Professional sports teams do a lot of crazy things to create content for their fans.
But few mascots have ever faced down a charging grizzly bear in the Alaskan wilderness.
And the Seattle Kraken mascot had one close call with a grizzly bear that left the entire team white as a ghost.
Buoy the Sea Troll Faces Down Alaska’s Most Dangerous Predator
The Seattle Kraken were filming content in Alaska’s Katmai National Park as part of their annual community engagement partnership trip with the Bristol Bay Native Corporation.¹
The team was fly fishing in the pristine wilderness when things took a terrifying turn.
Their mascot, Buoy the sea troll, was wading in a stream with his fishing rod when a massive grizzly bear emerged from the tree line.
What happened next was caught on camera – and it’s absolutely heart-stopping.
Kraken center John Hayden was fishing nearby when the bear first appeared.
"While we were fishing, we had a pretty close call with a couple [of] bears," Hayden explained in the team’s social media video.²
The footage shows Hayden calmly fishing when the camera pans to reveal a massive brown grizzly making its way out of the woods and directly into the stream.
"We got a bear," Hayden told the camera crew, immediately recognizing the danger.
The smart move would have been for everyone to slowly back away and give the wild animal plenty of space.
But this particular grizzly had other plans.
The Bear Locked Onto the Mascot Like a Heat-Seeking Missile
As the filming crew and players began moving downstream, the grizzly bear decided to follow them.
The massive predator waded into the stream and started heading in their direction.
That’s when the bear spotted Buoy the sea troll, who was also fly fishing with the team.
According to Hayden, the bear became fixated on the mascot’s unusual appearance.
"I want to blame it on Buoy, they were pretty interested in his whole look," Hayden said in the video.³
The grizzly let out a roar and then did something that would give anyone nightmares.
It charged directly at the mascot.
The footage shows Buoy frantically trying to move away as the massive grizzly bear came barreling toward him through the water.
For a few terrifying seconds, it looked like this was going to end very badly for the Kraken’s beloved mascot.
Grizzly bears are among Alaska’s most dangerous predators and have been known to attack humans who get too close or surprise them in the wild.
But somehow, someway, this story has a happy ending.
The Mascot Escaped by the Skin of His Teeth
Just when it looked like Buoy was about to become bear food, the grizzly stopped short.
The massive predator came within just a few feet of the mascot before halting its charge.
The team’s video shows just how close the bear got before they managed to get away safely.
"That last little sprint, I was worried for you Buoy," a crew member told the mascot after the encounter.⁴
Buoy could be seen shaking his head in the video, clearly rattled by the close call.
Hayden confirmed that despite the terrifying encounter, everyone "got out of it okay."
The team captioned their social media post: "TROLL NARROWLY ESCAPES BEAR ENCOUNTER" and added "*no trolls or bears were hurt in the making, always respect wildlife in their natural habitat."⁵
The video quickly went viral, with fans expressing relief that their beloved mascot survived the encounter.
One social media user joked that the bear may have thought Buoy was a friend, writing, "If not friend, why friend shaped?"⁶
Another person shared their own close call with wildlife, noting they had a similar encounter with a "bull moose" while hiking but also escaped without injury.
This Footage Shows Why Alaska’s Wilderness Isn’t a Playground
The Kraken’s bear encounter serves as a stark reminder of just how dangerous Alaska’s wilderness can be.
Katmai National Park is home to one of the largest populations of protected brown bears in the world.
The bears are incredibly territorial, especially when they’re fishing for salmon.
The fact that this grizzly charged at the mascot suggests it may have been confused by Buoy’s unusual appearance or saw him as a potential threat.
Wildlife experts say bears have poor eyesight but excellent hearing and smell, which means the mascot’s costume may have masked his human scent and confused the animal.
The Kraken were lucky that this encounter ended without anyone getting hurt.
Professional athletes and entertainment crews venturing into Alaska’s wilderness need to remember they’re entering the domain of some of North America’s most dangerous predators.
No social media content is worth risking someone’s life – even if that someone happens to be a beloved NHL mascot.
The team was in Alaska for their "Kraken Week" where they worked with the Anchorage Hockey Academy’s youth hockey camp.⁷
But after this close call with a grizzly bear, they’ll probably stick to the hockey rink for their next team-building exercise.
¹ UPI, "Bear Charges at NHL Seattle Kraken Mascot," UPI, August 5, 2025.
² Kimberlee Speakman, "Bear Charges at NHL Seattle Kraken Mascot Filming in Alaska Wilderness," People Magazine, August 5, 2025.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ UPI, "Bear Charges at NHL Seattle Kraken Mascot," UPI, August 5, 2025.