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What happens when a hockey player, a troll and a bear go fishing in the same stream?
Sounds like some sort of weird riddle, but it’s actually something that played out in real life Friday when a social media shoot by the NHL’s Seattle Kraken had an uninvited visitor.
Buoy, the large troll mascot of the Seattle Kraken, and current NHL player and Coachella Valley Firebirds mainstay John Hayden, were shooting a video where they were fly fishing in a Pacific Northwest stream together.
While they were shooting, a bear appeared behind them and started walking toward them. As Bouy, Hayden and the rest of the social team started to calmly walk to shore, the bear gowled and then picked up its pace and even charged quickly toward them before stopping and letting them go on their way.
TROLL NARROWLY ESCAPES BEAR ENCOUNTER🤯🧌🐻
*no trolls or bears were hurt in the making, always respect wildlife in their natural habitat 🩶 pic.twitter.com/WBvw9RFkS0
— Buoy (@SEAbuoy) July 31, 2025
“I want to blame it on Buoy, they were pretty interested in his whole look,” Hayden said in the video referring to the large furry-head worn by the mascot. “We got out of it OK, but it was a close call.”
The team posted the encounter on their social media channels and said there were two bears, but only one visible in the video. “No trolls or bears were harmed in the making” of this video the tongue-in-cheek post said.
The 6-foot-3, 223-pound Hayden signed a two year deal to stay with the Kraken organization earlier this summer. He has played the majority of his games for the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds the past three seasons.
What is the Seattle Kraken mascot?
The Seattle Kraken mascot is named Buoy, but is not intended to look like a Kraken or a buoy; it is a troll with long blue hair akin to the classic troll doll.
Buoy is inspired by the Fremont Troll, a public sculpture that is underneath the Aurora Bridge in Seattle. In fact, Kraken claim that Buoy is the nephew of the Fremont Troll.