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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Mary Clarke

The Seattle Kraken’s new unsettling troll mascot Buoy has confused hockey fans

Kraken Seattle Kraken Seattle Hockey NHL Gritty

The Seattle Kraken officially have a mascot and it was certainly not the one hockey fans were expecting.

On Saturday, during the team’s preseason game against the Vancouver Canucks, the Kraken announced their newest mascot Buoy, a sea troll inspired by a Seattle landmark, the Fremont Troll. The news came as a surprise to many, not just because the Kraken are only in their second year as a franchise, but also because the team’s mascot isn’t a sea creature of some kind.

Instead of an octopus-type creature or some other seafaring animal or myth, the Kraken went with a blue haired troll — with an anchor earring! — straight out of the Trolls doll collection from the 1990s.

Here’s how Buoy was announced to Seattle fans, with quite the entrance from the rafters too.

I’m willing to give Buoy a chance here, because he’s not even a day old, but it does feel really disappointing the Kraken couldn’t keep up their run of excellent branding to create a mascot more unique than this. But hey, at least Buoy is having fun with hockey fans on Twitter already.

It seems like it’s going to take some time for NHL fans to warm up to Buoy.

Ranking all current NHL mascots, from worst to best

NHL fans were perturbed after the announcement of the Kraken's new mascot, Buoy

And yet, some NHL fans were willing to give Buoy a chance

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