Brown Out: Buoy & Hayden’s Bear Adventure

As the “Buoy and the Bear” video continues to go viral across the globe, it seems imperative to get the Kraken mascot’s perspective on the encounter that took place during a recent Alaskan visit with Seattle forward John Hayden and other Kraken personnel.

If you have been the one hibernating this past week, short form is Buoy and Hayden were on an annual trip centered around “Kraken Week” at the Anchorage Hockey Academy’s summer youth hockey camp sponsored by official team partner Bristol Bay Native Corporation. And make no mistake, Buoy, Hayden and sister Catherine Hayden were big on-ice hits with the Academy’s boys and girls, along with a stellar Kraken Youth Hockey Association coaching staff of Martin Hlinka, David Kyo-Ho Min, Brock Wietl and Josh Mizerek. The travelogue included a guided fly-fishing junket to Brooks Falls in the Katmai National Park and Preserve.

While Buoy and John Hayden were deftly casting their fishing lines, a brown bear entered the river opposite side, clearly taking interest in the uncommon wilderness sight of a gigantic sea troll donning waders. The bear loped a bit, then charged a few steps. Yes, scary. That’s when Buoy, John Hayden, Catherine Hayden, Kraken senior director of fan development Tyler Deloach and Buoy’s best friend, Hailey Robinson, all started to worry the most.

Buoy, of course, never speaks, but Hailey was able to translate some of his nose squeaks about the bear episode (she cautions that the nose-squeaking has been tried by many kids, but only she seems to have the magic touch). The public is no doubt bending its collective ears for Buoy’s take on the bear:

“I’ve encountered Bears across the NHL, including Carlton from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Louie from the St. Louis Blues,” Buoy said to Hailey on Thursday morning. “But this Bear, Holy Kraken, was much larger than my NHL buds. I wanted to give the bear some space. But, Holy Kraken to the nth power, the bear grew more and more curious about me.

“Well, as a fellow creature roaming Earth, I realize I am in his specific territory. So, we quickly got out of his path, but, no kidding, kids! -- that bear wanted to play. Can you believe that? Seeing the bear charge toward me? That’s when my soul left my body.”

That confirms Buoy has a soul, but we kind of knew that already. And, by the way, yes, we can understand the bear wanted to play with Buoy ... everybody does!

“I knew my guides and Hailey would keep me safe,” said Buoy, making Hailey blush just a bit. “But if I had to fall, so ‘Hayds’ [Hayden] survived, SO BE IT!”

Straight from the NHLer

John Hayden has played nearly 300 NHL games, won two Western Conference championships with the American Hockey League Coachella Valley Firebirds, captained the NCAA Yale hockey team and played for Team USA at World Juniors. But holding a fishing pole instead of a hockey stick with that bear charging was a new experience for Hayden and nothing like working rough-and-tumble rink corners, serving as a hallmark of his game.

“We landed in the water after two seaplane rides,” said Hayden, just hours after doing an interview for NBC national news. “Right when we stepped onto the [Katmai] National Park, one of the rangers put us through ‘bear school,’ which pretty much prepares you for run-ins with bears. We had a little bit of understanding, and the guides have bear spray [a non-lethal pepper-spray deterrent]. But I agree with Buoy: We were in the Alaskan bears’ territory. It’s on us to respect the bears and be mindful that, coming out of hibernation, they're looking for salmon. We know we are the visitors, the guests. Throughout our hikes and the fishing trip, we had multiple run-ins with bears. So, the feeling in the water was, ‘Hey, stay calm, don't run, try and maintain your 50 to 100 yards.’ ”

When the bear approached closer than a presumed safe distance, the experienced guides told Hayden and Buoy it was time to move, even if Hayden had a fish on his line. (Hayden was eager for a catch since his sister Catherine had already hooked an initial fish. As it turned out, he stayed on the line and Hayden reeled it in afterwards once safe on shore, sending a photo of himself next to a chart stating it was the biggest sockeye caught in those waters this summer.

“The guide said, ‘I’ve got to cut you off, we gotta walk away,” said Hayden. “I gave him the rod, we walked away. To me, it seemed like the bear was very interested in Buoy and maybe possibly -- from the splashing of our walking -- he thinks there's salmon afoot. I have to say, while we’d already had some run-ins with bears, it was a frightening moment when the bear looked like he might be charging more than the few steps and that he might just keep running. But I trusted our guides ... you can’t hear it in the video, but they were talking to the bear a little.”

Sisterly Love and Concern

Catherine Hayden, two years younger than her brother but an equally gifted athlete who played for two NCAA champion field hockey teams at the University of North Carolina, was on shore as the guides had split the Kraken visitors into two groups for safety reasons. She and companions had already encountered the bear, who’d entered the river from their shore.

