Josh Naylor has become something close to a walking crossover event in Seattle.
The Mariners first baseman sits right at the center of the city’s baseball-and-hockey connection, and the relationship cuts both ways. The Kraken have made a point of including him, and the Mariners have leaned into it too.
When Seattle unveiled its black “Abyss” alternate jersey last September, Naylor got one. At a Mariners game the following month, the giveaway item was a Naylor hockey jersey. And the photos tell the story even more plainly: Naylor posing at T-Mobile Park with Kraken players Berkly Catton, Mackie Samoskevich and Matty Beniers, and Naylor later taking in a Kraken game at Climate Pledge Arena.
None of it is surprising once you know where he came from. Naylor grew up in a suburb of Toronto and has been a hockey kid for as long as he can remember.
“I’m a huge hockey guy. I love hockey jerseys.
I grew up wearing hockey jerseys a lot. This is my life in a shirt.”
He also has the gear to prove it. Naylor said he has more hockey sweaters than he can count, and his mom once bought Josh and his two younger brothers Tampa Bay Lightning jerseys.
He told TheScore.com, “I played until I was 13. The reason - and I’m not trying to brag at all - but I think the reason I have such good eye-hand coordination is because of hockey.
“I think I have good fast-twitch muscles because of hockey. You have to move on the fly, think quickly, you have to adjust to situations fast. I think (hockey) really helped develop me as a baseball player.”
Seattle happens to be the first of the four MLB cities Naylor has played in - after Cleveland, San Diego and Arizona - that also had an NHL team while he was there. A Seattle Times profile noted that he owns uniforms of the Seahawks, Sounders, Storm, Reign and PWHL Torrent, along with Kraken gear and, of course, Mariners gear.
That Kraken connection even showed up in the postseason. During pregame warm-ups last season, Naylor often wore a custom Kraken hockey jersey. He also wore the Kraken’s black alternate jersey during the Mariners’ Champagne celebration after their AL Division Series win over Detroit.
“Us baseball players from Canada played with an extra edge and it comes from being surrounded by hockey,” Naylor said to the San Antonio Express-News. “I loved it and will be one of my favorite sports until the day I die.”
And with four years left on the $92.5-million deal he signed last November, there should be plenty more chances for Naylor to keep showing off the Seattle sports wardrobe that now seems to fit the city as neatly as it fits him.
In Other News...
Kraken Just Proved How Dangerous This Road Trip Could Be
The Krakens road trip got a little more interesting Tuesday night in Philadelphia, where Seattle handled a hard-earned 3-2 shootout win over the Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena. It was the kind of result that can steady a team early in the season, especially with Seattle moving to 5-2-0 and showing it can find a way through a tight game away from home.
Philipp Grubauer gave the Kraken the backbone they needed, coming up with key stops and keeping Philadelphia in check during the shootout as the Flyers dropped their eighth straight. The game stayed tense deep into the extra frame before Seattle finally separated itself, a reminder that this trip could hinge on a few moments just like this. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Win Showed A Deeper Threat Than Fans Realized
Lane Lambert reached a milestone behind the bench in a recent Kraken victory, and the win had the kind of spread-out scoring that can make a team look a lot deeper than a one-night highlight would suggest. Seattle got contributions all over the lineup, with 11 players finding the net and 16 collecting points, while Philipp Grubauer turned in a solid night in goal and Ville Ottavainen added a memorable touch by scoring his first NHL goal.
Bobby McMann also left his mark on the game in a way Seattle will not mind revisiting, giving the matchup another layer beyond the usual box score read. His night included a franchise note that speaks to how quickly he has settled in, and he later delivered the finish that decided it in the shootout, the kind of result that can quiet plenty of questions about how far this Kraken group can stretch its offense. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Effort Finally Showed Up But One Problem Isnt Going Away
The Flyers finally brought the kind of edge and push their season had been missing when they met the Kraken, and for once the effort matched the urgency. After opening 2026-27 with seven straight losses, a franchise-record slide, Philadelphia at least gave itself a chance by digging out of a two-goal third-period hole and turning a game that had been drifting into something far more competitive. Goaltender Dan Vlada steadied the group with a string of important stops, helping keep the game within reach long enough for the comeback to even matter.
Seattle still left with the result, and that is the part Philadelphia cannot escape no matter how much better it looked for stretches. The Flyers are now winless through eight games, and while the response against the Kraken suggested there is still some life in the room, the larger problem remains unchanged: better effort is only a start when the standings already show a season in danger of slipping away fast. [Read more 🡒]