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There are a lot of "rules" about how to survive encounters with grizzly bears, but none of them cover what to do when you're an NHL mascot standing in a stream and the bear starts charging.
A frightening encounter with a real-life grizzy bear couldn't wipe the smile off of one fisherman -- because it was part of his mascot costume! The Seattle Kraken's mascot Buoy was part of a team filming a fishing sequence in a stream when they quickly found themselves in a hairy situation.
"TROLL NARROWLY ESCAPES BEAR ENCOUNTER 😱😱🧌🐻," the video was captioned on Buoy's Instagram with the footnote, "*no bears or trolls were hurt in the making, always respect wildlife in their natural habitat ❤️."
Team center John Hayden, who narrated the action both as it was happening and after the fact, said at the top of the clip shared to Buoy's page, as well as the main NHL page, "While we were fishing, we had a pretty close call with a couple bears."
It was a pretty calm and understated way to express what viewers were about to witness as the footage quickly shifted to the moment Buoy, Hayden and their video team were standing in a stream, filming in their waders.
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View StoryOut of nowhere, a bear emerged on the shoreline. But he definitely didn't stay there long, as he can quickly be seen slipping into the water and making his way toward the people as they immediately decide to try and move downstream.
As Hayden hands his fly-fishing pole to a crew member and they begin to move -- the bear continues to follow, clearly drawn by something. As it turns out, that something might just have been the oversized costume and head of Buoy the sea troll, who was also moving as quickly as he could.
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At one point -- and we could almost hear the National Geographic dramatic music cue up -- the bear picked up its feet and began to charge toward the team, appearing specifically to target the sea troll. It was a terrifying moment as the bear let loose with a loud growl before finally settling down just a few yards from the team.
Buoy, Hayden, and the rest of their crew were extremely lucky they "got out of it okay," as Hayden described the "close call." One crew member could be heard saying, "That last little sprint, I was worried for you Buoy."
Buoy was clearly worried for himself, shaking his head, as his fellow mascots weighed in on his terrifying near-bear encounter.
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View Story"Always remember, they’re more scared of you than you are of them…." commented Philadelphia Flyers' Gritty. Meanwhile, Bailey of the Los Angeles Kings asked, "Aren’t you supposed to boop them on the nose if they come too close? 🤔" Fellow Seattle mascot Blitz of the Seahawks commented, "Bear: I wonder what troll tastes like?"
Several bear mascots also chimed in, with the Chicago Cubs' Clark quipping, "I’m sure he just wanted to help you catch lunch!" The Chicago Bears' Staley offered up an apology, writing, "Sorry about my cousin-He’s a Buoy fanboy!" whie the Utah Jazz Bear joked, "That’s the last time I tell you about my secret fishing spot."
Even the Kraken's own stadium got in on the fun, with the official page for the Climate Pledge Arena joking in their comment, "if not friend why friend shaped 🐻." Meanwhile, the Seattle Kraken team page lamented, "@nhlbuoy this is why we keep tabs on you 🤦♂️."
As detailed by United Press International, the close encounter happened as the Kraken team was traveling across Alaska for their annual community engagement partnership trip with the Bristol Bay Native Corporation. While there, they spend some time working with the Anchorage Hockey Academy's youth hockey camp -- no bears allowed!
