King County Metro are also operating at capacity, increasing rider capacity.
Those not planning to attend matches are best advised to avoid downtown on specific dates: June 15, 19 and 24, June 26, and July 1 and 6. On those days nearly all construction work in the city will be paused to free up as much space as possible for fans. Cyclists and e-scooter users who do choose to pass through the exclusion zone get a small concession: they may pass but with a strict speed limit — no more than 13 km/h. As MyNorthwest.com (https://mynorthwest.com/chokepoints/cars-seattle-world-cup-navigate/4246344) reports, the city is clearly preparing for record passenger volumes, betting on pedestrian and transit access, and drivers should take the authorities’ warnings seriously.
