Fifteen-year-old Max Pelter, known as 'Kraken Max,' has been delivering weekly Seattle Kraken updates on his high school's acclaimed radio station since seventh grade. The Mercer Island High School sophomore hopes to turn his passion for hockey broadcasting into a professional career. His authentic style and dedication have earned praise from station leaders.
Max Pelter, a 10th-grade sophomore at Mercer Island High School, has built a reputation as 'Kraken Max' through his weekly segments on KMIH 88.9 The Bridge, one of the nation's top high school radio stations. Starting in spring 2023 during his seventh-grade year, Pelter began producing Kraken recaps to fill a gap in local coverage of his favorite NHL team, which is now challenging for first place in the Pacific Division.
"Hockey is just my favorite sport, and when the team got announced with all the hype and stuff, I just wanted to get involved," Pelter said. "So, I contacted the station, and I was saying, 'There’s not really much Kraken coverage, especially here on the Island, do you think I could maybe do something about that?' And they said yes, so it’s just gone from there."
Each segment lasts about one to two minutes, covering the team's previous week's games, including who scored and Pelter's personal takeaways. He typically breaks down three or four games played in that period. Pelter attends Kraken games with his father, David, 56, but school commitments prevent him from visiting practices.
Station broadcast media teacher Natalie Woods, who succeeded general manager Joe Bryant on sabbatical, highlighted Pelter's initiative. "Max is extraordinarily unusual because he came to us on his own as a seventh grader," Woods said. "He knew about our program. He was interested in sports broadcasting and then obviously had an interest in the Kraken and hockey."
Pelter has honed his skills at a University of Washington sports play-by-play boot camp and now critiques his own reports. He recently started a longer-form sports podcast with guest interviews and continues calling play-by-play for his school's football, soccer, and lacrosse games. His influences include Kraken broadcasters John Forslund and Eddie Olczyk, as well as Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit.
Introduced to sports by his father, a University of Michigan alum and former recreational hockey goalie, Pelter started playing hockey at age 3 and recently resumed recreationally. "I love the high tempo, the fast pace, just the nature of the game," he said of hockey. KMIH won top high school station honors last year and additional awards this year from the John Drury High School Radio Awards.