Seattle Kraken forward John Hayden and the team mascot, a blue-haired troll, had a tense moment with a brown bear during the filming of a promotional video in Alaska. The incident occurred while Hayden and the mascot, named Buoy, were on a fly fishing excursion in Katmai National Park, as part of a trip to promote youth hockey. According to the video published by the team:
Video of the encounter with the bear
In the video, Hayden and Buoy are seen wearing fishing clothes and submerged in a shallow river. Hayden was fishing when a guide quickly took the rod away from him. The bear lunged at the pet, splashing water, but veered off before making contact. Hayden, Buoy, and the film crew returned to the shore through a gentle current. Brown bears often feed on salmon in the Brooks River of Katmai National Park, where the fish jump upstream to spawn. The park, about 485 km southwest of Anchorage and without road access, hosts the annual “Fat Bear Week” contest, which celebrates the bears as they prepare for winter. The NHL team stated that they did not intend to involve the bear in the filming, but included it in a video posted on social media. The organizers had hired guides to ensure safety.Hayden joked after the incident:Bears are everywhere in Brooks Falls, and this is their territory. They are also very used to seeing humans. So I wasn’t scared.
Melissa O’Brochta, Director of Marketing Partnerships at Kraken
The meeting took place on June 25, as part of an annual trip organized by the Bristol Bay Native Corporation in Anchorage, Alaska, with events to promote youth ice hockey. Alaska does not have its own NHL team; the closest teams are in Seattle and Vancouver, Canada.I want to blame Buoy. They were very interested in his appearance.
John Hayden
