Kraken forward John Hayden, mascot Buoy charged by grizzly bear while Alaska fishing in wild scene
The Seattle Kraken and their mascot, Buoy the sea troll, were in Anchorage for a community partnership when Buoy and Co. were charged by a grizzly bear.
4 The grizzly bear begins charging Buoy.
X/SEAbuoy
Advertisement
4 Buoy and the crew were forced to leave the water as the bear charged.
X/SEAbuoy
The team was in Anchorage fly fishing at Brooks Falls as part of their annual partnership trip with the Bristol Bay Native Corporation, which brings hockey and community engagement to fans in Alaska.
'Every year we try to do something special and unique to Alaska,' Kraken partnership marketing director Melissa O'Brochta described the event to KOMO News. 'A couple years ago, we took Buoy on a little glacial helicopter ride, in the years past, we've done fishing in Anchorage. But this year, we were like, let's do fly fishing over at Brooks Falls.
Advertisement
4 The entire crew fled the bear.
X/SEAbuoy
'Brooks Falls is iconic. If you've ever seen a picture of a bear catching a salmon in his mouth, it's typically at Brooks Falls.'
Well, those bears were certainly on the salmon hunt while the Kraken were in town.
The team was filming 'experiential content' of Buoy and Kraken forward John Hayden in the scenic Alaskan wilderness, when the bear gave the team some different content than they would've expected.
Advertisement
4 Buoy and Kraken forward John Hayden.
X/SEAbuoy
Buoy and Hayden fished in the river as they were suddenly stalked by the bear from behind.
The fishing guides alerted the entire crew as they all began exiting the water — but the grizzly bear began advancing and rushed toward the group.
The bear may have been interested in Buoy the most, drawn to his wacky look.
Advertisement
'I want to blame it on Buoy. They were pretty interested in his whole look. We got out of it OK, but it was a close call,' Hayden said.
As Hayden said, it was nothing more than a close call, albeit it was an entertaining one.
'No trolls or bears were hurt in the making, always respect wildlife in their natural habitat,' Buoy's official X page posted.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Hockey News Big Show: Where Will Remaining UFAs End Up?
The Hockey News Big Show discussed the remaining free agents, thoughts on Matthew Tkachuk being unveiled as the EA Sports NHL26 cover athlete, Olympic rosters and a scary situation for the Seattle Kraken's mascot, 'Buoy'.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Kraken mascot bear encounter: Watch as Buoy and Seattle F John Hayden get charged during promo shoot
Kraken mascot bear encounter: Watch as Buoy and Seattle F John Hayden get charged during promo shoot originally appeared on The Sporting News Sports teams' social media departments have become increasingly important over the years. Whether it's player interviews or schedule reveals, an organization's social team is charged with high expectations to deliver information creatively for fans' enjoyment. Sometimes, things can get a little carried away, though. The Seattle Kraken's mascot, Buoy, and forward John Hayden were recently filming promotional content in Alaska as part of an "annual trip organized by Bristol Bay Native Corporation in Anchorage," per the Associated Press. Everything was going well until the crew noticed that there was an unwanted guest on the premises. A brown bear had sauntered out of the woods and into the stream. 📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp Here's more on the close call that the Kraken mascot recently had with a bear. Kraken mascot bear encounter Buoy and Hayden were fishing when all of a sudden a guide with them took the fishing rod from the hockey player. The crew pointed out that a bear had emerged from the woods. It looked like it was just searching for food in the stream, but then the brown bear charged at Buoy. The mascot and forward were making their way out of the stream in a calm but deliberate manner. You don't want to just turn and start running from a bear because it could incite them to chase you. Luckily, as the bear got closer, it turned at the last minute and didn't fully end up coming after the duo. The franchise's Partnership Marketing Director was on the shore and recorded the encounter. She said, "Bears are everywhere at Brooks Falls and, like, this is their territory. They're also super used to seeing humans. So, I wasn't scared." While this may be true, bears surely aren't used to seeing hockey mascots, especially ones like Buoy. Hayden picked up on that as well after the video, saying, "I want to blame it on Buoy. They were pretty interested in his look." While the forward may have been joking with his mascot, it aligns with the fact that the bears were probably accustomed to humans, but this particular brown wanted to determine what Buoy was and if it could be prey. What is the Kraken's mascot? The Seattle hockey franchise was founded in 2021. The team name is a nod to a creature from Norse mythology that lived in the ocean. It was basically a giant squid, but on a massive scale. In movies, like "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," krakens are big enough to wrap their tentacles around ships and sink them. If this doesn't sound very family friendly, the Kraken front office agreed. For a mascot, they instead went with a sea troll named Buoy. The franchise felt that the sea troll, with a big smile was more friendly for children, while still keeping with the nautical theme.
NBC Sports
a day ago
- NBC Sports
Seattle Kraken mascot has a close encounter with a brown bear during video shoot in Alaska
SEATTLE — Seattle Kraken forward John Hayden and the team's blue-haired troll mascot had a close call with a brown bear during a promotional video shoot in Alaska. Hayden and the mascot named Buoy were on a fly-fishing outing in Katmai National Park as part of a trip promoting youth hockey when the bear approached, video released by the team shows. Knee-deep in a shallow river, they wore waders and other fly-fishing gear. Hayden had been fishing, but a guide quickly took the rod from him. The bear charged toward the mascot, splashing water, but turned away before making contact as Hayden, Buoy and the film crew waded back to shore through a gentle current. Brown bears commonly feast on salmon in the Brooks River in Katmai National Park, gobbling them as they leap upstream over Brooks Falls to spawn. The park, nearly 300 miles (485 km) southwest of Anchorage and inaccessible by road, is home to the annual 'Fat Bear Week' contest celebrating the bears as they fatten up for the winter. The NHL team said it didn't intend to involve the bear in filming, but included it in a video posted to social media. Organizers had hired guides for safety. 'Bears are everywhere at Brooks Falls and, like, this is their territory,' said Kraken Partnership Marketing Director Melissa O'Brochta, who also recorded the encounter from shore. 'They're also super used to seeing humans. So I wasn't scared.' A troll might have been a different story. 'I want to blame it on Buoy,' Hayden said on the video afterward. 'They were pretty interested in his look.' The run-in happened on June 25 as part of an annual trip organized by the Bristol Bay Native Corporation in Anchorage, Alaska, with events that promote youth ice hockey. Alaska does not have its own NHL team; the closest teams are in Seattle and Vancouver, Canada.
