| Buoy | |
|---|---|
 Buoy at the 2023 Calder Cup finals | |
| Team | Seattle Kraken |
| Description | Sea troll |
| First seen | October 1, 2022 |
| Website | www |
Buoy is the official mascot for the Seattle Kraken, a National Hockey League (NHL) team based in Seattle.
| Buoy | |
|---|---|
| Buoy at the 2023 Calder Cup finals | |
| Team | Seattle Kraken |
| Description | Sea troll |
| First seen | October 1, 2022 |
| Website | www |
Buoy is the official mascot for the Seattle Kraken, a National Hockey League (NHL) team based in Seattle.
The process of finding a mascot took two years, starting around the time the team unveiled their name in July 2020. Because a kraken is a mythical being whose complete appearance is unknown, the team chose not to use it as a mascot. The team also opted not to have an octopus mascot, to avoid redundancy with Al the Octopus, mascot of the Detroit Red Wings. [1]
In December 2021, the Kraken announced a non-fungible token (NFT) sale; 32 tokens allowed their owners to see "mysterious hints of the Kraken mascot", with the expectation that the NFT would show the complete mascot upon the official announcement. Critics said that the promotion conflicted with the team's sustainability goals, due to the high energy costs associated with NFTs. [2]
During the 2021–22 season, in the absence of an official mascot, the Kraken promoted a "team dog" named Davy Jones. The dog, a four-month-old husky mix rescue dog introduced on January 17, 2022, socialized with fans at home games as he trained to be a therapy dog. [3] In August 2023, the Seattle Times reported that Davy Jones displayed signs of anxiety at games, and did not make appearances at Kraken games in the team’s second season as a result. [4]
The Kraken introduced Buoy on October 1, 2022, prior to a preseason game at Climate Pledge Arena against the Vancouver Canucks. [5] [6] The Kraken had intended to introduce Buoy around Christmas during the 2021–22 season, but due to game postponements related to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, the team decided to wait until prior to the 2022–23 season instead. [7]
Buoy, said to be a nephew of the Fremont Troll, is a 6-foot (1.8 m) tall blue sea troll. His hair is "a nod to hockey flow and the waves of Puget Sound," said Lamont Buford, the Kraken's vice president of entertainment experience and production. He has a removable front tooth, a squeaky aqua-blue nose, an anchor earring representing the Kraken's alternate logo, an anchor tattoo (also representing the Kraken's alternate logo) on his rump, freckles, and a "mysterious tentacle indicating an encounter with the Kraken". [6] He makes regular appearances at Kraken home games with Red Alert, the team's marching band, and navigates around the arena's concourses using elevators and a motorized hoverboard. [8]
The mascot maintains an active presence on Twitter; after some Twitter users responded sarcastically or negatively to his introduction, Buoy trolled these users with dismissive or sarcastic responses of his own. Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, and Chance, the Vegas Golden Knights mascot, tweeted messages of solidarity with Buoy upon his debut. [9]
Reaction to Buoy's debut was polarized, with many observers expressing a strong like or dislike for the mascot. [10] A reporter for KUOW called negative attention to the criticism of Buoy by adults, noting that the mascot is targeted at children. [11] Halfway through the 2022–23 NHL season, ESPN's Greg Wyshynski called Buoy the worst Seattle Kraken development of the season so far, describing the mascot as "a land-based troll doll with Brian Burke's hairstyle." [12] In late December 2022, however, two The Seattle Times reporters wrote that Buoy "appears to be a hit" with younger Kraken fans. [13]
Buoy, since his introduction, has been in a professional wrestling-style feud with Paul Bissonnette. On his Spittin' Chiclets podcast in 2022, Paul Bissonnette called Buoy "the ugliest mascot of all time". [14] The commentator and the mascot traded insults on X in the days before the 2024 NHL Winter Classic, which was held in Seattle. During an intermission report at the Winter Classic, Buoy confronted Bissonnette wearing a pair of large boxing gloves; Bissonette responded by throwing his microphone at Buoy, after which Buoy pursued Bissonnette with a "Kick Me" sign, and Bissonnette knocked the mascot down with a high shoulder, following up with an elbow drop. [15]
The Fremont Troll is a public sculpture in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, Washington in the United States.
Paul Albert Bissonnette, nicknamed "Biz Nasty", is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Phoenix Coyotes.
Alexander Wennberg is a Swedish professional ice hockey player for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Seattle Kraken, and New York Rangers. He was drafted by the Blue Jackets in the first round, 14th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Before joining the NHL, Wennberg played professionally in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).
Daniel Sprong is a Dutch professional ice hockey right winger for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Sprong was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the 2015 NHL entry draft after playing two seasons with the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and made the Penguins immediately after being drafted, though he would return to the QMJHL and play two more seasons with the Islanders. He played parts of four seasons with Pittsburgh and their American Hockey League affiliate before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks in 2018, where he spent two seasons before being traded to the Washington Capitals in 2020. After his initial stint with the Kraken, he had tenures with the Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks before returning to Seattle.
The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. The team was founded after the NHL approved a proposal by Seattle Hockey Partners to grant an expansion franchise to the city of Seattle, and the team began play during the league's 2021–22 season. They play their home games at Climate Pledge Arena.
The 2021 NHL expansion draft was an expansion draft that was conducted by the National Hockey League (NHL) on July 21, 2021 at Gas Works Park in Seattle. The draft took place to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 2021–22 season, the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken selected 30 players from 30 of the league's 31 teams, and 25 ultimately ended up playing for the team.
The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey team based in the Coachella Valley. They are members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Firebirds began play in the 2022–23 season. The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Seattle Kraken. The team plays their home games at Acrisure Arena in the city of Palm Desert, California.
The 2021–22 NHL season was the 105th season of operation of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league expanded to 32 teams with the addition of the Seattle Kraken. The league had an October-to-April regular season scheduling and a full 82-game regular season for the first time since the 2018–19 NHL season as the previous two NHL seasons were shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league also restored its pre-COVID-19 Eastern and Western conferences. The season began on October 12.
The NHL on TNT is an American presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by TNT Sports, and televised on TNT and streamed on Max in the United States.
The 2021–22 Seattle Kraken season was the inaugural season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise. They played their home games at Climate Pledge Arena.
Matthew Beniers is an American professional ice hockey center and alternate captain for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Kraken drafted Beniers second overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft with their first-ever selection in an entry draft. He played college ice hockey at Michigan. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year in 2023.
Ice hockey in Seattle, Washington, includes professional teams as early as 1915, such as the Seattle Metropolitans, the first United States–based team to win the Stanley Cup. The city has been represented by various teams in the iterations of the Western Hockey League (WHL) since 1944, of which the major junior Seattle Thunderbirds are the latest. Presently, the city has a National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, the Seattle Kraken, who began play in the 2021–22 season.
Alison Lukan is an American ice hockey broadcaster and sportswriter. She is currently an analyst on the Kraken Hockey Network (KHN) for the Seattle Kraken. Lukan has previously written for The Athletic about the Columbus Blue Jackets and about Ohio State Buckeyes men's and women's hockey. She contributes "Analytics with Alison" articles for the Kraken for the National Hockey League's official website.
Ryker Garth Evans is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected with the 35th overall pick by the Kraken in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He previously played with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
The 2022–23 Seattle Kraken season was the second season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise. They played their home games at Climate Pledge Arena.
The 2024 NHL Winter Classic was a regular season outdoor National Hockey League (NHL) game between the Seattle Kraken and the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. The game was played at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, before a crowd of 47,313 spectators. The Kraken defeated the Golden Knights 3–0 and became the first team to earn a shutout in a Winter Classic.