“We retreated into the woods when we faced him on our shore,” said Catherine Hayden by phone Thursday. “The bear ended up going into the water. I didn’t love being separated from my brother. I was definitely feeling fear. We talked later that we were both afraid for each other ... When the bear charged, that was not cool.”

Hearing from Buoy’s Bestie (Oh, She is So Lucky...)

The aforementioned Hailey Robinson, who goes where Buoy goes, was in the water with Buoy and Hayden. She was glad for the bear-school training as the traveling party deplaned.

“I'm in the water, three, maybe four feet to Buoy’s right,” said Robinson or, err, Hailey (maybe if go on a first-name basis, we will feel closer to Buoy that way). “We all kind of got quiet when we heard the guides tell John, ‘We’ve got to break off your line, because John actually had a fish on the line.’ The guides broke off and had us start moving across the river [to the opposite shore]. During bear school, they said, ‘Do not run, walk calmly. Just be as chill as you can. I just kept telling myself, ‘You just have to be chill.’ ”

Seems harder in the moment with a bear looking like he might charge for an even closer look and whiff at Buoy. But this is why and how best friends stick together.

“When we flew up to Brooks Falls, we knew we would see bears,” said Hailey. “We just didn't know they would get that close...I think the bear just wanted to be friends, but who knows what was really going on in that bear’s head? ... I do think there was interest in Buoy. The guides made a joking comment later – but there’s probably some truth to it – that if Buoy was all pink and looked more like a salmon, we might have been in more that trouble than we were. Plus, don’t forget Buoy has to take bigger, splashier steps than a human [causing the bear to associate the sound with salmon jumping].”

Making a Cameo Appearance

Kraken colleague Tyler Deloach was in the water too – senior manager of fan development is always on the lookout for future followers, but maybe not this time? She, too, has a story to tell and can be spotted in a cameo role in the viral video when crossing in front of the camera on her way to safety.

“When we went out into the water, the bears were pretty far away, so we were focused on fishing,” said Deloach, taking a few moments from a busy Thursday in which she was hosting an Elliott Bay Marina party. “I was looking through my camera lens, so I didn't hear or see the bear until he was fairly close [with a hump on its neck and back, the bear was deemed male]. He was so quiet and quick despite the fact that he was huge. Our guides were incredibly calm, though, and handled the situation so well.

“I didn't realize how close he was until we watched the videos a few hours later,” she added. “In the moment, my only thought was not to fall while wading in the water and walking on the uneven stones. It was a bit scary, but I think the bear was just curious! As soon as our guides shouted, he lost interest. It was an unforgettable experience, and a good reminder of how impressive bears--and all wild animals— are.”

Deloach said while the Kraken video has entertained millions (and counting), Buoy & Hayden’s Bear Adventure unknowingly put on a live show.

“Later in the day as we were walking through the park,” said Deloach, “several people who were standing on the lookout approached us and told us they saw the whole encounter. Some even sent us videos they took from the lookout. They told us how afraid they were for us, even though they got a laugh out of it once everyone was safe!”

Last But Not at All Least: Campers Digging Buoy, Hayden

When John Hayden agreed to talk about Buoy and the bear, his first comments were squarely focused on the Kraken Week at the Anchorage Hockey Academy camp, a continuation of the annual Bristol Bay Native Corporation trip coordinated by partnerships director Melissa O’Brochta.

“When the Kraken called me about being part of the week-long camp, I said I was glad to do it,” said Hayden, who re-signed with the Kraken on a two-year NHL contract this summer. “It was a great time, and everyone loved Buoy. I also met with Caleb Seidl [three years old] as part of his Make-A-Wish visit to see a Kraken game and meet the team this coming January.

“I remember when I grew up in Denver, I would go to the University of Denver hockey camps. I've looked at those players like they were heroes. I remember the impact of having a college or pro player on the ice, so I kept that in mind working with the kids. My sister put on her skates and was out there with us too. We had some scrimmages, and I was so happy to interact with all the boys and girls.”

For her part, Catherine Hayden was in constant conversation with girl campers and she herself was lovingly impressed with her brother: “It was so cool to see John in that environment. Pro players are so locked into their routine and bettering their games. Just to see him with all these little kids laughing and skating with him [a pied-piper image comes to mind watching Hayden’s mic’d up video] it was such good vibes. John came the bench once saying, ‘Some kids want to just stand at the net and have me pass the puck to them [rather than get into the flow of a scrimmage]. But I don’t want to teach them bad habits.’ He was taking it seriously.”

No doubt that state of mind was shared by the Haydens, Buoy and everyone else at the river once that bear let loose his growl (yes, listen closely to the video) since heard around the world.